go off

verb

went off; gone off; going off; goes off

intransitive verb

1

: explode

2

: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily

3

: to go forth, out, or away : leave

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

Phrases

go off the deep end

1

: to enter recklessly on a course

2

: to become very much excited

Synonyms

• 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

An art conservator who'd prefer to be immersed in detail work, Sarah is bombing as the host of a dinner party where her entrepreneur husband (Tom Riley) hopes to impress an obnoxious prospective investor (Tom Goodman-Hill) when a literal explosive goes off in her neighborhood. —Judy Berman, Time, 29 Oct. 2025

In their fourth career NBA games, LeBron James scored seven points, Luka Doncic 21, Michael Jordan 25, Dirk Nowitzki 8, Tim Duncan 19, and Cooper Flagg went off for 2. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Oct. 2025

Serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Santos Jimenez used to get scared when sirens would go off. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2025

Once your timer goes off, leave the oven door closed and set a new timer for 45 minutes. —Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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