good

Formsbetter, best

Formsbetter, best

Pluralgoods

1. 1
   high qualityadjective

   Having high quality or meeting a high standard, and so better than average.

   The tools were cheap, but they turned out to be surprisingly good.

   Her new album is good, though not as strong as her first one.

   UsageCompares as better and best: the second try was better, the last was the best.

   Similargreat, excellent, decent, fine

   Oppositebad, poor

2. 2
   adjective

   Effective or useful; doing its job well, or suited to a particular purpose.

   A cast-iron pan is good for searing steaks.

   This spray is really good at keeping mosquitoes away all evening.

   UsageUse for with the purpose (good for cleaning windows) and at with the job done well (good at removing stains).

   Similareffective, useful, great, handy, suitable

   Oppositeuseless, ineffective, bad, poor

3. 3
   adverbcolloquial

   Well, satisfactorily, or thoroughly.

   She did good on the test.

   Shake the bottle good before you pour.

   UsageIn formal writing and careful speech, use well instead: she did well on the test.

   Similarwell, thoroughly, properly

   Oppositebadly, poorly

   Note

   The adverb grew from the adjective in Middle English, much as Dutch goed and German gut each serve both roles. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Adverbial good developed from the adjective in Middle English. en.wiktionary.org
   • Dutch goed serves as both adjective and adverb. en.wiktionary.org
   • German gut serves as both adjective and adverb. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   adjective

   Favorable.

   The signs are good for the harvest.

   The play opened to good reviews from almost every critic in town.

   Similarfavorable, promising, positive, auspicious, encouraging

   Oppositebad, unfavorable, inauspicious

5. 5
   adjective

   Pleasant or enjoyable, including having a pleasant taste.

   Thanks for a good evening.

   The weather made for a good walk.

   Similarpleasant, enjoyable, nice, lovely, delightful

   Oppositeunpleasant, bad, awful, horrible

6. 6
   adjective

   Of people or animals, competent or talented, often with 'at'.

   Are you good at chess?

   A good cook needs few ingredients.

   UsageThe skill follows at: good at chess, good at fixing things. Before a noun no preposition is needed: a good cook.

   Similarskilled, skillful, talented, able, competent

   Oppositebad, poor, incompetent, inept

   Note

   A sermon by Robert South plays on the pattern, saying flatterers are generally good at flattering who are good for nothing else. That reproach belongs to the "useful" meaning. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Robert South wrote a sermon containing the stated play on 'good at' and 'good for nothing else'. ccel.org
7. 7
   adjective

   Beneficial or worthwhile; (with for) helping someone's health or wellbeing.

   Eating more vegetables would be good for your blood pressure.

   Learning to cook is a good investment of your time.

   UsageUse for with whoever or whatever gains: good for your heart, good for the children.

   Similarbeneficial, worthwhile, healthy, helpful, wholesome

   Oppositebad, harmful, detrimental, damaging

8. 8
   adjective

   Of people or animals, or of their actions and intentions, morally right, kind, or honest.

   Be good to your neighbors.

   A good man does not need to be watched.

   UsageKind treatment takes to (be good to her); thanks for a kind act takes of (it was good of you to come).

   Similarkind, virtuous, decent, moral, upright

   Oppositeevil, bad, wicked, immoral

   Note

   Lord Henry in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray sets this sense against happiness: when we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The passage has the quoted wording about being happy and being good. gutenberg.org
9. 9
   merchandisenouncountable

   Things made to be sold, or movable things that someone owns, such as furniture and clothes; usually in the plural.

   Stolen goods are hard to sell.

   Each good on the list has its own tariff.

   UsageGoods takes are: the goods are in the van. In everyday English, one thing is an item or a product.

   Similarcommodity, product, merchandise, wares

   Note

   The meaning is old. Old English gōd already covered goods, property and wealth, alongside advantage, benefit and virtue. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The noun's property and wealth senses existed in Old English, alongside advantage, benefit and virtue. en.wiktionary.org
10. 10
    close (friend)adjective

    Describing a friend or a friendship that is close, trusted, and valued.

    She has been a good friend to me since our first year of college.

    The two leaders built a good friendship over decades of working together.

    UsageA good friend of mine names the friendship; a good friend to me says how the person treats you.

    Similarclose, dear

11. 11
    adjective

    Correct or proper; in the state that is expected or required.

    The mechanic checked the tire pressure and said it was good.

    Everything was good between the brothers again.

    Similarright, proper, fine

    Oppositewrong, bad

    Note

    It is not good to be alone, says a fifteenth-century Wakefield mystery play. Tennyson in 1850 writes if all was good and fair we met. Source

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The Wakefield mystery play containing the quotation is dated to the fifteenth century. en.wiktionary.org
    • The play contains the exact words 'It is not good to be alone'. blocksclass.com
    • Tennyson wrote 'If all was good and fair we met'. en.wikisource.org
    • The Tennyson quotation appeared in a work first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
12. 12
    large amountadjective

    Of a quantity or a stretch of time, large in amount, size, or length.

    A good many people came.

    It's a good distance from here to the coast.

    UsageSet phrases with a: a good many people, a good deal of money, a good while.

    Similargreat, considerable, fair, large, substantial

    Oppositesmall

13. 13
    adjective

    Adequate or sufficient; not fallacious.

    There is good cause for concern.

    That's not a good enough reason.

    UsageOften in good enough, with enough after good: not a good enough reason.

    Similarvalid, sufficient, adequate, sound, legitimate

    Oppositepoor, weak, inadequate, insufficient

14. 14
    noununcountable

    That which is morally right, kind, or beneficial, as opposed to evil.

    Philosophers have argued for centuries about what the highest good really is.

    He did it for the good of the town.

    UsageCommon in for the good of the town, a force for good and do good.

    Similargoodness, virtue, right, benefit, welfare

    Oppositeevil, bad, wrong, harm

    Note

    John Jay wrote in 1788 that the good of the whole can only be promoted by advancing the good of each of the parts. The proverb the best is the enemy of the good uses the same frame. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • John Jay wrote the statement in 1788, in Federalist No. 64. avalon.law.yale.edu
    • Jay wrote that promoting the good of the whole requires advancing the good of its parts. avalon.law.yale.edu
    • “The best is the enemy of the good” is an established proverb. en.wikipedia.org
15. 15
    nouncountable

    An outcome or effect that the speaker regards as beneficial or positive.

    Some good came of the long strike: the company finally repaired its unsafe machines.

    Whatever good the new policy was meant to do was lost in the confusion of its first few weeks.

    UsageOften with come out of: the one good to come out of it, some good came out of the storm.

    Similarbenefit, advantage, upside, plus, positive

    Oppositebad

Showing meanings only. Show all 39