go

Less common meanings

18. 18
    verbintransitive

    To choose or settle on one option among others, followed by "for" or "with."

    If you can't decide on a paint color, go with something neutral.

    In the end, the committee went for the cheaper of the two bids.

    Similaropt, choose, pick

19. 19
    nouncountable or uncountable

    An attempt; a try.

    It's worth a go, whatever happens.

    She had three goes at the exam.

    UsageFixed phrases: give it a go, have a go at something.

    Similartry, attempt, shot, stab, bash

    Note

    Unlike the noun for a turn, no game or queue is implied.

20. 20
    turn to playnouncountable or uncountable

    A turn at something, especially in a game.

    Whose go is it?

    Everyone gets two goes on the swing.

    UsageCommon in it's your go and whose go is it?

    Similarturn, move

    Note

    The noun for a turn, at the game table or the pinball machine: it's your go, let your brother have a go. It answers directly to the verb of taking a turn, where the same moment becomes a command.

21. 21
    quote speechverbcolloquialtransitive

    To say, aloud or to oneself.

    So I go, why would I care?

    She opened the box, saw the puppy, and went, "No way, is he ours?"

    UsageOften in the present for past events: so I go, "No way!" In formal writing, prefer say or said.

    Similarsay

22. 22
    make a soundverbtransitive

    To make a particular sound, usually one imitated in words.

    The old radiator goes "clank" every time the heat comes on.

    Some car alarms go "whoop-whoop" for ten minutes before they stop.

    UsageThe sound word follows directly: cats go "meow", the car went "bang".

    Similarsay

    Note

    Sounds are reported by imitating them: cats go "meow", motorcycles go "vroom". It sits close to the speech-reporting meaning, which quotes words the same way.

23. 23
    use the toiletverbcolloquialintransitive

    To urinate or defecate; to use the toilet.

    Make sure the kids go before we get on the highway.

    The nurse asked whether he had gone since the surgery.

    Similarpee, urinate, piss, wee, poop

24. 24
    belongverbintransitive

    To belong in a particular place, having it as its proper place.

    Where do the glasses go?

    The comma goes after the verb, not before it.

    UsageAsk where does this go? to find where something belongs.

    Similarbelong

25. 25
    be workingverbintransitive

    Chiefly of a machine, to work, run, or function as it should.

    The old clock still goes if you wind it.

    Give the old mower a few hard pulls and it should go.

    UsageIdiom: still going strong, of a machine or a person.

    Similarwork, function, run, operate

    Note

    A machine's verb first: an engine that won't go has stopped working, and a motor that is going is running.

26. 26
    help makeverbintransitive

    To contribute to a particular end product or result.

    Patience and curiosity are the qualities that go to make a great teacher.

    Years of night shifts went to make him the surgeon he is today.

    UsageCommon in go to make and goes to show: it just goes to show that practice pays.

    Similarhelp, serve

    Note

    Older and technical prose also uses go to with a plain noun to count parts in a whole, as when 7,000 grains go to the avoirdupois pound. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • One avoirdupois pound equals 7,000 grains. en.wikipedia.org
27. 27
    verbintransitive

    To be discarded or gotten rid of.

    If the budget is cut again, several programs will have to go.

    The stained carpet went in the first week of the remodel.

    UsageOften after has to, must or can: this chair has got to go.

    Oppositestay, remain

    Note

    The thing being removed is the subject and the person removing it stays unnamed, so the sentence announces a decision without saying who made it.

28. 28
    verbintransitive

    To be spent or used up, typically on a particular thing.

    Most of their budget will go to pay for the new roof.

    Half of her paycheck goes toward rent and student loans.

    UsageMoney takes on for what it buys (went on food) or toward for a share (goes toward rent).

29. 29
    apply toverbintransitive

    To be valid or applicable, usually with for before the person or thing concerned.

    Library books are due in two weeks, and the same goes for DVDs.

    The dress code rules go for managers as well as new hires.

    UsageCommon in the same goes for and that goes for you too, referring back to something already said.

    Similarhold, apply

30. 30
    dieverbintransitive

    To die, usually said gently or briefly.

