I. (|)gō, when followed without pause by a stressed syllable sometimes _gə or +V _gəw verb
( went (|)went ; or dialect goed (|)gōd ; gone (|)gȯn also (|)gän ; or nonstandard went ; going |gō]iŋ, (|)gȯ], ]ēŋ; “gȯing to” followed without pause by a verb is often |gōənə or |gȯnə ; or dialect gwine (|)gwī(ə)n ; or dialect British gaun (|)gȯn ; goes (|)gōz)
Etymology: Middle English gon, goon, gan, from Old English gān; akin to Old Frisian & Old Saxon gān to go, Old High German gān, gēn, Old Swedish & Old Danish gā, Crimean Gothic geen to go, Greek kichanein to reach, attain, Sanskrit jahāti he leaves, abandons
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to move on a course : pass from point to point or station to station : proceed by any of several means
go by train
a good day to go for a ride
went as fast as he could through the snow
held the rail as he went down the stairs
the wheel goes round and round
b. : to be in motion — used especially in a sentry's challenge
halt! who goes there?
c. : to move away from something or thitherward : pass from one point to or toward another that is regarded as farther away : leave , depart
the lobby was filled with people coming and going
had to go so as to catch the train
went two by two into the dining room
go from one city to another
told the dog to go get the ball
go and catch a falling star — John Donne
the men go and cut bamboos in the jungle and bring them to the beach — J.G.Frazer
d. : to ride to hounds
2.
a. : to take a certain course or follow a certain procedure
people who want to know how … they can help to make the world go — Victor Reynolds
b. : to pass in a course determined by established procedure
reports go through channels to the president
c. : to pass by a process felt to resemble journeying
the message went by wire
my eyes went into all corners of the stable — Owen Wister
d. : to proceed by or as if by a mental process or operation
was determined to go to the bottom of the mystery
e. : to proceed without delay — used especially to intensify a complementary verb
if the infernal young fool hadn't gone and got killed — Dorothy Sayers
told him to go hang himself
f.
(1) : to extend from point to point or in a certain direction : run
a new road that goes from the north shore to the south shore
his land goes almost to the river
dates back as far as our records go — T.B.Costain
(2) : to give access : lead
that door goes to the cellar
a path going to the barn
3. obsolete : to move or travel on one's feet at an ordinary pace : walk
but when he could not go , yet forward would he creep — Phineas Fletcher
I have resolved to run when I can, to go when I cannot run — John Bunyan
4.
a. : to be habitually in a certain state or condition
children like to go bareheaded
were advised to go armed after dark
b. : to be pregnant
the fruit she goes with I pray for heartily, that it may find good time, and live — Shakespeare
the elephant goes with young nearly two years
5.
a.
(1) : to come to be taken away, lost, or consumed
a large part of the market for Welsh coal had gone forever — L.D.Stamp
reserves to be brought up when the poet's youth is going — Max Beerbohm
(2) : to come to be spent
the money that he inherited went in a few years
b.
(1) : to come to the end of life : die
the doctor says he may drag on this way for several weeks, or he may go suddenly at any time — Ellen Glasgow
(2) : to pass by : slip away : elapse
the trip … went much more quickly than I had expected — A.N.Whitehead
the evening went pleasantly enough
c. : to come to be given up, rejected, or abolished
if a day on the links left dad too tired … it really looked as if the golf had better go — Dorothy Barclay
one-room schools devoid of plumbing … had to go — Saturday Review
d. : to pass by sale
many items at the auction went for less than their true value
going, going, gone
e. cricket
(1) : fall
three wickets went during the afternoon
(2) : to have one's innings ended by dismissal
the batsman went with his score at 50
f. : to become impaired or weakened : lose strength or effectiveness
his hearing started to go — George Kent
g. : to give way especially under great force or pressure : break
the starboard boat did go , taking with it both davits and part of the starboard rail — H.A.Chippendale
h. : to cease to have an effect or influence
the pain has finally gone
6.
