go

 

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go

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From Middle English gon, goon, from Old English gān (“to go”), from Proto-West Germanic *gān, from Proto-Germanic *gāną (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave”).

The inherited past tense form yode (compare Old English ēode) was replaced through suppletion in the 15th century by went, from Old English wendan (“to go, depart, wend”).

• enPR: gō, IPA^(key): /ɡoʊ/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): [ɡəʊ]
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡoʊ/
  • (Canada) IPA^(key): [ɡoː]
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): [ɡəʉ]
  • (New Zealand) IPA^(key): [ɡɐʉ]
  • (Black Country) IPA^(key): [ɡu]

• Audio (UK); “to go”:

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• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Hyphenation: go
• Rhymes: -əʊ

go (third-person singular simple present goes, present participle going, simple past went or (obsolete) yode, past participle gone or (nonstandard) went or (substituted in certain contexts) been)

1. To move, either physically or in an abstract sense:

   Synonyms: move, fare, tread, draw, drift, wend, cross

   Antonyms: freeze, halt, remain, stand still, stay, stop

   1. (intransitive) To move through space (especially to or through a place). (May be used of tangible things such as people or cars, or intangible things such as moods or information.)
      • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VI, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

        She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.

      • 2005, David Neilson, Standstill, →ISBN, page 159:

        […] there was a general sense of panic going through the house; […]

      • 2013, Mike Vouri, The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay, →ISBN, page 177:

        Telegrams to London went by wire to Halifax, Nova Scotia, thence by steam mail packet to Liverpool, […]

      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

        I have to go now.

        Audio (US):

        (file)

      Why don’t you go with us?

      This train goes through Cincinnati on its way to Chicago.

      Chris, where are you going?

      There's no public transit where I'm going.

      Wow, look at him go!

      The rumour went all around town.

   2. (intransitive) To move or travel through time (either literally—in a fictional or hypothetical situation in which time travel is possible—or in one's mind or knowledge of the historical record). (See also go back.)
      • 2002 September 18, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 107th Congress, second session; Senate, page 17033:

        You have to go all the way back to Herbert Hoover to see a performance in the Standard & Poors 500 equal to what we are experiencing right now.

      • 2010, Charlotte Sadler, Time for One More Dance, →ISBN, page 162:

        "I don't know how to tell you this, Aubrey, but you can't go back to 1938 […] the program won't accept any date that I input before 1941." […] "Well, I'll go to 1941, then."

      Yesterday was the second-wettest day on record; you have to go all the way back to 1896 to find a day when more rain fell.

      Fans want to see the Twelfth Doctor go to the 51st century to visit River in the library.

   3. (intransitive) To navigate (to a file or folder on a computer, a site on the internet, a memory, etc).

      For the best definitions, go to wiktionary.org

      • 2009, David J. Clark, The Unofficial Guide to Microsoft Office Word 2007, →ISBN, page 536:

        To access Office-related TechNet resources, go to www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/office.

      • 2009, Lisa W. Coyne, Amy R. Murrell, The Joy of Parenting, →ISBN:

        Go to your earliest memory and to your favorite one, then to one that's difficult to consider.

      • 2012, Glen E. Clarke, Edward Tetz, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One For Dummies, →ISBN, page 280:

        Go to drive C: through My Computer (or Computer in Windows 7 and Vista) and double-click the c:\data folder.

   4. To move (a particular distance, or in a particular fashion).
      • 2003, Harrison E. Salisbury, The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad, →ISBN, page 307:

        The car went a short distance, then halted. There was something wrong with the carburetor.

      We've only gone twenty miles today.

      This car can go circles around that one.

      The fight went the distance and was decided on points.

   5. (intransitive) To move or travel in order to do something, or to do something while moving.

      We went swimming.

      Let's go shopping.

      Please go and get me some envelopes.

      • 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 2:

        ’[R]e you another agoin’ on this crazy voyage?

   6. (intransitive) To leave; to move away.

      Synonyms: depart, leave, exit, go away, go out

      Antonyms: come, arrive, approach

      Please don't go!

