come off

verb

came off; come off; coming off; comes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: to acquit oneself : fare

came off well in the contest

b

: appear, seem

2

: succeed

a television series that never came off

—TV Guide

3

: happen, occur

4

US, informal

—used in phrases like where do you come off? to express anger or annoyance at what someone has said or done

Marie was bent over the table now, reading, her piping girlish voice hot with indignation. "Where does she come off, anyway?"

—T. Coraghessan Boyle

transitive verb

1

: to have recently completed or recovered from

coming off a good year

2

: to have recently stopped using (an illegal drug)

an addict who is coming off heroin

Synonyms

• be
• befall
• betide
• chance
• come
• come about
• come down
• cook
• do
• go down [slang]
• go on
• hap
• happen
• occur
• pass
• transpire

Examples of come off in a Sentence

couldn't believe that the wedding would actually come off—they've been “just dating” for years

the attempted revival of the city's downtown never really came off, and even more stores eventually closed

Recent Examples on the Web

But Alameda, with many of its players coming off a NCS flag football title in the fall, will be the favorites to repeat. —Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 19 Feb. 2025

Gordon returned from his calf injury on Jan. 12 and slowly ramped up by coming off the bench at first, leaving room in the starting lineup for both Westbrook and Braun. —Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 19 Feb. 2025

Holland is coming off his worst statistical season in the league. —Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2025

Apple shares are coming off a great week, fueled by this AI news. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a