a. : to take place : happen , occur
you seem to try and get me into any … trouble that's going — Robert Westerby
b. : to have course or issue : fare
at the end of her first day on the job, he asked her how it went — Burnham Carter
I only keep my eyes open and see how life goes — Eden Phillpotts
c. : to be in general or on an average : furnish a usual standard or measure
an old town as American towns go — Dana Burnet
the modest price makes it quite a bargain as handsomely illustrated books go — Nation
d. : to be or become especially as the result of a contest : turn out to be
a second election went in favor of his opponent — Broadus Mitchell
the size of the Democratic margin in those cities … determines whether these states go Democratic — Newsweek
e. : to come to be performed or executed : proceed in a certain manner
the play … had been going none too well — S.H.Adams
f. : to accomplish what is attempted or intended : turn out well : succeed
successful novelists whose first plays failed to go — Henry Hewes
when there was a party he wanted to make it go — W.S.Maugham
7.
a. : to apply or set oneself
went to fighting among themselves
b. : to put or subject oneself
go to a great deal of trouble
went to unnecessary expense
c. chiefly South & Midland : to have a mind : intend — usually used in the negative and with a following infinitive
I didn't go to do it
8. : to have recourse to another as a recognized authority for corroboration, vindication, or decision : carry an action or interest : resort
decided to go to court to recover damages
the government will go to the country with this issue
one must go to the original documents for an account of the colony's early years
9.
a. : to begin an action or motion
here goes
go when the light turns green
— often used in the imperative as a signal to start a race
on your mark, get set, go
b. : to maintain or perform a certain action or motion
the music goes round and round
all day the drums and the flutes had been going strong — John Berry
his pulse goes quite rapidly
c. : to function in the proper or expected manner
finally succeeded in getting the motor to go
d. : to keep time
a clock that will go a week without winding
e.
(1) : to make a clear resonant sound : ring
it was midnight when the bell went and I came up to his room — Ngaio Marsh
(2) : to make a characteristic noise : sound
as soon as the starting gun went the contestants began the race
10.
a. : to pass at or as if at face value : have currency
traveler's checks go everywhere
a bit of gossip that once went for truth
b. : to pass from person to person : be current : circulate
the report goes that the expedition was a failure
c. : to become known
herring residues … go as a manure under the name of fish guano — S.J.Watson
went by an alias for two years
11.
a. : to come to be guided, governed, or regulated : act in accordance or harmony
a good rule to go by
was criticized for refusing to go with the times
b. : to come to be allotted or determined
hanging and wiving goes by destiny — Shakespeare
the crushing … realization that this is how things go — Bosley Crowther
c. : to come to be applied or appropriated
a large part of the budget goes for military purposes
d.
(1) : to pass by or as if by award, assignment, or lot
the prize went to a sophomore
nearly all the estate went to the creditors of the deceased
(2) : to pass by inheritance or succession
the farm went to the eldest son
the title goes to the late duke's nephew
e.
(1) : to contribute to an end : be among the constituents necessary for achieving a purpose or result
the qualities that go to make a hero
(2) : to be equivalent : amount
100 cents go to a dollar
12. : to be about, intending, or expecting something — used in a progressive tense with infinitive
may be going to have a relapse
is going to leave town
is going to be a doctor
was going to sing a solo
13.
a. : to carry one's action to a certain point of progress or completeness
went to great lengths in order to meet the deadline
b. : to reach a certain point : attain , extend
his knowledge fails to go very deep
the differences go further than is commonly believed
c.
