# good

Pronunciation: say "GUUD" /ɡʊd/

## Adjective

1. Having high quality or meeting a high standard, and so better than average.
   - Simple: Made or done well, or better than most others of its kind.
   - _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._
2. Effective or useful; doing its job well, or suited to a particular purpose.
   - Simple: Doing its job well, or useful for a particular purpose.
   - _A cast-iron pan is good for searing steaks._
   - _This spray is really good at keeping mosquitoes away all evening._
4. Favorable.
   - Simple: Positive or hopeful, like good news, good reviews, or a good sign.
   - _The signs are good for the harvest._
   - _The play opened to good reviews from almost every critic in town._
5. Pleasant or enjoyable, including having a pleasant taste.
   - Simple: Enjoyable to have or do, or nice to eat.
   - _Thanks for a good evening._
   - _The weather made for a good walk._
6. Of people or animals, competent or talented, often with 'at'.
   - Simple: Able to do something well, often used with 'at'.
   - _Are you good at chess?_
   - _A good cook needs few ingredients._
7. Beneficial or worthwhile; (with for) helping someone's health or wellbeing.
   - Simple: Helpful or worth doing, especially for your health or happiness.
   - _Eating more vegetables would be good for your blood pressure._
   - _Learning to cook is a good investment of your time._
8. Of people or animals, or of their actions and intentions, morally right, kind, or honest.
   - Simple: Kind, honest and right, said of a person or of the things they do.
   - _Be good to your neighbors._
   - _A good man does not need to be watched._
10. Describing a friend or a friendship that is close, trusted, and valued.
   - Simple: Used about a friend or friendship that is close and that you trust and care about.
   - _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._
11. Correct or proper; in the state that is expected or required.
   - Simple: Right, or the way something should be.
   - _The mechanic checked the tire pressure and said it was good._
   - _Everything was good between the brothers again._
12. Of a quantity or a stretch of time, large in amount, size, or length.
   - Simple: Large or long, used about an amount or a period of time.
   - _A good many people came._
   - _It's a good distance from here to the coast._
13. Adequate or sufficient; not fallacious.
   - Simple: Strong and sensible enough to convince people.
   - _There is good cause for concern._
   - _That's not a good enough reason._
16. Of children or animals, well-behaved and doing as they are told.
   - Simple: Used about children or animals that behave well and do as they are told.
   - _The puppy was good all through the vet's visit._
   - _Good girl, you ate everything._
17. Informal: fine, satisfied, or ready; not needing anything more, or (with 'with') happy to accept something. *(US)*
   - Simple: Fine or OK and not needing anything else, as in 'I'm good, thanks' or 'I'm good with that.'
   - _We're good, thanks, just looking._
   - _Are you good, or do you need a hand?_
19. Physically well and healthy; of a part of the body, sound and functioning as it should.
   - Simple: Healthy and feeling well. Also used of a body part that is not hurt and works normally.
   - _I'm not feeling good, and I think I'm coming down with the flu._
   - _She hopped across the parking lot on her good leg._
20. Unblemished; honorable.
   - Simple: Respected and free of anything shameful.
   - _A scandal can ruin a good name overnight._
   - _The firm is in good standing with the bank._
21. Still safe or fit to use, said of food or other perishables that have not gone stale, rotten, or past their date.
   - Simple: Used about food that is still fresh and has not gone bad.
   - _Check whether the yogurt is still good._
   - _Canned food stays good for years._
22. Of quantities, reasonable in amount.
   - Simple: Used about an amount that is fair and enough.
   - _Twenty minutes is a good length for a wedding speech._
   - _A dozen guests is a good number for a dinner party._
23. Of quantities, full, entire, at least as much as: this hill will take a good hour and a half to climb, the car was a good ten miles away.
   - Simple: Fully, or at least as much as the number given.
   - _He is a good six feet tall._
   - _It was a good three weeks before the letter came._
24. Valid, true, or still in force, so that it can be relied on or honored.
   - Simple: Still true or still able to be used, like a passport that has not run out.
   - _The old rule holds good today._
   - _Her alibi is good; three neighbors saw her at the party that night._
25. Followed by 'and' and another adjective, very or extremely. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Very, when followed by 'and' and another describing word.
   - _He was good and angry by the time she arrived._
   - _I'll leave when I'm good and ready._
26. Stressed in speech, special or best, especially of things such as clothes kept for special occasions.
   - Simple: Special, best or favorite, said with stress on the word.
   - _Use the good plates, we have guests._
   - _Don't take the good scissors for the garden._
27. Trustworthy to pay what one owes, with one's credit still sound; used with for (good for the money).
   - Simple: Sure to pay back money that you owe, used with "for", as in "good for it".
   - _The landlord wanted proof that the new tenant was good for the rent._
   - _My cousin swore he was good for the loan, but I never saw that money again._

## Adverb

3. Well, satisfactorily, or thoroughly. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In a proper way, well or completely.
   - _She did good on the test._
   - _Shake the bottle good before you pour._

## Noun

9. Things made to be sold, or movable things that someone owns, such as furniture and clothes; usually in the plural.
   - Simple: Things that are bought and sold, or things a person owns that can be moved, usually used in the plural.
   - _Stolen goods are hard to sell._
   - _Each good on the list has its own tariff._
14. That which is morally right, kind, or beneficial, as opposed to evil.
   - Simple: What is right or kind, or helps people live well.
   - _Philosophers have argued for centuries about what the highest good really is._
   - _He did it for the good of the town._
15. An outcome or effect that the speaker regards as beneficial or positive.
   - Simple: A helpful or happy result of something.
   - _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._

## Interjection

18. Used as an exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
   - Simple: Used to show you are pleased, or to praise someone.
   - _Good. Now try it again._
   - _Oh good, you found the keys._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Coming from a noble family or holding a high place in society.
- (adjective) Genuine and earnest rather than pretended, as in 'in good earnest'.
- (adjective) Of food or a meal, filling and nourishing enough to meet your needs.
- (adjective) Sacred or associated with God, as in 'Good Friday' or 'the Good Book'.
- (verb) To grow healthier, plumper or more prosperous.
- (verb) To make something better or set it right.
- (verb) To carry out repairs or make things better.
- (verb) To profit or gain an advantage.
- (verb) To help someone or make them better off.
- (verb) To please someone or give them what they want.
- (verb) To praise yourself or look forward to something with pleasure.
- (verb) To spread manure on land to make it richer.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4–8, 10–13, 16–27** — Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd, going back through Proto-Germanic *gōdaz to a Proto-Indo-European root *gʰedʰ- meaning 'to unite, be associated, suit, fit'. It is related to 'gather' and 'together', but not to 'god'. It has cognates across the Germanic languages, such as German gut and Dutch goed.
**Meaning 3** — Inherited from Middle English goode ('good, well', adverb), formed from the adjective. Compare Dutch goed, German gut, Danish godt and Swedish gott, all likewise from the adjective.
**Meanings 9, 14–15** — Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd ('a good thing, benefit, goods, property, wealth'), from Proto-Germanic *gōdą ('goods, belongings') and the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰedʰ- ('to unite, be associated, suit'). Compare German Gut ('property, estate, merchandise').

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