go off

present singular third person goes off · participle present going off · past went off · participle past gone off

1. intransitiveTo explode.

   The bomb went off right after the president left his office.

   1 more example

   You see the thing had gone off like a box of matches.

   1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 213

2. intransitiveTo fire, especially accidentally.

   The gun went off during their struggle.

3. figurativelyintransitiveTo explode metaphorically; to become very angry or overexcited.

   My parents went off on me about how rude I am.

   3 more examples

   It all went off when the opposing teams' fans met at the railway station.

   When the boss came to know about the scheme, he went off, shouting and throwing everything away.

   I watched a high official on "inspection" tease and purposeflly cause a 63 year old man to go off and then made fun of the elderly man.

   1986 February 1, Kathy Jo Elliott, “Solid As A Rock”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 28, page 5

4. intransitiveTo begin clanging or making noise.

   The alarm will go off at six a.m.

   2 more examples

   Just after he spotted the first plane on the horizon, sirens started to go off around the city.

   Jodi Huisentruit’s alarm should have gone off hours before dawn.

   2026 August 10, Nicholas Muhoro, “Jodi Huisentruit, 27, Vanished From Her Apartment Parking Lot in 1995. Police Found Signs of a Struggle”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 11 Aug 2026

5. intransitiveTo stop operating; to switch off.

   We were watching TV when suddenly the power went off.

6. intransitiveOf dairy cattle, to stop producing milk.

   ‘I suppose no other mahn in th’ district feeds as well as I do, and yet they’re goin’ off - goin’ off to th’ very divil.’

   1911, ‘Steel Rudd’, The Book of Dan, Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, published 1970, page 63

7. intransitiveTo depart; to leave.

   I don't know where he's going—he went off without a word.

   2 more examples

   Having sated her appetite, she went off in search of a place to sleep.

   I was intimidated by the other men on her design course, and became convinced that she was going to go off with one of them. She went off with one of them.

   1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 25

8. AustraliaCanadaUKintransitiveTo putrefy or become inedible, or to become unusable in any way.

   Bugger—the milk's gone off already!

   3 more examples

   1987 September 3, Unpalatable Treatment, New Scientist, page 20, But to cast out a technique that could not only reduce the incidence of food poisoning but could also allow us to move away from another bete noire of the “technophobes” — chemical treatment to prevent stored grain from going off— is daft

   Don′t expect to store fragile food like fish, poultry and meat in the refrigerator at home for a long period of time, as it will go off quickly.

   2005, Neil Perry, The Food I Love, page 13

   Although there is a popular myth about camel milk ‘never going off’, experience shows that pasteurised packaged camel milk does not keep any better than its cow equivalent, and seems to lose its flavour faster.

   2005, Nancy Abeiderrahmane, “Modern Dairy Products from Traditional Camel Herding: An Experience in Mauritania”, in Bernard Faye, Palmated Esenov, editors, Desertification Combat And Food Safety: The Added Value Of Camel Producers, page 156

   Synonyms: go sour, spoil

9. transitiveTo like gradually less.

   Ever since falling off her bike, she's gone off cycling to work.

   1 more example

   We needed a vet visit because some of the cattle had gone off their feed.

10. UKintransitiveTo cure; to set.

    I've got to get the panels aligned quickly now because the epoxy resin will go off within 20 minutes or so.

11. intransitiveTo pass off; to take place; to be accomplished; to happen.

    The party went off very well.

    1 more example

    The wedding went off much as such affairs do.

    1864 August – 1866 January, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, Wives and Daughters. An Every-day Story. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC

12. slangTo ejaculate; to orgasm.

    Synonyms: ejaculate, cum

13. intransitiveLGBTQ slangTo perform extremely well; to be impressive or attractive; often used to express encouragement.

    Go off, queen!

    2 more examples

    After all, these items of clothing were designed to be worn. And if you can get one last hurrah out of a thrifted peach negligée, go off queen.

    2024 May 12, Tish Weinstock, “This Vintage Lover Is Calling Time On The ’90s Fashion Obsession”, in British Vogue

    Of course, she [Charlie XCX] has a penchant for designer frames that cost upwards of $400. If you want to splurge on one of those exact pairs, go off. If you want to save some coin, I found similar options at more affordable brands and even some Amazon dupes. You’re welcome.

    2024 September 14, Heath Owens, “What to Wear to Charli xcx & Troye Sivan's Tour If You Wanna 'SWEAT'”, in Cosmopolitan

    Synonyms: kill it, pop off, serve, slay

14. transitiveTo follow or extrapolate from something; to assume as true or to judge by.

    Going off the interview alone, she seemed like the perfect employee.

    1 more example

    To see a room rate well under $200 is a rarity…. The occupancy rate during my stay seemed quite low, going off what I was able to see, with not many guests checking in or out and no crowds in the public spaces, and so social distancing wasn't an issue.

    8 October, 2020, Paul Oswell, Business Insider

15. intransitiveslangTo fall unconscious; to go to sleep; to die.

    One day I'll go off, but until then, I'm in charge around here.

16. UKarchaicintransitiveslangTo get married.

    We can only hope she'll go off soon.

17. archaicintransitiveslangTo be spent, disbursed or used up.

    All his money goes off as soon as he earns it.

18. intransitiveslangTo rant; to talk at length negatively; to insult or criticize.

    They went off about all the problems around here.

19. intransitiveslangTo fight or attack.