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

Most medication reminders work similarly to standard timers but run on a preset schedule instead of needing to be reprogrammed after the timer goes off. —Bestreviews, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025

The debut mission of Northrop Grumman's new jumbo cargo spacecraft didn't go off without a hitch. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2025

At a family meeting about the sentencing, things quickly go off the rails. —Grace Byron, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025

When an alarm goes off, is snoozed, or is stopped. —ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 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