# go

Pronunciation: say "GOH" US/UK /ɡoʊ/, AUS /ɡəʉ/

## Verb

1. To move to or through a place, said of people, vehicles, or intangible things like news or a mood.
   - Simple: To move from one place to another.
   - _The bad news was going from desk to desk before the manager could announce it._
   - _Rumors go around a small town fast._
2. To apply oneself to, undertake, or intend something.
   - Simple: To set out to do something, or to mean to do it.
   - _He went to open the window, but the frame had been painted shut._
   - _Go and get a proper job, his mother said._
3. Of an event or process, to proceed or turn out in a particular way.
   - Simple: To happen or end in a certain way, as in 'How did it go?' or 'It went well.'
   - _The interview went badly from the first question._
   - _How did it go with the new job?_
4. To move in order to do something, or to do it while moving.
   - Simple: To travel somewhere to do something, or to set off and do it.
   - _They go fishing every Sunday._
   - _Let's go shopping before the crowds arrive._
5. To leave; to move away from where one is.
   - Simple: To leave a place.
   - _They went before the speeches started._
   - _It's late, I should go._
6. To attend, as a member or regularly.
   - Simple: To attend a school, church, or other place regularly.
   - _Where did you go to college?_
   - _He goes to the same gym as my sister._
7. To move into a particular position or state, as in a ranking or a score.
   - Simple: To move to a new place or position, for example in a game's score.
   - _Her late goal meant the team went up 2-1 with five minutes left._
   - _Two more road wins and they'll go to the top of the division standings._
8. To become, followed by an adjective that usually names an unwelcome state.
   - Simple: To become, usually followed by a word for something bad.
   - _His hair went gray in a year._
   - _Things can go wrong very fast._
9. To extend or lead from one place or point to another, in space or time.
   - Simple: To reach or lead from one place or time to another, like a road, a fence, or old records.
   - _The fence goes right down to the water._
   - _The records go back to 1850._
10. To change from one value or setting to another.
   - Simple: To change from one level or setting to another.
   - _Overnight, the temperature went from 50 degrees to below freezing._
   - _Gas prices can go from cheap to painful in a single week._
11. To end or disappear.
   - Simple: To stop or disappear.
   - _The bruise went within a week._
   - _Give it time and the fear will go._
12. To be given to someone or something, especially by being assigned or allotted.
   - Simple: To be given to a person or group, often as their share.
   - _Half of the profits go to local charities._
   - _The building contract went to a small firm in Ohio._
13. To start or begin an action or process, often as a command.
   - Simple: To start doing something, often said as a signal.
   - _Ready, set, go!_
   - _The whole scheme is ready to go as soon as the money arrives._
14. To suit one another or combine pleasingly, especially of colors or of food and drink.
   - Simple: To look or taste good together, often used with 'with'.
   - _Do these shoes go with the dress?_
   - _Cheese and honey go together surprisingly well._
18. To choose or settle on one option among others, followed by "for" or "with."
   - Simple: To choose one thing from several choices, used with "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._
15. Of time, to pass, elapse, or slip away.
   - Simple: To pass by, used about time.
   - _Where did the summer go?_
   - _Ten years go fast when you're busy._
16. To be in a particular state continuously or habitually.
   - Simple: To stay in a certain state for a time or as a habit.
   - _Workers who go unpaid for months eventually stop showing up._
   - _The billing error went unnoticed for nearly a year._
17. To last, get by or survive for a stated time, usually with without.
   - Simple: To last or get by for a period of time, usually followed by 'without'.
   - _A camel can go for days without drinking._
   - _She went a whole year without missing a class._
21. To say, aloud or to oneself. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To say something, out loud or to yourself.
   - _So I go, why would I care?_
   - _She opened the box, saw the puppy, and went, "No way, is he ours?"_
22. To make a particular sound, usually one imitated in words.
   - Simple: To make a certain sound.
   - _The old radiator goes "clank" every time the heat comes on._
   - _Some car alarms go "whoop-whoop" for ten minutes before they stop._
23. To urinate or defecate; to use the toilet. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To use the toilet, to pee or to poop.
   - _Make sure the kids go before we get on the highway._
   - _The nurse asked whether he had gone since the surgery._
24. To belong in a particular place, having it as its proper place.
   - Simple: To belong in a certain place or have it as its usual spot.
   - _Where do the glasses go?_
   - _The comma goes after the verb, not before it._
25. Chiefly of a machine, to work, run, or function as it should.
   - Simple: To work, said of a machine or engine.
   - _The old clock still goes if you wind it._
   - _Give the old mower a few hard pulls and it should go._
26. To contribute to a particular end product or result.
   - Simple: To be one of the things that together make something or cause a 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._
27. To be discarded or gotten rid of.
   - Simple: To be thrown out or removed because it is not wanted.
   - _If the budget is cut again, several programs will have to go._
   - _The stained carpet went in the first week of the remodel._
28. To be spent or used up, typically on a particular thing.
   - Simple: To be spent or used, often until nothing is left.
   - _Most of their budget will go to pay for the new roof._
   - _Half of her paycheck goes toward rent and student loans._
29. To be valid or applicable, usually with for before the person or thing concerned.
   - Simple: To be true for a person or thing, or to apply to them.
   - _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._
30. To die, usually said gently or briefly.
   - Simple: To die, said gently.
   - _She went peacefully, with the family around her._
   - _When my time comes, I hope I go quickly._
31. To be sold, often at a stated price.
   - Simple: To be sold, often for a certain amount of money.
   - _Houses on this street rarely go for less than a million dollars._
   - _The signed baseball went for $40,000 at auction._
32. To make a move or play when one's turn comes, especially in a game.
   - Simple: To take your turn 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._
33. To fit, often with a preposition.
   - Simple: To fit through or around something.
   - _The key won't go in the lock._
   - _Twelve chairs will go around this table._
34. To fail structurally by giving way, collapsing, or breaking apart.
   - Simple: To break apart or fall down.
   - _The old rope finally went under the strain._
   - _One more flood and the levee will go._
35. To run, or to be expressed or composed in a certain way.
   - Simple: To be put together or told in a certain way.
   - _How does the chorus go?_
   - _As the saying goes, better late than never._
37. Of an opinion or order, to be final, to carry authority: whatever the boss says goes.
   - Simple: To be the final word that everyone must follow, used about an order or opinion.
   - _What the captain says goes, like it or not._
   - _Anything the referee decides goes, no arguments._
41. Used as a command to cheer someone on or to show approval.
   - Simple: A word you shout to cheer someone on or to say they did well.
   - _Fans packed the stands, yelling "Go, Eagles!" in the final minute._
   - _Ran a marathon at sixty? Go, Grandpa!_
42. Used after as and a noun to judge one example against what things of its kind are generally like.
   - Simple: Used with as to compare one thing with others of the same kind.
   - _The winter was mild, as Chicago winters go._
   - _As far as cheap hotels go, this one is clean and quiet._
43. To offer, bid, or bet a stated amount, or to pay or sell for one.
   - Simple: To offer or pay a certain amount of money, as in a sale, an auction or a bet.
   - _The buyer said he could go three hundred thousand if we fixed the roof._
   - _At the auction, she went higher than anyone expected._
46. To fall into decline or stop working properly, as a person's sight or mind can with age.
   - Simple: To start to fail or get worse and worse.
   - _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._
47. To be regarded as acceptable, especially in a particular place or situation.
   - Simple: To be accepted or thought of as all right.
   - _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._

