go off on one

verb

To launch into an animated diatribe, or passionate description or explanation of something.

“I barely mentioned the band's name before he went off on one about how commercial the top forty is these days.”

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Meanings

verbgo off on one (third-person singular simple present goes off on one, present participle going off on one, simple past went off on one, past participle gone off on one)

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

  1. UKcolloquialTo launch into an animated diatribe, or passionate description or explanation of something.

    I barely mentioned the band's name before he went off on one about how commercial the top forty is these days.

    1 more example

    As far as I was concerned, we had a deal – she never went off on one about 'that's not a skirt it's a belt,' and I never went out dressed like a stripper.

    2021, Andreina Cordani, The Girl Who...
Cite this entry
APA

go off on one. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20off%20on%20one

MLA

“go off on one.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20off%20on%20one. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go off on one,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20off%20on%20one.

Source: go off on one on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.