Meaning & use
go off
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
To start making a loud noise or to explode, as an alarm, gun or bomb does.
Grammar: No object; the thing that makes the noise is the subject: the alarm went off.
Patterns
- something goes off
My alarm went off at five and I could barely open my eyes.
A firework went off close to the playground.
The smoke detector goes off whenever I burn toast.
phrasephrasal verbBritish
To spoil because it has been kept too long, said of food or drink.
Grammar: No object; mostly British: the milk has gone off.
Patterns
- something goes off
The fish went off in the heat before we reached home.
Check whether the milk has gone off before pouring it.
Cream goes off quickly in summer.
phrasephrasal verb
To leave a place and go somewhere else, often suddenly or angrily.
Grammar: No object; often followed by to or with: go off to work, go off with a friend.
Patterns
- go off to somewhere
- go off with someone
He went off to the shed to cool down after the argument.
The children went off with their grandfather to the park.
She went off without saying goodbye.
phrasephrasal verbBritishinformal
To stop liking someone or something that you used to like.
Grammar: Takes an object after off: go off something or someone. Mostly British.
Patterns
- go off someone
- go off something
I have gone off coffee since I moved abroad.
She went off the idea of a big wedding.
He went off her after the second date.
phrasephrasal verb
To happen or turn out in a particular way, said of an event.
Grammar: No object; usually with an adverb: the party went off well.
Patterns
- something goes off well
The concert went off without a hitch.
The ceremony went off smoothly despite the rain.
Word forms
| third person singular | goes off |
|---|---|
| past tense | went off |
| past participle | gone off |
| -ing form | going off |
Common combinations
- alarm goes off
- The alarm goes off every morning at six.
- bomb goes off
- A bomb went off in the film's opening scene.
- milk goes off
- The milk goes off within a day in this heat.
- go off the rails
- His life went off the rails after the move.
- go off on a tangent
- She went off on a tangent during the meeting.
- go off well
- The wedding went off well.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ring
- Ring only describes bells and alarms, while go off covers alarms, guns and bombs.
- spoil
- Spoil can take an object, as in spoil the dinner, but go off is only for food that turns bad.
- explode
- Explode means blowing up violently, while go off can also mean just making a noise.
- leave
- Leave is general; go off suggests heading away to do something separate.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: go off or go on? go off or turn off?
go off vs go on
Go on means to continue or to happen, which is a different movement from go off.
go off vs turn off
Turn off means to switch a device off, while go off is something an alarm does by itself.
Practice
I need to throw this yogurt away because it has ___.
Choose one answer.
Gone off means that food has spoiled. Gone out and gone by do not describe food spoiling, and gone on means continued.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “go off”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.