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
2
: succeed
a television series that never came offTV Guide
3
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

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 What’s meant to be a delightful romp just comes off as pure delusion. Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 Bosa quickly emerged as a force coming off the edge, earning four Pro Bowl invitations over the next five seasons. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 As for the two musical guests, Raye is coming off a big 2023 behind the strength of her debut album, My 21st Century Blues. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 Cecilia, whether because of the screenplay or the performance, never comes off as a fully coherent character. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024 Rather, the intrigue here lies in the fact that Grande—at least the Grande that projects herself in her songs—comes off as knowingly fickle, even reckless. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024 In addition to that, viewers will have a better chance to see prominences, which appear as bright pink curls or loops coming off the Sun, according to NASA. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024 Samples have come from more than 475,000 air travelers coming off flights from more than 135 countries, officials said. Mike Stobbe, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024 The Tritons are coming off a four-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of come off was in 1590

Dictionary Entries Near come off

Cite this Entry

“Come off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20off. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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