<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>something that counterbalances or makes up for something else, as compensation for a loss.</li><li>Accounting: a counterbalancing debt or claim, especially one that cancels an amount a debtor owes.</li><li>Also called offset.</li><li>Architecture: a reduction in the thickness of a wall.</li><li>a flat or sloping projection on a wall, buttress, or the like, below a thinner part.</li><li>something used to enhance the effect of another thing by contrasting it, as an ornament.</li><li>Printing: offset (def 7).</li></ul>