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

Consumers will get mad about something, employees will have complaints, and things will go off the rails sometimes. —Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025

Sanders will need to figure out how to win in Colorado without the star power that went off to the NFL. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Aug. 2025

Some folks like to sleep in until the alarm goes off a few times. —Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2025

The post-credits scene shows Yankovic — who played himself in cameos for the first three Naked Gun movies — performing in front of a bunch of empty chairs at a celebration meant for the billionaires before Cane’s plans went off the rails. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 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