      I really must be going.

      Workmen were coming and going at all hours of the night.

      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 39, page 167:

        And following Dee, which Britons long ygone / Did call diuine, that doth by Cheſter tend; […]

      • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XII:

        Like her I go; I cannot stay;
        ⁠I leave this mortal ark behind,
        A weight of nerves without a mind,
        And leave the cliffs, and haste away […]

   7. To follow or proceed according to (a course or path).
      • 1951?, Gunther Olesch et al., Siddhartha, translation of original by Hermann Hesse:

        I'm repeating it: I wish that you would go this path up to its end, that you shall find salvation!

      Let's go this way for a while.

      She was going that way anyway, so she offered to show him where it was.

   8. To travel or pass along.

      We went the full length of the promenade before we found a place to sit down.

      His life story goes the gamut, from poverty-stricken upbringing to colossal wealth.

   9. (obsolete, intransitive) To walk; to travel on one's feet. [11th–19th c.]
      • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XII:

        ‘As for that,’ seyde Sir Trystram, ‘I may chose othir to ryde othir to go.’

      • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 129:

        Master Piercie our new President, was so sicke hee could neither goe nor stand.

      • 1684, John Bunyan, “Battle with Giant Slay-good”, in The Pilgrim's Progress, Part II Section 3:

        Other brunts I also look for; but this I have resolved on, to wit, to run when I can, to go when I cannot run, and to creep when I cannot go.

2. (intransitive, chiefly of a machine) To work or function (properly); to move or perform (as required).

   Synonyms: function, work, operate, run

   The engine just won't go anymore.

   Don't put your hand inside while the motor's going!

   • 1997, New Scientist, volume 154, page 105:

     'Although the lemon is now black and shrivelled the motor is still going strong. If I can make my small motor run for month after month on a single lemon, just imagine how much "juice" there must be in a whole sackful', Mr Ashill said.

   • 2008, Michael Buckley, Shangri-La: A Practical Guide to the Himalayan Dream, →ISBN, page 146:

     […] though his publisher swears black and blue that Kelder is still going strong and still remains an intensely private person.

3. (intransitive) To start; to begin (an action or process).

   You've got thirty seconds to solve the anagram, starting now. Go!

   • 1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 45:

     At leaſt, I'm ſure I can fiſh it out of her. She's the very Sluce to her Lady's Secrets;—'Tis but ſetting her Mill agoing, and I can drein her of 'em all.

   • 2001 June 18, a prophecy, quoted in Mary and the Unity of the Church →ISBN, page 49:

     Be listening for my voice. Go when you hear my voice say go.

4. (intransitive) To take a turn, especially in a game.

   Synonyms: move, make one's move, take one’s turn

   It’s your turn; go.

   I've got all vowels. I don't think I can go.

5. (intransitive) To attend.

   I go to school at the schoolhouse.

   She went to Yale.

   They only go to church on Christmas.

6. To proceed:
   1. (intransitive) To proceed (often in a specified manner, indicating the perceived quality of an event or state).

      That went well.

      "How are things going?" "Not bad, thanks."

      • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

        How goes the night, boy?

      • 1727, John Arbuthnot, Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures. Explain'd and exemplify'd in several dissertations:

        I think, as the world goes, he was a good sort of man enough.

      • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:

        Whether the cause goes for me or against me, you must pay me the reward.

      • 1986, The Opera Quarterly, volume 4, numbers 3-4, page 24:

        I certainly won't mention it to Ben, and will go carefully if he mentions it to me.

   2. (intransitive, colloquial, with another verb, sometimes linked by and) To proceed (especially to do something foolish).

      Why'd you have to go and do that?

      Why'd you have to go do that?

      He just went and punched the guy.

      • 2011, Debra Glass, Scarlet Widow, →ISBN, page 96:

        And even if she had believed the story about a John Smith, she might go telling everyone in town about what she'd seen.

7. (intransitive) To extend along.

   The fence goes the length of the boundary.

