Offset

(1) Refers to a value added to a base address to produce a second address. For example, if B represents address 100, then the expression,

B+5

would signify the address 105. The 5 in the expression is the offset.

Specifying addresses using an offset is called relative addressing because the resulting address is relative to some other point. Another word for offset is displacement.

(2) In desktop publishing, the offset is the amount of space along the edge of the paper. Its purpose is to allow room for the binding. The offset is sometimes called the gutter.