    She went peacefully, with the family around her.

    When my time comes, I hope I go quickly.

    UsageExpressions such as he's gone and she went peacefully soften the news of a death.

    Similardie, pass, perish, expire, succumb

    Note

    A soft way to speak of death, framing it as a departure. The perfect he's gone is the usual form, from young Blount's cry over his fallen master in Scott's Marmion (1808) to modern speech breaking the news to a family. Kicked off, by contrast, is flippant. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Walter Scott wrote Marmion. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
    • Marmion was first published in 1808. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
    • Young Blount says “he’s gone” over his fallen master in Marmion. gutenberg.org
31. 31
    be soldverbintransitive

    To be sold, often at a stated price.

    Houses on this street rarely go for less than a million dollars.

    The signed baseball went for $40,000 at auction.

    UsageUsually for with the price: it went for $500. In a sale, everything must go means all stock must be sold.

    Similarsell

32. 32
    turn to playverbintransitive

    To make a move or play when one's turn comes, especially in a game.

    In chess the player with the white pieces always goes first, so take a moment before you make your opening move.

    If nobody can go, we shuffle and start again.

    UsageCommon in go first and go next: who goes first?

    Similarmove

33. 33
    verbintransitive

    To fit, often with a preposition.

    The key won't go in the lock.

    Twelve chairs will go around this table.

    Similarfit

34. 34
    collapseverbintransitive

    To fail structurally by giving way, collapsing, or breaking apart.

    The old rope finally went under the strain.

    One more flood and the levee will go.

    UsageOften in a warning: that bridge could go at any moment.

    Similarcollapse, crumble, disintegrate

    Oppositehold

    Note

    Said of structures that fail all at once: ceilings, bridges, dams, wiring, roofs. The verb names no manner, so it is vaguer than crumble or disintegrate. That vagueness is the point, because what could go might fail in any way.

35. 35
    verbintransitive

    To run, or to be expressed or composed in a certain way.

    How does the chorus go?

    As the saying goes, better late than never.

    UsageSet frames: how does it go?, as the saying goes, it goes like this.

    Similarrun

    Note

    Applied to tunes, stories and sayings, it describes how their words or melody run.

36. 36
    a yesnouncountable or uncountable

    Approval or permission to proceed, or the thing approved; a green light.

    Is the deal a go or not?

    Mission control gave the go for the spacewalk.

    UsageComes with a or the: it's a go, give them the go.

    Similarapproval, clearance, permission, authorization

    Note

    Permission turned into a noun, and older than the space age: in Bret Harte's story of 1894 a man asks, "Well, Tom, is it a go?" It usually comes with an article, as in it's a go or give them the go, and its close synonym is green light. The adjective meaning "ready" carries the same clearance, but as a condition something is in rather than a thing someone grants. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • The noun meaning permission or approval predates the space age, as demonstrated by the 1894 quotation. nasa.gov
    • The cited story is by Bret Harte and was published in 1894: “The Sheriff of Siskyou” appeared in McClure’s Magazine in May 1894. en.wikisource.org
    • A male character, Major Overstone, asks Tom, “Well, Tom, is it a go?” gutenberg.org
37. 37
    be obeyedverbintransitive

    Of an opinion or order, to be final, to carry authority: whatever the boss says goes.

    What the captain says goes, like it or not.

    Anything the referee decides goes, no arguments.

    Similarstand, prevail, hold

38. 38
    fully readyadjective

    Chiefly in military and space use, working correctly and ready to proceed; approved.

    The pilot radioed that both engines were running and he was go for takeoff.

    The mission is go for launch.

    UsageUsed after be, often with for: is go for launch. Also the set phrase all systems are go.

    Similarready, operational, functional

    Note

    John Glenn's report is from 1962, and engineering language used the phrase by 1964. Fiction and play later picked it up, down to a character declaring two loaded BB guns go. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • John Glenn reported that all systems were go in 1962. govinfo.gov
    • The expression appeared in engineering language by 1964. en.wiktionary.org
    • The expression subsequently appeared in fiction. en.wiktionary.org
39. 39
    energynoununcountable

    Energy and vitality; the power of doing things.