   • 2010, Luke Dixon, Khartoum, →ISBN, page 60:

     A shady promenade went the length of the street and the entrance to the hotel was a few steps back in the darkness, away from the glaring sunshine.

8. (intransitive) To extend (from one point in time or space to another).

   This property goes all the way to the state line.

   The working week goes from Monday to Friday.

   • 1946, Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Congress of the United States, Seventy-ninth Congress, First Session, page 2459:

     I think those figures start from 1932 and go to 1941, inclusive, […]

   • 2007, Math for All: Differentiating instruction, grades K-2, →ISBN, page 38:

     Even though they can give a basic fact such as 4×4, I don't know that this knowledge goes very deep for them.

9. (intransitive) To lead (to a place); to give access (to).

   Does this road go to Fort Smith?

   • 2013, Without Delusion, →ISBN, page 191:

     “Where does this door go?” Bev asked as she pointed to a door painted a darker green than the powder green color of the carpet. Janet answered. “That door goes to the back yard.”

10. To become, move to or come to (a state, position, situation)
    1. (copulative) To become. (The adjective that follows often, but not always, describes a negative state.)

       Synonyms: become, turn

       You'll go blind.

       The milk went bad.

       I went crazy.

       After failing as a criminal, he decided to go straight.

       The video clip went viral.

       Don't tell my Mum: she'll go ballistic.

       The local shop wants to go digital, and eventually go global.

       • 2001, Saverio Giovacchini, Hollywood Modernism: Film and Politics, →ISBN, page 18:

         Referring to the American radicals who went Hollywood in the 1930s, Abraham Polonsky argues that "you can't possibly explain the Hollywood communists away […] "

    2. To move to (a position or state).

       If we can win on Saturday, we'll go top of the league.

       They went level with their rivals.

    3. To come (to a certain condition or state).

       They went into debt.

       She goes to sleep around 10 o'clock.

11. (intransitive) To change (from one value to another).

    The traffic light went straight from green to red.

12. To assume the obligation or function of; to be, to serve as.
    • 1912, The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer, volume 36, page 17:

      There is scarcely a business man who is not occasionally asked to go bail for somebody.

    • 2010, Jane Sanders, Youth Justice: Your Guide to Cops and Courts, →ISBN:

      Most welfare workers are not allowed to go surety for clients.

13. (intransitive, copulative) To continuously or habitually be in a state.

    I don't want my children to go hungry.

    We went barefoot in the summer.

14. To turn out, to result; to come to (a certain result).

    The decision went the way we expected.

    • 2014, Tim Harris, Politics Under the Later Stuarts, →ISBN, page 195:

      When Wharton had to relinquish his seat in Buckinghamshire on his elevation to the peerage in 1696, he was unable to replace himself with a suitable man, and the by-election went in favour of a local Tory, Lord Cheyne.

15. (intransitive) To tend (toward a result)

    Well, that goes to show you.

    These experiences go to make us stronger.

16. To contribute to a (specified) end product or result.

    qualities that go to make a lady / lip-reader / sharpshooter

    • 1839, A Challenge to Phrenologists; Or, Phrenology Tested, page 155:

      What can we know of any substance or existence, but as made up of all the qualities that go to its composition: extension, solidity, form, colour; take these away, and you know nothing.

    • 1907, Patrick Doyle, Indian Engineering, volume 41, page 181:

      The avoirdupois pound is one of 7,000 grains, and go to the pound.

17. To pass, to be used up:
    1. (intransitive, of time) To elapse, to pass; to slip away. (Compare go by.)

       The time went slowly.

       • 1850, “Sketches of New England Character”, in Holden's Dollar Magazine, volumes 5-6, page 731:

         But the days went and went, and she never came; and then I thought I would come here where you were.

       • 2008, Sue Raymond, Hidden Secrets, →ISBN, page 357:

         The rest of the morning went quickly and before Su knew it Jean was knocking on the door […]

    2. (intransitive) To end or disappear. (Compare go away.)

       Synonyms: disappear, vanish, go away, end, dissipate

       Antonyms: remain, stay, hold

       After three days, my headache finally went.

