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

Davidson is coming off a bruising primary battle — that likely won’t help him, but may not be that big of a hindrance, Lyons said. — Idaho Statesman, 21 Oct. 2026

Fast-forward to today, Kansas City is coming off a 2-0 road win over Utah, leapfrogging the Royals in the standings to fourth place. — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2026

So, from a standpoint of how these events likely evolve, there could be small rocks and gravel and stuff that comes off where the slide is, as that rock mass adjusts to the fact that this piece just popped off. — Erika Stanish, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

The Panthers are coming off a 59-0 victory over Nevada Community; Heritage sophomore quarterback Lane Vargas tossed eight TD passes. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 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