    For seventy she has a lot of go.

    The team lacked go in the second half.

    UsageComes with plenty of, a lot of or no: she has plenty of go.

    Similarenergy, vitality, vigour, spirit, zest

    Note

    Its synonyms run from liveliness and verve to perseverance, so it covers both spark and staying power.

40. 40
    board gamenoununcountable

    A strategic board game from China in which two players place black and white stones to control the most territory.

    Computers took far longer to master go than chess.

    She learned go from her grandfather in Seoul.

    UsageTakes no article: play go, learn go.

    Similarbaduk, weiqi

    Note

    A separate word that only shares the spelling. It comes from Japanese go, a shorter form of igo, which goes back to Chinese wéiqí, literally "encirclement board game". Weiqi and baduk are other names for the same game. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Go comes from Japanese go, a shortened form of igo. en.wikipedia.org
    • Igo derives from Chinese wéiqí, literally meaning encirclement board game. en.wiktionary.org
    • Weiqi and baduk name the same game as go. en.wikipedia.org
41. 41
    cheer onverbintransitiveimperative

    Used as a command to cheer someone on or to show approval.

    Fans packed the stands, yelling "Go, Eagles!" in the final minute.

    Ran a marathon at sixty? Go, Grandpa!

    UsageFollowed by the person or group being cheered, often after a comma: Go, team! Go, girl!

    Note

    A cheer, not an order. The imperative is followed by the name or label of the person cheered, set off by a comma (go, girl!), and it can praise something already done as readily as it urges something still to come.

42. 42
    for its kindverbintransitive

    Used after as and a noun to judge one example against what things of its kind are generally like.

    The winter was mild, as Chicago winters go.

    As far as cheap hotels go, this one is clean and quiet.

    UsageUsually as + plural noun + go: cheap, as hotels go. Also as far as hotels go.

    Note

    A hedge built on as: the judgment holds only against others of the same kind, so the praise or blame is relative.

43. 43
    offer a priceverbtransitive or intransitive

    To offer, bid, or bet a stated amount, or to pay or sell for one.

    The buyer said he could go three hundred thousand if we fixed the roof.

    At the auction, she went higher than anyone expected.

    Similaroffer, bid, pay

    Note

    Bargaining and betting use it with the amount as a bare object: we could go two fifty, I'll go a ten-spot. A second object can name the person being bet against, as in I'll go you a shilling, and as high as I can go marks the limit of an offer.

44. 44
    sessionnouncountable or uncountable

    A single period or spell of activity.

    She answered all forty emails in one go before lunch.

    The mural was too big for one day, so they finished it in several goes.

    UsageMostly in in one go, meaning all at once.

    Similarsitting, stint

    Note

    It measures how many sittings a job took rather than how long each lasted: an artist who traced a drawing in two goes stopped once.

45. 45
    hard timenouncountable or uncountable

    A time or experience of a particular kind, often described as tough or rough.

    The team had a tough go of it in the early rounds but recovered.

    The first winter in the new town was a hard go for the whole family.

    UsageSet phrases: have a tough go of it, a rough go.

    Similartime

46. 46
    weakenverbintransitive

    To fall into decline or stop working properly, as a person's sight or mind can with age.

    Her hearing began to go in her seventies, though her mind stayed sharp.

    The brakes are starting to go, so get them checked before the long drive.

    UsageMostly in the -ing form or after start to: my eyesight is going.

    Similarfail, deteriorate, decline

    Note

    The subject is a faculty or a machine, not the whole person: her eyesight, his memory, the brakes. Once the loss is complete, English can use the perfect: his hearing has gone sits closer to the "disappear" meaning.

47. 47
    verbintransitive

    To be regarded as acceptable, especially in a particular place or situation.

    What goes at a backyard barbecue may not go at a formal dinner.

    Dress codes are relaxed at the festival, and pretty much anything goes.

    UsageMostly anything goes, of a place or event with few rules.