    3. (intransitive) To be spent or used up.

       His money went on drink.

       • 2011, Ross Macdonald, Black Money, →ISBN, page 29:

         All I have is a sleeping bag right now. All my money goes to keep up the cars.

18. (intransitive) To die.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:die

    I want to go in my sleep.

    • 1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “(please specify the introduction or canto number, or chapter name)”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC:

      By Saint George, he's gone! / That spear wound hath our master sped.

    • 1978, David Galloway, A Family Album, London: John Calder, →ISBN, page 36:

      After two years of swaddled invalidism, Mrs. Morton emitted a final gassy sigh and died, whereas twenty years later Elihu was to go “just like that,” as the neighbors said, from a stroke.

    • 1997, John Wheatcroft, The Education of Malcolm Palmer‎^[2], →ISBN, page 85:

      "Your father's gone." "Okay, okay, the Gaffer's kicked off. What happened?"

19. (intransitive, cricket) To be lost or out:
    1. (intransitive, cricket, of a wicket) To be lost.

       The third wicket went just before lunch.

    2. (intransitive, cricket, of a batsman) To be out.

       Smith bowls ... Jones hits it straight up in the air ... and ... caught! Jones has gone!

20. To break down or apart:
    1. (intransitive) To collapse or give way, to break apart.

       Synonyms: crumble, collapse, disintegrate, give way

       Careful! It looks as if that ceiling could go at any moment!

       • 1998, Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek‎^[3], →ISBN, page 157:

         I wonder if I hopped up and down, would the bridge go?

       • 2011, Shaunti Feldhahn, The Lights of Tenth Street, →ISBN:

         Sober-eyed commentators safe in their television studios interviewed engineers about the chances that the rest of the dam could go.

       • 2012, Carolyn Keene, Mardi Gras Masquerade, →ISBN, page 38:

         Jackson shook his head. "The contractor said those panes could go at any moment." / "Right. Just like the wiring could go at any moment, and the roof could go at any moment."

    2. (intransitive) To break down or decay.

       My mind is going.

       She's 83; her eyesight is starting to go.

21. (intransitive) To be sold.

    The car went for five thousand dollars.

    The store is closing down so everything must go.

22. (intransitive) To be discarded or disposed of.

    This chair has got to go.

    All this old rubbish can go.

23. (intransitive) To be given, especially to be assigned or allotted.

    The property shall go to my wife.

    The award went to Steven Spielberg.

    • 2007, David Bouchier, The Song of Suburbia: Scenes from Suburban Life, →ISBN, page 19:

      If my money goes to education, I want a report card.

24. (transitive, intransitive) To survive or get by; to last or persist for a stated length of time.
    • 1983, Princeton Alumni Weekly, volume 84, page 48:

      Against the Big Green, Princeton went the entire first and third quarters without gaining a first down, […]

    • 2011 June 4, Phil McNulty, “England 2-2 Switzerland”, in BBC‎^[4]:

      England have now gone four games without a win at Wembley, their longest sequence without a victory in 30 years, and still have much work to do to reach Euro 2012 as they prepare for a testing trip to face Bulgaria in Sofia in September.

    • 2011, H. R. F. Keating, Zen there was Murder →ISBN:

      'Surely one cannot go for long in this world to-day without at least a thought for St Simon Stylites?'

    How long can you go without water?

    We've gone without your help for a while now.

    I've gone ten days now without a cigarette.

    Can you two go twenty minutes without arguing?!

25. (transitive, sports) To have a certain record.

    They've gone one for three in this series.

    The team is going five in a row.

26. To be authoritative, accepted, or valid:
    1. (intransitive) Of an opinion or instruction, to have (final) authority; to be authoritative.

       Whatever the boss says goes, do you understand?

    2. (intransitive) To be accepted.

       Anything goes around here.

       • 1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […], London: […] Awnsham and John Churchill, […], published 1692, →OCLC:

         The money which remains should go according to its true value.

