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

Others, however, took issue with Kimmel’s comments immediately following Kirk’s assassination, and welcomed his show going off the air. —Dan Heching, CNN Money, 18 Feb. 2026

After the fire alarm goes off, Detective Lee Reardon (Karla Souza) and her partner, Detective Karl Connolly (Dorian Missick), are called to the crime scene. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026

In her second run, the two skiers who went off right before Shiffrin both failed to finish. —Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Feb. 2026

The caregivers who fill children’s early years with love and safety and playgrounds and books and songs and snacks aren’t doing it so their parents can go off and do more important things, like win gold medals. —Heidi Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 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