    Note

    Older English used it of money: John Locke wrote that money should go according to its true value, meaning it should be accepted in payment at what it was really worth. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Older English used go of money, and John Locke wrote that money should go according to its true value. avalon.law.yale.edu
    • Locke meant that money should be accepted in payment at its actual worth. avalon.law.yale.edu
48. 48
    verb

    To travel to a past or future period, whether actually, in a story, or by imagining it or studying history.
49. 49
    verb

    To find one's way through a computer or the internet to a particular location, or to a memory.
50. 50
    verb

    To cover a stated distance, or to move in a stated manner.
51. 51
    verb

    To take or follow a given route, course, or path.
52. 52
    verb

    To make one's way along a road, street, or other route.
53. 53
    verbobsolete

    To move about on foot.

    ‘As for that,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘I may chose othir to ryde othir to go.’

    1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur
54. 54
    verbcolloquial

    To take the step of doing something, typically something foolish.
55. 55
    verb

    To run or stretch along the length of something.
56. 56
    verb

    To act in a certain capacity or take on a duty, especially to stand as surety for someone.
57. 57
    verb

    To lean toward an outcome or help show that something is true.
58. 58
    verb

    In cricket, of a wicket, to fall when a batter is dismissed.
59. 59
    verb

    In sports, to achieve a particular record or set of results, such as a number of wins and losses.
60. 60
    verb

    To ring out or sound, as a bell, horn, or alarm does.
61. 61
    verb

    To turn to something as a remedy or a way of settling a matter, such as the law or war.
62. 62
    verb

    To put oneself to a certain amount of effort, trouble, or expense.
63. 63
    verb

    To review or examine something closely, especially in thought.
64. 64
    verb

    In pool or snooker, of a ball, to have a clear path into a pocket so that it can be potted.
65. 65
    verb

    To be in a romantic relationship with someone.
66. 66
    verb

    To have romantic or sexual relationships with people of one particular race, or to start having them.
67. 67
    verbobsoleteUS

    To get into a fight with someone, often with the fists.

    You've shown me his weak points, and I'll go him whether you stick by me or not.

    1900, Burt L. Standish, Frank Merriwell's Tricks: Or True Friends and False
68. 68
    verbslangAustralian

    To launch an assault on someone.
69. 69
    verb

    To take a particular share in something, such as an equal half.
70. 70
    verb

    To weigh a stated amount or produce a stated quantity.
71. 71
    verbcolloquial

    To enjoy or feel like having something, especially food or drink.
72. 72
    verbdialectalAustraliaMulticultural London EnglishSingaporeUK

    To travel to a named place with the words "to the" left out.
73. 73
    verb

    To carry young for a stated length of time during pregnancy.
74. 74
    nounrare

    Movement from one place to another, or departure.

    They talk easily together and they hear the come and go of the breeze in the soon to be turning burnt leaves of the high trees.

    2009, Mark Raney, David Midgett
75. 75
    noundated

    A turn of events, especially a surprising or awkward one.

    “It’s a rum go and no mistake.”

    2018, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis
76. 76
    noun

    A deed, or the running or functioning of something.
77. 77
    noundated

    Whatever is most fashionable at a given time.

    We are blowing each other out of the market with cheapness; but it is all the go, so we must not be behind the age.

    1852, Jane Thomas (née Pinhorn), The London and Paris ladies' magazine of fashion (page 97)
78. 78
    noundated

    Lively, noisy fun and celebration.
79. 79
    nounarchaic

    A serving of spirits, such as a glass of gin.

    “Then, if you value it so highly,” I said, “you can hardly object to stand half a go of brandy for its recovery.”

    1868, In a City Bus, in the Eclectic Magazine
80. 80
    noundated

    A single serving or helping of something.
81. 81
    noun

    In cribbage, the point in play when someone has no card that keeps the running total at or below 31, and so must pass.
82. 82
    nounobsoleteBritish

    A stylish, fashion-conscious man.

    He's a go among the goes, is Mr. Kestrel. He's only got to sport a new kind of topper, or tie his crumpler a new way, and every gentry-cove in town does just the same.

    2012, Kate Ross, A Broken Vessel