go off
[verb]
Synonyms:
- explode, blow up, detonate, fire
- leave, decamp, depart, go away, move out, part, quit, slope off
- rot, go bad, go stale

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English Thesaurus: decay, rot, go off, spoil, go mouldy, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

go off phrasal verb (see also go)

1. LEAVE to leave a place, especially in order to do something:
John decided to go off on his own.
go off to
He went off to work as usual.
go off to do something
Geoff went off to play golf.

2. EXPLODE to explode or fire:
The bomb went off at 6.30 this morning.
Fireworks were going off all over the city.
The gun went off and the bullet went flying over his head.

3. MAKE A NOISE if an alarm goes off, it makes a noise to warn you about something:
The thieves ran away when the alarm went off.
I’ve set the alarm clock to go off at 7 am.

4. STOP LIKING go off somebody/something British English informal to stop liking something or someone:
Many women go off coffee during pregnancy.
go off doing something
I’ve gone off cooking lately.

5. STOP WORKING if a machine or piece of equipment goes off, it stops working:
The central heating goes off at 9 o'clock.
Suddenly, all the lights went off.

6. go off well/badly etc to happen in a particular way:
The party went off very well.

7. HAPPEN British English spoken informal to happen Synonym : go on:
There was a blazing row going off next door.

8. DECAY British English if food goes off, it becomes too bad to eat:
The milk’s gone off.

9. SLEEP to go to sleep:
I’d just gone off to sleep when the phone rang.

10. GET WORSE British English informal to get worse:
He’s a singer whose talent has gone off in recent years.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

decay to be slowly destroyed by a natural chemical process – use this especially about natural things such as wood or plants, or about teeth:
The leaves decay and enrich the soil.
He had bad breath and decaying teeth.
The fabric slowly began to decay.
rot to decay. Rot is less formal than decay and is more common in everyday English:
The fruit was left to rot on the ground.
rotting teeth
Most of the wood under the paint had rotted.
the smell of rotting vegetation (=decaying leaves and plants)
go off British English if food goes off, it starts to smell bad and is no longer be safe to eat:
I think the milk’s gone off.
The meat smells as if it's gone off.
spoil if food spoils, it starts to decay, so that it is no longer safe to eat. Spoil is more formal and is less common in everyday British English than go off:
Food left in the sun will quickly start to spoil.
go mouldy British English, moldy American English to begin to have a soft green or black substance growing on the surface of the food, so that it is not good to eat any more:
Ugh, the cheese has gone mouldy!
decompose formal to decay – use this especially about dead plants or flesh:
leaves decomposing on the forest floor
putrefy formal to decay and have a very bad smell – use this especially about flesh or plants:
After two days, the body was already beginning to putrefy.
putrefying meat
biodegrade to decay naturally into substances that do not harm the environment – use this especially about man-made materials and chemicals:
Unlike many other materials, plastic does not biodegrade.
cause decay
Bacteria stick to food and cause decay.
prevent decay
You can use a preservative on the wood to prevent further decay.
tooth/dental decay
Eating too much sugar causes tooth decay.
natural decay
Everything in our environment is subject to natural decay.
the process of decay
The natural processes of decay gradually destroys archaeological sites.
a sign of decay
I couldn't see any signs of decay on the fruit.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

dislike to not like someone or something. Dislike is stronger than not like, and is used especially in written English:
She disliked him as soon as she met him.
Chemistry was the only subject he disliked at school.
not like:
Why did you invite Claire? You know I don’t like her.
I don’t really like getting up in the morning when it’s dark.
not be very keen on something informal (also not be very fond of something) especially British English used to say that you do not like something, but in a polite or gentle way:
I’m not very keen on Chinese food.
She’s never been very fond of his books.
not think much of somebody/something to not like someone or something because you do not have a good opinion of them:
We’ve tried that restaurant twice and we don’t think much of it.
I worked with him for years and I didn’t think much of him.
not be sb’s kind of thing (also not be sb’s cup of tea) informal to not be the kind of thing you enjoy – used about activities, films, books etc:
Detective stories aren’t really my kind of thing.
go off somebody/something British English informal to stop liking someone or something that you used to like:
Dan and I went out together for six months and then I just went off him.
put somebody off somebody/something British English to make you stop liking someone or something:
I was terrible at sport at school and it totally put me off doing any kind of exercise.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

explode verb [intransitive] if a bomb explodes, it bursts suddenly and violently with a loud noise:
A bomb exploded in a crowded metro station this morning, killing five people.
go off phrasal verb if a bomb goes off, it explodes. Go off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
Luckily the station was empty when the bomb went off.
As many as ten bombs went off across the city, most of them car bombs.
blow up phrasal verb if a building, car, plane etc blows up, it bursts suddenly and violently into pieces, causing a lot of damage:
The plane blew up in mid-air, killing all the passengers and crew.
In early 1986, a US space shuttle blew up shortly after launch.
erupt /ɪˈrʌpt/ verb [intransitive] if a volcano erupts, it explodes and sends smoke and rock into the sky:
The volcano has erupted at least fifteen times since 1883.
burst verb [intransitive] if something that has air or liquid inside it bursts, it explodes and the air or liquid comes out:
One of the water pipes had burst.
The plane caught fire after its tyre burst on landing.
set off phrasal verb to make a bomb explode, either deliberately or accidentally. Set off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
The group set off a bomb outside a crowded cafe in Izmir last September.
Police say radio signals were probably used to set the bomb off.
detonate /ˈdetəneɪt/ verb [transitive] to make a bomb explode, especially by using special equipment. Detonate is a more technical word than set off:
Army experts detonated the bomb safely in a nearby field.
The 200 kg bomb was detonated by terrorists using a remote-control device.
let off phrasal verb British English to deliberately make a bomb explode:
Terrorists let off a bomb in the city centre.
The bomb was let off shortly before 3 pm.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

go off
1. • go off
1). to begin to ring or buzz
The fire alarm started to go off just as we entered the building.

2). to explode
The firecracker went off before I could put it down.

2. • go off (somewhere)
to leave/depart for somewhere
My friend went off on a trip and did not say good-bye.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

go off
v.
1. To leave; to depart.
Helen's mother told her not to go off without telling her.
2a. To be fired; explode.
The firecracker went off and scared Jack's dog.
2b. To begin to ring or buzz.
The alarm clock went off at six o'clock and woke Father.
3. To happen.
The party went off without any trouble.
The parade went off without rain.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