An area or or portion of sea away from the shore.
"The giant oil rig stood firmly in the offshore waters, far removed from any coastline."
In plain English: Offshore refers to areas of water located beyond the shore and away from land.
"The fishing fleet sailed out to find good offshore waters today."
To use foreign labor to substitute for local labor.
"The company decided to offshore its manufacturing jobs to take advantage of lower wages in neighboring countries."
In plain English: To go offshore means to travel away from land out into open water, usually by boat.
"The company decided to offshore its manufacturing jobs to cut costs."
Moving away from the shore.
"The boat began to drift offshore as the tide pulled it further out into the water."
In plain English: Offshore means located away from land and out at sea.
"We decided to build our new factory offshore to avoid local taxes."
Usage: Offshore describes anything located in waters beyond the immediate coastline, such as an offshore wind farm or a ship anchored at sea. While it can refer to business operations conducted abroad, this usage specifically implies activities taking place outside domestic jurisdiction rather than simply using foreign labor.
Away from the shore.
"The fishing boat anchored in deep water, staying well offshore to avoid shallow reefs."
The word offshore is formed by combining the prefix off- with shore. It literally means situated away from or beyond the land's edge at the waterline.