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

• blow
• blow up
• burst
• crump
• detonate
• explode
• pop

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

An unusually immersive remake of a vintage British film transports Hollywood star Brandy Friday into another dimension, where going off script could leave her stuck in the alternate reality for good. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025

This ongoing assessment process helps soldiers quickly identify when their autonomous systems go off track and understand the reasons behind any deviations. —Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 10 Apr. 2025

Then when he was seen going off into the woods, searchers called a drone operator. —Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025

Burnham Square, who went off at an unchanged 4-1, was not supposed to win the 2025 Blue Grasss Stakes, running dead last as East Avenue led the field up the Keeneland backstretch. —Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 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