to pop off
7
8.4
- phrasal verb
- /pɑp ɔf/
- Slang
- After years of practice, she finally popped off on stage with an unforgettable performance.
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Watch on YouTubeThe NFT space started popping off early last year.
- The NFT space started popping off early last year.
- I remember when the whole stripper thing popped off, I called my mentors preemptively.
- And you know, Ministry of Sound and kind of all these raves in the in the fields and it just, and also Ibiza, that was kind of popping off as well.
- UBE ice cream, which is popping off right now, you know, like Panda Express, Panda Express, just like so many dumb things I've talked about, right?
- And you know, like nowadays we use queen as like, you know, like, oh, pop off queen slay queen yeah, whatever queen you know.
Examples
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He really popped off during the match, scoring three goals and leading his team to victory.
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But to have popped off so much in so short a span, for lack of a better way to describe it, that doesn't happen to my videos.
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And when you pop off, your fans are going to make money.
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What I do very well though, is when something pops off, I move quick.
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The NFT space started popping off early last year.
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The artist's latest single popped off and quickly became a chart-topping hit.
Synonyms
98
3.0
To become successful or popular very quickly
73
3.4
Happen in a smooth, successful way, especially at events
2
7.2
To do much better than people expect
1
8.2
Become very popular or successful very quickly
Antonyms
How Well
- Slang
7
8.4
189
3.7
118
3.6
81
3.7
∞
1.2
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
pop + off
Knowing 'pop' (to move or happen suddenly) gives a partial clue about suddenness or a striking action, but the slang sense 'to perform exceptionally well' is a metaphorical extension and not directly compositional from 'pop' + 'off'. The expression is informal and polysemous (other senses include 'suddenly die' or 'speak angrily'), so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would likely not reliably infer this specific meaning.
Etymology
Pop off is like a sudden pop of energy and then going off into action, like a player who suddenly plays very well or a singer who suddenly shines. That's why people say someone 'pops off' when they suddenly perform very well or do something amazing.