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 The bloom would come off the rose perhaps permanently at that point. Nbc Universal, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2023 The industry is coming off a very rough six-month period. Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2023 Florida was leading by 4-0 when Brady Tkachuk, the Senators captain, came off the bench and got a quick breakaway. Victor Mather, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023 And ombre art and bubble nails are two (shockingly) easy ways to make a statement when the gloves come off. Chloé Valentine Toscano, Allure, 27 Nov. 2023 The Eagles have allowed the most fantasy points to wide receivers through 11 weeks and Diggs is coming off his two worst games of the season. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2023 Whitney doesn’t come off terribly, though there’s a lot of skepticism about the concept of passive homes, including one person who’s an outright climate change denier. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2023 The Bulldogs were 8-1, ranked in the top 25 and coming off a 37-30 win over Boise State to secure the inside track on a Mountain West championship game berth. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Nov. 2023 Since that thunderous introduction, the UCLA grad has settled into his role as a key reserve player, coming off the bench for a team fresh off an NBA Finals appearance. Alan Chazaro, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023 See More

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 10 Dec. 2023.

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