From Middle English oft (also ofte, often > Modern English often), from Old English oft (“often”), from Proto-West Germanic *oftu, *oftō, from Proto-Germanic *uftō (“often”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian oafte (“oft, often”), West Frisian oft, ofte (“oft, often”), Dutch oft (“oft, often”), German oft (“oft, often”). More at often.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɔft/, enPR: ôft
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ɑft/, enPR: ŏft
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɒft/, enPR: ŏft
• Rhymes: -ɒft

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: offed

oft (comparative ofter, superlative oftest)

1. (chiefly poetic, dialectal, and in combination) often; frequently; not rarely

   An oft-told tale

   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     What I can do, can do no hurt to try:
     Since you ſet up your reſt 'gainſt remedy:
     He that of greateſt works is finiſher,
     Oft does them by the weakeſt miniſter;
     So holy writ in babes hath judgment ſhown,
     When judges have been babes.

   • 1819, George Gordon Byron, John Galt (biography), The Pophecy of Dante, Canto the Fourth, 1857, The Complete Works of Lord Byron, Volume 1, page 403,

     And how is it that they, the sons of fame,
     Whose inspiration seems to them to shine
     From high, they whom the nations oftest name,
     Must pass their days in penury or pain,
     Or step to grandeur through the paths of shame,
     And wear a deeper brand and gaudier chain?

   • 1902, James H. Mulligan, In Kentucky, quoted in 2005, Wade Hall (editor), The Kentucky Anthology, page 203,

     The moonlight falls the softest
     In Kentucky;
     The summer days come oftest
     In Kentucky;

• In widespread contemporary use in combination.

• often

• FOT, TOF

oft

1. Alternative form of ofte

From Middle High German ofte, oft, uft, from Old High German ofta, ofto, oftu, from Proto-Germanic *ufta, *uftō (“often”). Cognate with Dutch oft, English oft and often.

• IPA^(key): /ɔft/

• Audio:

  (file)

oft (comparative öfter, superlative am öftesten)

1. often

   Synonyms: dauernd, des Öfteren, fortgesetzt, gehäuft, häufig, immer wieder, laufend, mehrfach, mehrmalig, mehrmals, öfter, öfters, oftmalig, oftmals, regelmäßig, ständig, vielfach, vielmals, wiederholt, x-mal, zigmal

• The superlative is, for whatever reason, sometimes frowned upon and is predominantly replaced with am häufigsten in formal style. The comparative is also sometimes replaced with häufiger.

• (colloquial, figurative): dutzendfach, dutzendmal, hundertmal, tausendmal, millionenmal

• “oft” in Duden online
• “oft” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

• IPA^(key): /oft/

oft

1. often

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

From Old Norse oft (“often”) and opt (“oft, often”).

• Rhymes: -ɔft

oft (comparative oftar, superlative oftast)

1. often

   Ég fer oft í ræktina.

   I often go to the gym.

   Ég er oftast í tölvunni.

   I spend most of my time on the computer.

   Ég hef sigrað oftar en þú!

   I've won oftener than you!

• oftar en ekki (“more often than not”)

oft

1. often

• dacks
• heefeg

1. often (in many cases)

• dacks
• gemengerhand

From Proto-Germanic *ufta.

• IPA^(key): /oft/

oft (comparative oftor, superlative oftost)

1. often, oft
   • 10th century, The Wanderer‎^[1]:

     Oft him ānhaga · āre gebīdeð,
     Metudes miltse, · þēah þe hē mōdċeariġ

     A loner oft waits a grace for himself,
     Creator's mercy, even if he is sorrowful

   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 5‎^[2]:

     Oft iċ wīġ sēo, frēcne feohtan.

     I oft see a war, a dangerous battle.

• seldan

• Middle English: ofte, oft
  • English: oft, often
  • Scots: aft, aften

• opt

From Proto-Germanic *ufta.

oft

1. often

From Proto-Germanic *ufta.

oft

1. often

Compare German oft, English often, Swedish ofta.

oft

1. often, frequently

• efders
• oftmols

From aht.

oft n (plural ofturi)

1. sigh