go off

verb

went off; gone off; going off; goes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: explode

b

of a gun : shoot sense 1

2

: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily

3

: to go forth, out, or away : leave

went off to join the army

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

7

: to stop working

All the lights suddenly went off.

see also:

go off the deep end go off with

Synonyms of go off

• explode
• detonate
• pop
• blow
• burst

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

Despite there only being four events left on LIV's calendar for the year, a recent report from Front Office Sports has added speculation of those four events going off unscathed. —Mark Harris Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2026

The agent went off and did the research, and came back a few minutes later with all the reasons and relevant information. —Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 9 June 2026

So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, and don't get your facts wrong. —Lynette Rice, Deadline, 9 June 2026

Wrestler Roddy Piper went off the mat for his first major acting gig as a Los Angeles guy who picks up those shades and gets eyefuls of aliens amongst him — all of whom hold the real power in our corrupt world. —Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for go off

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

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