pop off
Britishverb
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to depart suddenly or unexpectedly
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to die, esp suddenly or unexpectedly
he popped off at the age of sixty
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to speak out angrily or indiscreetly
he popped off at his boss and got fired
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Leave abruptly or hurriedly, as in I'm just going to pop off and mail some letters .
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Die suddenly, as in No one expected her to pop off like that . [ Colloquial ; second half of 1700s]
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Speak thoughtlessly in an angry outburst, as in Don't pop off at me—complain to whoever's responsible . [ Slang ; c. 1930]
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pop someone off . Kill someone, as in The sniper popped off at least three men . [ Slang ; early 1800s] All four usages transfer pop in the sense of “explode” to other kinds of sudden or violent behavior.
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.
Once he pursues a resolution and is denied, the bolts start popping off the plane mid-flight.
From Salon
She says the US version of the show, which has overlapped with the UK edition this year, is "popping off" on the app, and believes this has boosted interest in Love Island overall.
From BBC
It’s always tempting to assume that the president is just popping off like that proverbial old guy at the end of the bar who rants about what he’d do if he were in charge.
From Salon
“I am not prone to hyperbole. I am prone to, like, popping off a little bit. I know that,” Walz said, prefacing his argument that Americans are living in a “dangerous” time.
From Salon
That’s what they call them because they typically take a while to get to the action and to really pop off.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
