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

The king goes off to war, and the new queen gives birth to a son. —Literary Hub, 3 June 2026

Ben Williamson then smacked a ball to the right side that went off the glove of first baseman Spencer Torkelson, allowing Mullins and Fortes to score. —Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 June 2026

Waits, who was not wearing a helmet, went off the road and laid the motorcycle over, the release stated. —Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 June 2026

Ali goes off screen to tell Rue’s mother of her death. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 2 June 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