go off the air

IPA/ɡˌəʊ ˈɒf ðɪ ˈeə/
IPA/ɡˌoʊ ˈɔf ðɪ ˈɛɹ/

go off the air — phrasal verb

  • go off the airbase form
  • goes off the air3rd person singular
  • going off the air-ing form
  • went off the airpast simple
  • gone off the airpast participle

1. to stop being broadcast on television or radio — for example, a station ends its

1.phrasal verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to stop being broadcast on television or radio — for example, a station ends its daily schedule, a programme finishes its final episode, or transmission is interrupted unexpectedly

Example

The late-night talk show goes off the air at eleven o'clock every weeknight.

simple present for scheduled broadcast end

Beatriz was disappointed when her favourite radio station went off the air without any warning.

past tense for a completed event

Common collocations
  • go off the air suddenly
  • go off the air for good
  • go off the air at midnight
  • go off the air without warning
  • went off the air mid-sentence
Synonyms
  • go dark

    informal; often used for a station or network that stops broadcasting unexpectedly or permanently

  • sign off

    focuses on the host or station announcing the end of a broadcast for the day

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

go off the air

Usage Note

This phrasal verb is intransitive — you cannot say 'the station went off the air the news'. For a transitive equivalent meaning 'to stop broadcasting something', use 'take off the air' or 'pull from the air'.

Common Mistakes

The station went off the air the football match.
The station took the football match off the air.
'go off the air' is intransitive and cannot take a direct object.

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrasal verb/1

All three describe a broadcast ending, but with different nuances. 'Go off the air' is the neutral, standard term for any broadcast that stops — scheduled or unexpected, temporary or permanent. 'Go dark' is more informal and dramatic; it often implies an abrupt, unexplained, or permanent shutdown of an entire station or network, rather than a daily schedule ending. 'Sign off' focuses on the human or ritual aspect — the host says goodnight and the station closes its transmission for the day. For example: 'Henrik's show signs off with his catchphrase every night'; 'When the local newspaper's radio arm went dark, no one had expected it'; 'The channel went off the air at midnight after forty years of service.'

go off the air ↗go dark ↗sign off

Etymology

English

This phrase comes from early radio broadcasting in the 1920s, where 'the air' referred to the invisible medium — radio waves — that carried sound from the transmitter to listeners' radios. A station was 'on the air' while transmitting and 'went off the air' when transmission stopped. The expression later extended to television.