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

State police said the Odyssey went off the road and hit a tree. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2025

The man, identified by Peoples as Charles Jackson, went off the radar for a couple years after the video surfaced in 2022, Peoples said. —Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2025

Then, DeGuerin says the gun went off one more time and the third shot hit Patricia in the arm. —Natalie Morales, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2025

After releasing a pair of records in 2013, the country LP Brothers of the 4×4 and the punk project A Fiendish Threat, Williams went off the grid. —Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 11 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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