## Noun

19. An attempt; a try.
   - Simple: A try at doing something.
   - _It's worth a go, whatever happens._
   - _She had three goes at the exam._
20. A turn at something, especially in a game.
   - Simple: Your turn in a game or at doing something.
   - _Whose go is it?_
   - _Everyone gets two goes on the swing._
36. Approval or permission to proceed, or the thing approved; a green light.
   - Simple: Permission to start, or a plan that has been allowed to start.
   - _Is the deal a go or not?_
   - _Mission control gave the go for the spacewalk._
39. Energy and vitality; the power of doing things.
   - Simple: Energy and the drive to do things.
   - _For seventy she has a lot of go._
   - _The team lacked go in the second half._
40. A strategic board game from China in which two players place black and white stones to control the most territory.
   - Simple: A board game from China, played with black and white stones.
   - _Computers took far longer to master go than chess._
   - _She learned go from her grandfather in Seoul._
44. A single period or spell of activity.
   - Simple: One period of time spent doing something.
   - _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._
45. A time or experience of a particular kind, often described as tough or rough.
   - Simple: A time or experience, often a hard one.
   - _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._

## Adjective

38. Chiefly in military and space use, working correctly and ready to proceed; approved.
   - Simple: Ready and working, in the phrase all systems are go.
   - _The pilot radioed that both engines were running and he was go for takeoff._
   - _The mission is go for launch._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To travel to a past or future period, whether actually, in a story, or by imagining it or studying history.
- (verb) To find one's way through a computer or the internet to a particular location, or to a memory.
- (verb) To cover a stated distance, or to move in a stated manner.
- (verb) To take or follow a given route, course, or path.
- (verb) To make one's way along a road, street, or other route.
- (verb) To move about on foot.
- (verb) To take the step of doing something, typically something foolish.
- (verb) To run or stretch along the length of something.
- (verb) To act in a certain capacity or take on a duty, especially to stand as surety for someone.
- (verb) To lean toward an outcome or help show that something is true.
- (verb) In cricket, of a wicket, to fall when a batter is dismissed.
- (verb) In sports, to achieve a particular record or set of results, such as a number of wins and losses.
- (verb) To ring out or sound, as a bell, horn, or alarm does.
- (verb) To turn to something as a remedy or a way of settling a matter, such as the law or war.
- (verb) To put oneself to a certain amount of effort, trouble, or expense.
- (verb) To review or examine something closely, especially in thought.
- (verb) In pool or snooker, of a ball, to have a clear path into a pocket so that it can be potted.
- (verb) To be in a romantic relationship with someone.
- (verb) To have romantic or sexual relationships with people of one particular race, or to start having them.
- (verb) To get into a fight with someone, often with the fists.
- (verb) To launch an assault on someone.
- (verb) To take a particular share in something, such as an equal half.
- (verb) To weigh a stated amount or produce a stated quantity.
- (verb) To enjoy or feel like having something, especially food or drink.
- (verb) To travel to a named place with the words "to the" left out.
- (verb) To carry young for a stated length of time during pregnancy.
- (noun) Movement from one place to another, or departure.
- (noun) A turn of events, especially a surprising or awkward one.
- (noun) A deed, or the running or functioning of something.
- (noun) Whatever is most fashionable at a given time.
- (noun) Lively, noisy fun and celebration.
- (noun) A serving of spirits, such as a glass of gin.
- (noun) A single serving or helping of something.
- (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.
- (noun) A stylish, fashion-conscious man.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–39, 41–47** — Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- ("to leave") passed through Proto-Germanic *gāną and Proto-West Germanic into Old English as gān ("to go") and then into Middle English as gon or goon. In the 15th century the original past tense, yode, gave way to went, which came from Old English wendan, meaning "to go, depart, wend." Dutch gaan, German gehen, and Swedish gå are relatives.
**Meaning 40** — Chinese 圍棋 (wéiqí), literally "encirclement board game," became Japanese 囲碁 (igo), and the shorter Japanese form 碁 (go) is the source of the English name.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/go (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).