off-planet adv.

away from a particular planet; towards or on another planet; in or into space

  • 1953 H. B. Piper Ullr Uprising in Space Science Fiction Feb. 6/1 page image H. Beam Piper bibliography

    People came to Niflheim, and worked the mines and uranium refineries and chemical plants, but they did so inside power-driven and contragravity-lifted armor, and they lived on artificial satellites two thousand miles off-planet.

  • 1956 R. Silverberg Lonely One in Science Fiction Stories July 117/1 page image Robert Silverberg bibliography

    It’s been centuries since any Earthman’s been allowed to get off-planet.

  • 1974 J. Haldeman Forever War (1976) 163 Joe Haldeman bibliography

    Earth’s population is stable at just under a billion. When one person dies or goes offplanet, another is quickened.

  • 1975 M. Z. Bradley Heritage of Hastur iii. 39 Marion Zimmer Bradley bibliography

    The Terran was deported and the Guardsman’s brother was held in the brig until the Terran was off-planet.

  • 1983 M. Z. Bradley Thendara House (1991) i. 148 Marion Zimmer Bradley bibliography

    What would you do if I had gone offplanet, as I would have had every right to do?

  • 1990 ‘J. Tiptree, Jr.’ Color of Neanderthal Eyes 47 James Tiptree, Jr.

    In any event, the need to get off-planet and do something for the Mnerrin will dominate my life for a while.

  • 1991 O. S. Card Xenocide xi. 246 Orson Scott Card bibliography

    She’ll have the single starship she needs to get offplanet.

  • 1997 J. A. Gardner Expendable (1997) xiv. 230 James Alan Gardner

    The synthesizers made that axe… As long as no one took weapons offplanet, the League didn’t care.

  • 2001 Science Fiction Chronicle July 27/1

    Those of us stuck on the Earth will come to resent those in space…even to the point where we don’t want them to take their personal belongings with them because they'll be taking Earth stuff off planet.

  • 2004 P. F. Hamilton Pandora’s Star xix. 626 Peter F. Hamilton

    It was inconceivable to build any kind of fuel-burning power station on Earth. Instead it was done cleanly and efficiently offplanet.

  • 2020 ‘J. D. Robb’ Shadows in Death vii. 106 Nora Roberts bibliography

    You want a deal?…We’ve got you nailed, Tween, up, down, sideways. You’re going down, and hard. Two consecutive life sentences, no parole, in a concrete cage off-planet. There’s your goddamn deal.

Research requirements

antedating 1953
Earliest cite

H. Beam Piper, "Ullr Uprising"
Research History
Mike Christie submitted a 1959 cite from Frederik Pohl's "The Day the Icicle Works Closed".
Douglas Winston submitted a cite from a 1978 reprint of John Varley's "Retrograde Summer", which Malcolm Farmer verified in its original 1975 magazine publication.
Douglas Winston submitted a cite from a 1978 reprint of John Varley's "In the Bowl", which Malcolm Farmer verified in the 1975 first publication.
Enoch Forrester submitted a cite from Ursula LeGuin's "The Word for World is Forest", which Jeff Prucher verified in its 1972 first printing.
Fred Galvin submitted a 1956 cite from Robert Silverberg's "The Lonely One"
Fred Galvin submitted a 1953 cite from H. Beam Piper's "Ullr Uprising".
Bee Ostrowsky submitted a 2020 cite from J. D. Robb.

Added to the OED in March 2004 with an earliest date of 1960; later updated (date unknown) to the 1953 Piper quote.

Last modified 2024-11-17 00:09:25
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.