Out of office (OOO)
oh-oh-OH
Informal Neutral
What it really means
An automatic email reply set up while you're away, saying you can't respond and who to contact instead. Also spoken as 'I'm OOO next week'. Setting one before annual leave is normal, polite office practice in the UK.
Chinese explanation
外出自动回复（OOO）：你不在时设置的邮件自动回复，说明你无法回复以及改联系谁，口语里也说“I'm OOO next week”（我下周不在）。休年假前设好，在英国是正常又得体的办公室惯例。
Example conversation
A: I emailed Sam but got an auto-reply.
B: They're out of office this week — it says to contact me instead.
A：我给 Sam 发了邮件，却收到自动回复。
B：他这周外出——回复里说改联系我。
Official sources
Rules and amounts change — confirm important details with the official source.
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· Last checked 24 July 2026 · Report a mistake