come off

verb

came off; come off; coming off; comes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: to acquit oneself : fare

came off well in the contest

b

: appear, seem

2

: succeed

His plans to start a business never came off.

3

: happen, occur

4

US, informal

—used in phrases like where do you come off? to express anger or annoyance at what someone has said or done

Marie was bent over the table now, reading, her piping girlish voice hot with indignation. "Where does she come off, anyway?"

—T. Coraghessan Boyle

transitive verb

1

: to have recently completed or recovered from

coming off a good year

2

: to have recently stopped using (an illegal drug)

an addict who is coming off heroin

Synonyms of come off

• happen
• be
• come
• come to pass
• occur
• come down

Examples of come off in a Sentence

couldn't believe that the wedding would actually come off—they've been “just dating” for years

the attempted revival of the city's downtown never really came off, and even more stores eventually closed

Recent Examples on the Web

Many appear old and worn, and are vulnerable to sabotage from paramilitary groups, or an explosion involving hot, heavy crude oil, should a vehicle come off the road and hit them. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026

The market is coming off a winning week. —Alex Harring, CNBC, 26 May 2026

Musgrave is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons and Whyle is limited. —Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026

The Bruins were coming off a comeback win over rival USC in a dramatic semifinal. —Marisa Ingemi, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Rhymes for come off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff