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

Mikal Bridges had 14 points and six assists, while Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to make all five shots and finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes. —CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026

All four average at least six boards, including Micah Handlogten, who comes off the bench for only 15 minutes each game. —Noah White, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2026

That Avs team was coming off a Cup run and riddled with injuries, though. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026

Chance Bucher came off the bench for CBU, scoring all of her team-high 11 points in the second quarter to keep it tight. —Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 22 Mar. 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