come off

verb

came off; come off; coming off; comes off

intransitive verb

1

a

: to acquit oneself : fare

came off well in the contest

b

: appear, seem

2

: succeed

His plans to start a business never came off.

3

: happen, occur

4

US, informal

—used in phrases like where do you come off? to express anger or annoyance at what someone has said or done

Marie was bent over the table now, reading, her piping girlish voice hot with indignation. "Where does she come off, anyway?"

—T. Coraghessan Boyle

transitive verb

1

: to have recently completed or recovered from

coming off a good year

2

: to have recently stopped using (an illegal drug)

an addict who is coming off heroin

Synonyms of come off

• happen
• be
• come
• come to pass
• occur
• come down

Examples of come off in a Sentence

couldn't believe that the wedding would actually come off—they've been “just dating” for years

the attempted revival of the city's downtown never really came off, and even more stores eventually closed

Recent Examples on the Web

In warmer months, the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows between dining room and terrace retracts such that the whole place is open to the warm breeze coming off the water. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026

The New England Patriots are coming off a big win over the Buffalo Bills. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

The Miami Hurricanes, coming off a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament last season, are poised to be one of the top men’s basketball teams in the country entering their second year under coach Jai Lucas. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

Gutiérrez opened the scoring in the 54th minute and Pizarro extended the lead in the 65th for Chile, which was coming off losses in previous friendlies in North America against Canada (1-0) and the United States (4-2). — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Rhymes for come off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff