The Phrasal Verb 'Come Off' Explained
- May 29
- 10 min read
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'come off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'come off'. Did you know that this surprising little phrasal verb can be used to talk about many different things in English, ranging from stages and medication to what someone thinks about you. In the post, I will explain all of its different meanings and give you plenty of example sentences of each one, so that you can use it confidently and naturally in your English conversations. Let's make a start and see what 'come off' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'come off' mean?The phrasal verb 'come off' has four main meanings in English:
Keep reading to learn how to use each of these meanings! |
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
COME OFF: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Came off / Come off |
Separable? | No |
As a first step in understanding the meanings of the phrasal verb 'come off', we first need to consider what the individual words 'come' and 'off' mean on their own....
Come - The verb 'to come' is an extremely common and versatile verb in English whose main meaning is to move towards the place where the speaker is, was or will be. In addition to this, it can be used to mean to travel with the speaker to where they are going.
In some contexts 'to come' can mean 'to arrive at a place'. Furthermore, 'to come' often indicates a movement and with certain prepositions it can be used to mean 'to leave' or 'to move away from somewhere'. Like most common verbs in English, 'to come' is irregular. Furthermore, it is usually an intransitive verb that does not take a direct object and so when it appears in phrasal verbs it is not usually separable.
My parents are coming home from holiday today.
Marie came to my house for a cup of tea.
Are you going to come with us to watch the football match?
I'd like to come to your wedding if the invitation is still open.
Come away from the dog; it looks angry!
Off - The particle 'off' is one that we frequently find in phrasal verb constructions. When applied literally, it can add an idea of movement away from a place (walk off). Moreover, 'off' can also add a range of different ideas to phrasal verbs that include separation (take off), completion (finish off), starting (kick off) and (confusingly) stopping (call off).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'come off'....
MEANING 1: To no longer be on something
CEFR Language Level | B1 - Intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To fall off, to detach, to remove, to unseat |
Separable? | No |
Our first application of the phrasal verb 'come off' is the one with the widest range of meanings and means 'to no longer be on something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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I have purposely kept the title for this first meaning of 'come off' quite general as there are many different ways that it can be applied due to the fact that it is possible to be 'on' a huge number of different things in English.
Let's start by thinking about when a person is physically on something like a stage or a roof. In this most literal sense, we can use 'come off' here to describe when a person gets off or climbs off the surface, so that they are no longer on it. Note that this is typically used when the speaker is not on it and is talking about the person who is coming off.
After the performance, the actors came off the stage to greet the audience.
The speaker came off the platform and walked towards the exit.
As soon as he came off the football pitch, he checked his phone.
We came off the path and walked through the trees.
Sometimes, when people 'come off' something that they are on, it is not always by choice and therefore we can use this application as a synonym of 'fall off' to refer to when a person is no longer able to stay on something and falls from it.
Mike came off his bike on the wet road.
Suzanne has come off her horse but luckily she is uninjured.
The little boy nearly came off the swing.
Kyle came off his skateboard while attempting a trick and broke his arm.
In the situations presented in the example sentences above, people are not typically physically attached to the surface that they are on, but we can also use this application for objects and items when something is physically attached or forms a part of a larger object and then becomes detached from it. This can be anything from a button on your coat to a wheel on your car or even a door handle.
Note that when it is used in this way, 'come off' implies that the object became detached by accident and not because someone intended to detach it....
One of the buttons came off my coat.
The wheel came off the trolley while we were moving it.
The door handle suddenly came off in my hand.
Part of the roof came off during the storm.
My shoe came off while I was running.
The mirror came off the wall and smashed on the floor.
The train came off the tracks after the accident.
Lastly, we can also use this first application of 'come off' to talk about whether or not it is possible for something to be detached or removed from the thing that it is attached to. In addition to physical items, speakers often use this to talk about removing stains and marks from surfaces.
The buttons come off quite easily.
Be careful; the handle can come off if you pull it too hard.
The cover comes off so you can clean it.
The top part comes off for storage.
I've scrubbed this wall but I can't get this mark to come off.
MEANING 2: To stop taking medication
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To stop, to quit, to give up, to kick |
Separable? | No |
The second meaning of the phrasal verb 'come off' that we will look at is another fairly common one that means 'to stop taking medication'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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In addition to the ideas expressed in the first application where someone is on a physical surface or attached to something, it is possible to use 'on' to talk about drugs or medication that a person regularly takes. For example, if someone takes Prozac for depression, we would say that they are "on Prozac".
As you may already know, the linguistic opposite of the particle 'on' is 'off' and therefore when a person stops taking a medication that they have been using for a period of time, we say that they "come off it".
We can use this application for both prescribed and recreational or illegal drugs that people take. When used for illegal drugs that people are addicted to, this application is often used to describe the difficult process of quitting the habit. Additionally, although we do not tend to say "on alcohol" or "on cigarettes", it is still used with both of these to refer to stopping long term alcohol or tobacco habits.
A key point to note with this application is that it is used for drugs and things that people use over a long period of time or as a habit and would not be used after one night of smoking cannabis or getting drunk.
Sarah’s trying to come off sleeping tablets.
The doctor advised Tim to come off the medication gradually.
It took Marlene several months to come off antidepressants.
You shouldn’t come off these tablets suddenly.
Brian recently came off painkillers after the operation.
Adam’s been trying to come off cigarettes for years.
Nicola finally managed to come off alcohol completely.
MEANING 3: To succeed
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To succeed, to pull off |
Separable? | No |
For the third meaning of the phrasal verb 'come off' we have a nice and positive one that means 'to succeed'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To clarify, we use this third application of 'come off' in situations where something that is planned and prepared in advance succeeds in the way that it was intended to.
For example, if you are planning a surprise party for someone and it turns out to be a big success with everything going to plan, you can say that it "came off". Likewise, if a company spends a long time preparing for and negotiating a deal with another company, they could say that the "deal came off" when it was signed off as they had hoped and planned.
The event came off exactly as we had hoped.
I wasn’t sure the surprise party would come off, but it was a huge success.
Despite all the technical problems, the show came off brilliantly.
Their plan almost didn’t come off.
The deal finally came off after weeks of negotiations.
It was an ambitious project, and nobody knew whether or not it would come off.
Against all expectations, the experiment came off successfully.
The wedding came off without any major problems.
There are also times when despite lots of planning and preparation, things are not successful and in these situations, it is possible to say that something "does not come off".
Unfortunately, the event didn’t come off as planned because several speakers cancelled at the last minute.
Sadly, the big surprise did not come off because Becky found out about it beforehand.
TO COME OFF BEST / WORSTWhen talking about competitions and conflicts between two people or groups, it is also common to use the idiomatic expressions 'to come off best' or 'to come off worst' to describe the end result and how the person or group did. For example, if a person won a fight, you could say that he or she "came off better" and that the loser of the fight "came off worst". It is also possible to use the alternatives 'come off well', 'come off badly' or to 'come off second best'.
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MEANING 4: To give a certain impression of something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | American English |
Potential synonyms | To come across, to come over |
Separable? | No |
Let's head over to North America for our fourth and final meaning of 'come off' as this one is primarily used there and means 'to give an impression of something'.
Adjectives commonly used with this application....
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For this usage, we are concerned with the impression that we give other people when we do or say something, or in other words, how something that someone does appears to another person.
Although this usage can be used on its own with an adjective like 'well' or 'badly', it is most commonly used with the word 'as' and then followed by an adjective. For instance, if a person comes off as rude, it seems to other people that he or she is rude or impolite. Likewise, if a person comes off as shy, they give others the impression that they are uncomfortable with speaking and in social situations.
You should note that this does not mean that they are fundamentally shy or rude people, but just that they make people think that they are in the often limited interaction that they have with them.
As I stated at the beginning, this application is primarily an American English usage and in British English, it would be more common to say 'come across as'.
Ben came off as very confident during the interview.
Elizabeth sometimes comes off as rude, even though she doesn’t mean to.
The speech came off as sincere and heartfelt.
The politician came off badly in the documentary.
I hope I didn’t come off as arrogant.
The teacher came off as friendly and approachable.
Natalie came off really well in the meeting.
BONUS: Come off it!
Let's finish the post with a common little expression with this phrasal verb that is often heard in British English: 'come off it!".
This short little expression is used by people when they think that what someone has said is not true, exaggerated or just plain wrong. Essentially, it is a way to show that you disagree with someone's statement or you do not believe it.
P1: I could beat a professional tennis player - P2: Oh, come off it!
P1: I’ve never made a mistake in my life! P2: Come off it; nobody's perfect!
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'come off' more confidently and naturally.
Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'come off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
You can also check out my new downloadable PDF "40 B2-Level Phrasal Verbs That Native Speakers Use Daily", which looks at 40 essential common phrasal verbs for conversations with native English speakers, with examples, common mistakes and exercises that you cannot find on this website. You can find it here.
See you next time! James 😊
THE END
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