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

The screen cuts to black as the gun goes off again, leaving audiences to question what the hell is going to happen next. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 May 2025

This week it was reported that sirens did not go off as deadly tornadic storms moved through the city of St. Louis. —Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025

Tony Todd went off script for 'Final Destination Bloodlines' goodbye Will Smith, Johnny Depp and Alec Baldwin hope for comebacks. —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 24 May 2025

Read more: Knicks Almost Had Near-Perfect Win Probability Before Pacers Stole Game 1 Indiana was able to survive in the game despite the Knicks' stars going off. —Matt Levine, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 May 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