come off
Britishverb
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(also preposition) to fall (from), losing one's balance
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to become detached or be capable of being detached
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(preposition) to be removed from (a price, tax, etc)
will anything come off income tax in the budget?
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(copula) to emerge from or as if from a trial or contest
he came off the winner
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informal to take place or happen
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informal to have the intended effect; succeed
his jokes did not come off
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slang to have an orgasm
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informal stop trying to fool me!
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Happen, occur, as in The trip came off on schedule . [Early 1800s]
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Acquit oneself, reach the end. This usage always includes a modifier, as in Whenever challenged he comes off badly , or This model is doomed to come off second-best . [Mid-1600s]
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Succeed, as in Our dinner party really came off . [Mid-1800s]
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See come off it .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As I stood with my dad and brother Tom - both former England players - watching one of my son Boris' matches, we saw one of his team-mates coming off the field for an HIA.
From BBC
In its efforts to celebrate the U.S. victory, the White House has come off as tone deaf to many of the players.
From Los Angeles Times
Xhaka came off the bench in last week's defeat by Fulham and, if he starts this time, they will be better organised here.
From BBC
"I could see the door was shaking, I could feel it was coming off," she said.
From BBC
She’s repeatedly keen to clarify that she’s nothing like M even as she defends her, as if she’s slowly realizing just how unhinged the character comes off in the series.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
