go off
Britishverb
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(adverb) (of power, a water supply, etc) to cease to be available, running, or functioning
the lights suddenly went off
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(adverb) to be discharged or activated; explode
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(adverb) to occur as specified
the meeting went off well
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to leave (a place)
the actors went off stage
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(adverb) (of a sensation) to gradually cease to be felt or perceived
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(adverb) to fall asleep
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(adverb) to enter a specified state or condition
she went off into hysterics
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to abscond (with)
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(adverb) (of concrete, mortar, etc) to harden
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informal (adverb) (of food, milk, etc) to become stale or rotten
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informal (preposition) to cease to like
she went off him after their marriage
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informal (adverb) to become bad-tempered
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slang (adverb) to have an orgasm
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slang (adverb) (of premises) to be raided by the police
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slang (adverb) (of a racehorse) to win a fixed race
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slang (adverb) to be stolen
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Explode, detonate; also, make noise, sound, especially abruptly. For example, I heard the gun go off , or The sirens went off at noon . This expression developed in the late 1500s and gave rise about 1700 to the related go off half-cocked , now meaning “to act prematurely” but originally referring to the slipping of a gun's hammer so that the gun fires (goes off) unexpectedly.
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Leave, depart, especially suddenly, as in Don't go off mad , or They went off without saying goodbye . [c. 1600]
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Keep to the expected plan or course of events, succeed, as in The project went off smoothly . [Second half of 1700s]
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Deteriorate in quality, as in This milk seems to have gone off . [Late 1600s]
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Die. Shakespeare used this sense in Macbeth (5:9): “I would the friends we missed were safely arrived.—Some must go off.”
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Experience orgasm. D.H. Lawrence used this slangy sense in Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928): “You couldn't go off at the same time....” This usage is probably rare today. Also see get off , def. 8.
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go off on a tangent . See under on a tangent .
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go off one's head . See off one's head . Also see subsequent idioms beginning with go off .
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.
She added: "We have smoke and heat alarms in our flats, they did not go off."
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
All of you will go off and make money.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
If you download one of these programs, give it a task and go off to do other things, the agent will continuously do work for you without further instruction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Indeed, that was effectively unknowable because, as the NYPD’s chief of detectives told reporters, they had learned that the bomb could’ve been timed to go off anywhere in the 12 hours prior to actual detonation.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
After numerous warnings and reminders, Imani’s mom finally lets me, Imani, and Heather go off on our own.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
