go off

verb

went off; gone off; going off; goes off

intransitive verb

1
a
b
of a gun : shoot sense 1
2
: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily
3
: to go forth, out, or away : leave
went off to join the army
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
7
: to stop working
All the lights suddenly went off.
Phrases
go off the deep end
1
: to enter recklessly on a course
2
: to become very much excited
go off with
1
: to leave a spouse, partner, etc. for (someone else)
2
: to take (something that belongs to someone else) away : steal

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The firework went off inside a wooden locker in the fourth-floor research laboratory, which is part of the Department of Neurobiology, according to an affidavit. Michael Dorgan , Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 4 Nov. 2025 My brain goes off sometimes like the Fourth of July. Julie Jordan, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025 The world is watching this and the other exhibits of a superpower going off the rails—and drawing conclusions. Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025 Hawkins has been under military occupation due to the rifts that emerged, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) is back in hiding from the government, and the gang is determined to find and destroy Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) since the big bad seems to have gone off the grid. Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for go off

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of go off was in 1560

Cite this Entry

“Go off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20off. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

go off

verb
1
2
: to burst forth or break out suddenly or noisily
3
: to take place : proceed
the dance went off as planned

More from Merriam-Webster on go off

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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