(1) : to come or arrive at a certain state or condition — usually used with to
the flowers have gone to seed
go to sleep
(2) : to come or arrive at a certain amount or sum — usually used with to
the bidding went to $50 before the chair was sold
14.
a. : to come to be : become
went sound asleep
the tire went flat
he felt his hands go clammy as he spoke — Marcia Davenport
serious matters and noble conventions get out of hand and go pompous — Virgil Thomson
b. : to undergo a change or transformation : turn
the light from the autumn afternoon was fading and the sky … was going from blue to gray — C.B.Flood
15.
a. : to be in phrasing or expression : appear especially in writing or print : read
the great mass of the public or, as the phrase goes, the man in the street — A.B.Walkley
when he was eight years old, so the story goes, he began preaching to the barnyard fowl — H.H.Reichard
b. : to flow or glide rhythmically
these poems go with a lilt
c. : to be capable of being sung or played
a merry ballad … goes to the tune of “Two maids wooing a man” — Shakespeare
the tune goes like this
16.
a. : to be compatible, suitable, or becoming : harmonize — usually used with together or with
the colors blue and gray go together
claret goes with beef
his tie doesn't go with his suit
b. : to be congenial : fit in — usually used with with
the sort of person who can go with any group
17.
a. : to be capable of passing
the piano will barely go through the door
b. : to be capable of being contained or inserted
will these clothes go in your suitcase?
the rod goes into a small hole near the top
c. : to be capable of extending
a belt long enough to go around his waist
enough cotton to make a rope that would go from coast to coast
d. : to have a usual or proper place or position : belong
these books go on the top shelf
18. : to have a tendency : serve as a means : conduce
the incident goes to show that he can be trusted
19. : to admit of being played by all the players — used of a suit in cards
led a spade and hoped that it would go
20.
a.
(1) : to pass as accepted or authorized : carry authority
what she said, went; when she summoned, prior engagements were to be broken — DeLancey Ferguson
(2) : to be acceptable, satisfactory, or adequate : meet with or as if with approval
you make up your own rules today and anything goes — Huntington Hartford
b. : to hold true : be valid
the old saying that it takes all kinds of people to make a world goes for our train — F.J.Taylor
c. : to be of interest or concern
as far as his speech goes, my point about it is this — Arthur Cavanaugh
21. : to empty the bladder or bowels
don't ask for the bedpan during the night unless you really have to go — Betty Smith
transitive verb
1. : to proceed along or according to : follow
from the outset he goes his own pace — H.S.Bennett
asked me if I was going his way
2. : to pass or travel through : traverse
to go its length … with the old houses on one side finally giving way to modern stores … is to experience the meeting of old and new — R.W.Hatch
3. : to set out on : undertake
I am very tired and I oughtn't to go another journey — Mrs. Patrick Campbell
4.
a. : to make a wager of : bet
was willing to go a dollar on the outcome of the game
b. : to make an offer of : bid
was willing to go $50 for the clock
go four no-trump
5.
a. : to serve in the capacity of : assume the function or obligation of
promised to go bail for his friend
b. : to participate to the extent of
decided to go halves if either of them found the treasure
6.
a. : to indicate by sounding : strike
the clock on the mantel went nine
b. : to cause (a characteristic sound) to exist or occur
the gun went bang
the bell goes dingdong
7. : yield , produce , weigh
went a considerable amount
a gigantic striped bass that would go a hundred pounds — Saturday Review
8.
a. : to put up with : endure , tolerate — usually used with a negative
it's that stink of caribou about them that I can't go — Gontran de Poncins
b. : to bear without serious financial detriment : afford — usually used with a negative
insisted that he couldn't go $20,000 for a house
9.
