go off

verb

went off; gone off; going off; goes off

intransitive verb

1

: explode

2

: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily

3

: to go forth, out, or away : leave

4

: to undergo decline or deterioration

5

: to follow the expected or desired course : proceed

the party went off well

6

: to make a characteristic noise : sound

could hear the alarm going off

Phrases

go off the deep end

1

: to enter recklessly on a course

2

: to become very much excited

Synonyms

• blow
• blow up
• burst
• crump
• detonate
• explode
• pop

Examples of go off in a Sentence

specialists were able to deactivate the bomb before it went off

the wedding went off without so much as a single glitch

Recent Examples on the Web

The bluffs where trail will be created is where a train went off the tracks and fell to the beach in 1940, Smith said. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024

But Cruel World went off without a hitch, with sunny, balmy skies, the requisite amount of fishnet stockings and black leather, and a generally mellow atmosphere. —Pat Saperstein, Variety, 13 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

go off

verb

1

: explode sense 2b

2

: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily

3

: to take place : proceed

the dance went off as planned