come off
Britishverb
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(also preposition) to fall (from), losing one's balance
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to become detached or be capable of being detached
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(preposition) to be removed from (a price, tax, etc)
will anything come off income tax in the budget?
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(copula) to emerge from or as if from a trial or contest
he came off the winner
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informal to take place or happen
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informal to have the intended effect; succeed
his jokes did not come off
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slang to have an orgasm
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informal stop trying to fool me!
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Happen, occur, as in The trip came off on schedule . [Early 1800s]
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Acquit oneself, reach the end. This usage always includes a modifier, as in Whenever challenged he comes off badly , or This model is doomed to come off second-best . [Mid-1600s]
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Succeed, as in Our dinner party really came off . [Mid-1800s]
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See come off it .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Or that, if it doesn’t come off, the damage to the local economy will be epic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
In fairness, Vance doesn’t exactly come off like a rogue agent.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
When my Patriots are in a real one, a season-on-the-line one, all hands come off deck.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
The S&P 500 has just come off a “statistically significant” rally of about 21% over the 100 days from its March 30 closing low through Aug. 21, according to Colas.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The only time Harry and Malfoy had faced each other in a Quidditch match, Malfoy had definitely come off worse.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