a. : to occupy oneself with : engage in
didn't like anybody to go smelling his rose — Eudora Welty
don't go shooting at moose — S.H.Holbrook
b. : to take pleasure in or receive satisfaction from : enjoy
I could go a soda — Hal Ellson
Synonyms:
leave , depart , quit , withdraw , retire : go is a general term indicating moving out or away; it is a neutral opposite for come. leave centers attention on the fact of separation from a person, place, or thing
leaving his family with their relatives
leaving his boyhood town
leaving the company after 10 years
he is leaving on the noon plane
depart is a slightly formal antonym for arrive
cheers for the ex-president departing for his home
departing from the country
departed on the adventure late in 1523 — C.L.Jones
quit may suggest a separating and going off or away attended by disengaging, freeing, ridding, or disentangling
had given him a disgust to his business, and to his residence in a small market town; and, quitting them both, he had removed with his family — Jane Austen
hesitating to spread its wings and quit forever the body which had been its home — Arnold Bennett
withdraw may suggest a deliberate removal for good reason
constrained by the strength of his convictions to withdraw from the Catholic Church — W.L.Sullivan
the family swarmed about her, shaking hands, pecking her on the cheek, then withdrawing to survey her from a distance — Olive H. Prouty
spent three years in Paris with scientific friends; but feeling the need of solitude, he withdrew to Holland — Frank Thilly
retire may indicate a removal attended with renunciation, relinquishment, retreat, recession, or recoil
prose has had the stage pretty much to itself for the past hundred years largely because poetry has refused to compete with it, preferring instead to retire to a private literary world of its own — Archibald MacLeish
the British retired from Augusta, and loyalism in Georgia and South Carolina was severely checked — H.B.Fant
had been moving forward into a narrower and narrower space as the enemy's center retired — Tom Wintringham
•
- go about
- go after
- go against
- go ahead
- go all the way
- go at
- go back on
- go before
- go begging
- go bush
- go down the drain
- go down the line
- go far
- go for
- go for broke
- go glimmering
- go great guns
- go hang
- go into
- go it
- go one better
- go over
- go places
- go steady
- go through
- go to bed
- go to one's head
- go to pieces
- go to sea
- go to town
- go with
- go without saying
- to go
II. ˈgō\ noun
( -es )
1. : the act or manner of going
a great come and go of officials, with district commissioners arriving and departing in a flurry of uniforms and salutes — Alan Moorehead
2. : the height of fashion : rage
elegant shawls labeled … “quite the go ” — R.S.Surtees
3. : a turn of affairs that is often unexpected : incident , occurrence
funniest go you ever did see — Ngaio Marsh
4.
a. : the quantity used or furnished at one time
you can obtain a go of brandy for sixpence — C.B.Fairbanks
b. : the vessel containing such a quantity
a pewter go
5.
a. : a situation in cribbage when a player has no card that will not carry the count over 31
b. : the score given to the cribbage player who brings the count exactly to or nearest to 31
6. : energy , vigor , spirit
all sapped of go and foresight and perseverance by a cruel providence — John Galsworthy
a play abounding in freshness, vitality, essential theatrical go — E.J.West
7.
a. : a turn especially in a game
told his opponent that it was his go
b. : attempt , try
poets … who produce perfect results at the first go — W.H.Auden
was going to have a go at setting down my observations of public life — A.W.Barkley
c. : chance , opportunity
was given a go at building up the savings department — N.M.Clark
8.
a. : a spell or period of activity
it makes a lot of difference in the drying if one can get a large amount into the sheds in one go — Eve Langley
b. : an attack of illness
I shall never forget her kindness to me when I had a bad go of pneumonia — Richard Rhodes
9.
a. : success
figure out a new type vampire or werewolf yarn and it's a sure go — Dallas Ross
b. : bargain , deal
we've got opium to sell and your people want to buy it and it's a go — W.H.Smith
10. : match , contest
didn't want him to have a hard go the first time out because he wasn't sure how well his leg would stand up — G.F.T.Ryall
specifically : a boxing match
•
- from the word go
- no go
- on the go
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: Japanese
: a Japanese game that is played with black and white stones on a board marked by 19 vertical lines and 19 horizontal lines to make 361 intersections and that has as its object the possession of the larger part of the board and the capturing of the opponent's stones
IV. intransitive verb
: to be of advantage
has a lot going for her
transitive verb
1. baseball : pitch 15b
he went 7 1/3 innings and gave up no runs — D.S.Looney
2. : say — used chiefly in oral narration of speech
I'm the last person to admit I've achieved anything. … But now my friends say it to me, and I go “You're right” — Steve Martin
3. of a sports team or player : to have a record of
I went 11-0 last season
•
- go for it
- go missing
- go public
- go with
- go with the flow
V. noun
: permission to proceed : go-ahead
gave the astronauts a go for another orbit
VI. adjective
Etymology: go (I)
: functioning properly : being in good and ready condition
declared all systems go