go off

verb

went off; gone off; going off; goes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: explode

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.

see also go off the deep end, go off with

Synonyms of go off

• 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

Later that decade, alarm bells started going off within the CIA and FBI over the arrest and execution of numerous double agents feeding secrets to the United States. —Josh Campbell, CNN Money, 7 Jan. 2026

But as the season progressed, the [shudders] discourse really went off the rails. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Jan. 2026

Kimmel had a tumultuous 2025, temporarily going off the air after conservative-leaning affiliate owners suspended the show following Kimmel’s remarks in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting. —David Matthews, Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2026

If a cop tried to shoot Kiritsis, or if Hall tried to escape, the gun would go off and kill him. —Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 7 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1560, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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