The bomb went off right after the president left his office.
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
To fire, especially accidentally.
The gun went off during their struggle.
3
Figuratively To explode metaphorically; to become very angry or overexcited.
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.
2 more examples
My parents went off on me about how rude I am.
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
To begin clanging or making noise.
The alarm will go off at six a.m.
Just after he spotted the first plane on the horizon, sirens started to go off around the city.
5
To stop operating; to switch off.
We were watching TV when suddenly the power went off.
6
To depart; to leave.
Having sated her appetite, she went off in search of a place to sleep.
I don't know where he's going—he went off without a word.
1 more example
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:
7
Australia, Canada, UK To putrefy or become inedible, or to become unusable in any way.
Bugger—the milk's gone off already!
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
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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:
8
To like gradually less.
Ever since falling off her bike, she's gone off cycling to work.
We needed a vet visit because some of the cattle had gone off their feed.
I've got to get the panels aligned quickly now because the epoxy resin will go off within 20 minutes or so.
10
To pass off; to take place; to be accomplished; to happen.
The party went off very well.
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:
To perform extremely well; to be impressive or attractive; often used to express encouragement.
Go off, queen!
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:
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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:
13
To follow or extrapolate from something; to assume as true or to judge by.
Going off the interview alone, she seemed like the perfect employee.
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:
14
Slang To fall unconscious; to go to sleep; to die.
One day I'll go off, but until then, I'm in charge around here.
At last, he emerged with his hat very much dented and crushed down over his eyes, and began creaking and limping about the room, as if, not being much accustomed to boots, his pair of damp, wrinkled cowhide ones— probably not made to order either—rather pinched and tormented him at the first go off of a bitter cold morning.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 4”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
Corley at the first go-off was inclined to suspect it was something to do with Stephen being fired out of his digs for bringing in a bloody tart off the street.1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 16: