v. 1 move (ahead or forward or onwards), proceed, advance, pass, make headway, travel, voyage, set off, tour, trek, wend, stir, budge Would you go to the market for me? 2 leave, depart, go out, move (out or away), decamp, make off, withdraw, repair, retire, retreat, Colloq take off I wish he would go at once She went to her country cottage for the weekend. 3 function, operate, work, run, perform I cannot get the engine to go properly 4 lead, open to, give access to, communicate to or with, connect with or to Where does this door go? 5 lead, communicate with, run Does this road go to Oxford? 6 fit, belong (together), agree or conform (with each other), harmonize, blend, match, be appropriate or suitable (for or to), complement each other: These colours don't go 7 become He went mad when he learnt about the accident 8 fit, extend, reach, span, stretch My belt would never go round your waist! 9 be disposed of or discarded or thrown away, be dismissed, be got rid of or abolished, be given up, be cast or set or put aside, be done with That out-dated computer has to go 10 disappear (without a trace), vanish (into thin air), evaporate Where has all the money gone? 11 pass, elapse, slip or tick away, fly Time goes quickly when you're having fun 12 fail, fade, decline, flag, weaken, degenerate, wear out, give (out); give way, collapse, fall or come or go to pieces, disintegrate, crack I'm afraid the tyres are going When that last support goes, the roof will come down. 13 die, expire, be gone, meet one's Maker, pass on or away, shuffle off this mortal coil, go to one's reward, go to the happy hunting-grounds, go to that great cricket-pitch in the sky, Slang kick the bucket, snuff it By the time the doctor arrived, Graham had gone 14 sound, pronounce, enunciate, articulate, say, utter And this little pig goes 'Wee, wee, wee', all the way home 15 survive, last (out), endure, live, continue How long can we go without water? 16 be used up or consumed or finished The last of our food was gone 17 go to the toilet or the lavatory or the bathroom, move (one's) bowels, urinate, defecate, Slang pee, take a leak or a crap, Chiefly Brit go to the loo, Chiefly US go to the john, Taboo slang (take a) piss or shit We stopped at a motorway filling station because Jane had to go 18 go about. approach, tackle, set about, undertake, begin, start I don't like the way she goes about her work How does one go about establishing a business? 19 go ahead. proceed, continue, move or go forward, advance, progress, go on She told me I could go ahead with the scheme The policeman motioned to go ahead. 20 go along (with). a escort, accompany We asked if we could go along with them to the cinema b agree (to), concur (with), acquiesce (to), assent (to), support Beverly would never go along with a plan like yours 21 go around or about or round (with). a move or go around, circulate I wish he'd stop going round telling everyone about me There's a lot of flu going around. b socialize (with), frequent or seek the company of, spend time with, associate with, Colloq hang around or about (with), hang out (with) The boy is going around with that Collins girl c wander or move around He goes about picking through rubbish bins 22 go at. attack, assault, assail We went at the enemy with all the fire power we could muster 23 go away. go (off), leave, depart, withdraw, exit; retreat, recede, decamp The clouds went away and the sun came out We are going away for the weekend. 24 go back (to). a return (to); revert (to), change back (to) He went back to his old job after the war Can we go back to the way things were before we were married? b originate (in), begin or start (with), date back (to) Our friendship goes back to our childhood 25 go back on. renege (on), break, retract, repudiate, forsake She's gone back on our agreement 26 go by. a pass (by), go past, move by; elapse We used to watch the goods trains go by The months went by quickly since our last meeting. b rely or count or depend or bank on, put faith in(to), be guided by, judge from You cannot go by what Atherton tells you 27 go down. a sink, go under, founder, submerge The ship went down within minutes of striking the mine b decrease, decline, drop, sink, drop The Nikkei Index went down 200 points c fall, be defeated or beaten, suffer defeat, lose, collapse Our forces went down under an onslaught from the attacking armies d be remembered or memorialized, or recalled or commemorated or recorded That day of infamy will go down in history e find favour or acceptance or approval, be accepted His ideas have not gone down well with the council 28 go for. a fetch, obtain, get Please go for help b apply or relate to, concern, involve The rule against smoking goes for you, too, Smedley c fancy, favour, like, admire, be attracted to, prefer, choose, Slang dig I can tell that Peter really goes for Maria I could go for a pint of beer right now. d attack, assault, assail, set upon The dog went for him as soon as he opened the gate e set one's sights on, aim for, focus attention or effort(s) on I decided to risk all and go for Drogheda Boy at 100-8 29 go in for. a enter, enrol, start, begin, embark on, pursue, take up, embrace, espouse, undertake, follow, adopt, go into, US go out for He is going in for a career in boxing b like, fancy, favour, practise, do, engage in I don't go in for mountain-climbing 30 go into. a See 28 (a), above. b delve into, examine, pursue, investigate, analyse, probe, scrutinize, inquire into, study I want to go into the subject of your absences with you, Fanshawe c touch on, discuss, mention I should avoid going into the subject of money with Pauline if I were you 31 go off. a go out, cease to function I saw the lights go off at nine b explode, blow up, detonate, erupt; fire, be discharged The bomb is set to go off in an hour The gun went off, killing the mouse. c occur, happen, take place The conference went off as planned d depart, leave, go (away), set out, exit, decamp, quit She went off without another word e Brit deteriorate, rot, moulder, go stale, go bad, spoil, sour, turn After two days the milk goes off f Usually, go off into. start or break into or out in He goes off into gales of laughter whenever I mention your name 32 go on. a continue, proceed, keep on, carry on; persist, last, endure, persevere He went on coughing all night long The party went on into the small hours. b happen, occur, take place, come about, Colloq come off I have always wondered what went on in there c come on, begin or resume functioning The lights went on at midnight d enter, make an entrance She doesn't go on till the third act e going on. approaching, nearing, nearly, almost, not quite He's six going on seven It's going on eight o'clock. f gabble, chatter, drone on, Brit natter, Colloq Brit witter (on), rabbit on He goes on endlessly about his cars g rely or depend on, use The detective had very little to go on 33 go out. a fade or die (out), expire, cease functioning, go off, be extinguished The lights went out, throwing the room into Stygian blackness b depart, leave, exit He went out at six and has not been seen since c socialize, associate; court, go together, Brit walk out, US date Harry is going out with Annabel 34 go over. a review, skim (through or over), go through, scan, look at, read, study; inspect, examine, scrutinize, investigate I went over your report last night They are going over everyone's luggage with a fine-tooth comb. b be received The first song went over very well c clean, tidy or neaten (up) I've just gone over the entire flat d rehearse, repeat, reiterate, review, go through We keep going over the same things, again and again 35 go round or US also around. a revolve, rotate, spin, whirl, twirl The earth takes a year to go round the sun b suffice, be sufficient or adequate or enough, satisfy Are there enough life jackets to go around? c See 21, above 36 go through. a experience, suffer, undergo, bear, take, stand, tolerate, put up with, brook, submit to, endure, live through, brave I don't think I could go through another war b be accepted or approved, pass (muster) The bill went through without a hitch c See 34 (a), above. 37 go together. a harmonize, accord, agree, fit, go, suit each other, belong (with each other) I don't think that puce and vermilion go together b See 33 (c), above. 38 go under. a See 27 (a), above. b fail, collapse, subside, go bankrupt, succumb, Brit go to the wall, Colloq fold, US go belly up Statistics show that more than 500 companies go under every week in the USA 39 go up. a rise, increase If inflation goes up, the Chancellor will raise interest rates b explode, blow up The munitions factory went up, showering debris over the whole neighbourhood 40 go with. a go together with, harmonize with, blend with, be suitable or suited for, fit (in) with, accord or agree with That scarf does not go with the dress b socialize with, associate with, date, accompany, court, Old-fashioned Brit walk out with, US date I hear that Connie is going with Don 41 go without. do or manage or get by without, lack, be deprived of, need; abstain from, survive or live or continue without In the old days, if you could not afford something, you went without She cannot go without a cigarette for more than an hour.
n. 42 chance, turn, opportunity, try, attempt, Colloq whack, crack, whirl, shot, stab I don't expect much, but I'll have a go anyway