noun

offshoring

/ˈɔfˌʃɔrɪŋ/ · say it: AWF·shor·ing

moving work to another country

In From the Business Pages

In more detail

1. (noun) the practice of moving business operations or jobs to another country, usually to reduce costs

2. (verb) to move business operations or jobs to another country

Examples

1. The company reduced expenses through offshoring by hiring workers in countries with lower wages.
2. Many manufacturers offshored their production to Asia in the 1990s.

How to use offshoring

Offshoring refers specifically to relocating business operations to another country, often motivated by cost reduction, labor availability, or tax benefits. It is widely used in business, economics, and policy discussions and typically carries neutral to slightly negative connotations depending on context, as it is associated with job losses in the home country.

Common phrases

offshore manufacturing
offshore jobs
offshore facilities
offshore operations
offshoring costs
offshoring trend

Synonyms

outsourcing · relocation · moving abroad · overseas transfer

Opposites

onshoring · insourcing

Word family

offshore (adjective/verb) · offshored (adjective/past participle) · offshoring (gerund/present participle)

A common mistake

Learners often confuse offshoring with outsourcing; offshoring specifically means moving to another country, while outsourcing can involve hiring external companies domestically or internationally.

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