    3. (intransitive) To be valid or applicable.

       The baked beans can go on this shelf, and the same goes for all these other tins.

       • 2014, Shayna Lance King, If You'd Read This Book: You'd Be Employed By Now, →ISBN, page 22:

         [To job interviews, wear] muted colors. No pink or paisley (that goes for you too, guys!) […]

28. To say (something), to make a sound:
    1. (transitive, colloquial) To say (something, aloud or to oneself).

       I go, "As if!" And she was all like, "Whatever!"

       As soon as I did it, I went "that was stupid."

    2. (transitive) To make the (specified) sound.

       Cats go "meow". Motorcycles go "vroom".

    3. (intransitive) To sound; to make a noise.
       • 1992 June 24, Edwina Currie, Diary:

         At 4pm, the phone went. It was The Sun: 'We hear your daughter's been expelled for cheating at her school exams […] ' / / She'd made a remark to a friend at the end of the German exam and had been pulled up for talking. / / As they left the exam room, she muttered that the teacher was a 'twat'. He heard and flipped—a pretty stupid thing to do, knowing the kids were tired and tense after exams. Instead of dropping it, the teacher complained to the Head and Deb was carpeted.

       I woke up just before the clock went.

29. To be expressed or composed (a certain way).

    The tune goes like this.

    As the story goes, he got the idea for the song while sitting in traffic.

30. (intransitive) To resort (to).

    The nylon gears kept breaking, so we went to stainless steel.

31. To apply or subject oneself to:
    1. To apply oneself; to undertake; to have as one's goal or intention. (Compare be going to.)

       I'm going to join a sports team.

       I wish you'd go and get a job.

       He went to pick it up, but it rolled out of reach.

       He's going to leave town tomorrow.

       • a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:

         Seeing himself confronted by so many, like a resolute orator, he went not to denial, but to justify his cruel falsehood.

       • 1990, Celestine Sibley, Tokens of myself, →ISBN, page 73:

         Now I didn't go to make that mistake about the record-breaking drought of more than fifty years ago, but, boy, am I glad I made it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have heard from Joe Almand.

    2. (intransitive) To make an effort, to subject oneself (to something).

       You didn't have to go to such trouble.

       I never thought he'd go so far as to call you.

       She went to great expense to help them win.

    3. (intransitive) To work (through or over), especially mentally.

       I've gone over this a hundred times.

       Let's not go into that right now.

32. To fit (in a place, or together with something):
    1. (intransitive, often followed by a preposition) To fit.

       Synonyms: fit, pass, stretch, come, make it

       Do you think the sofa will go through the door?

       The belt just barely went around his waist.

    2. (intransitive) To be compatible, especially of colors or food and drink.

       Synonym: harmonize

       Antonym: clash

       This shade of red doesn't go with the drapes.

       White wine goes better with fish than red wine.

    3. (intransitive) To belong (somewhere).

       Synonyms: belong, have a place

       My shirts go on this side of the wardrobe.

       This piece of the jigsaw goes on the other side.

33. (intransitive) To date.

    Synonyms: go out (with), date, see

    How long have they been going together?

    He's been going with her for two weeks.

34. (transitive) To (begin to) date or have sex with (a particular race).
    • 2005, Frederick Smith, Down For Whatever, Kensington Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 197:

      You can date black, you can do white, on a slow night maybe even go for an Asian boy, but most likely you'll go Latino unless the aforementioned guys speak a little Spanish […]

    • 2010 November 9, Greg Fitzsimmons, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 166:

      I felt that was an insult to John Lennon, but I married her anyway. Thinking back, I should have gone Asian.

    • 2010, Marty Nazzaro, The City of Presidents, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 131:

      “I could give a flying fuck less if Ronnie dated a Martian, but the fact of the matter is that it would not be cool for him to go Asian. He knows it and I know it.” Ronnie did not respond at all. Shit, he wanted to date Tai in the worst way, […]

    • 2011 May 3, Sandra Guzmán, The New Latina’s Bible: The Modern Latina’s Guide to Love, Spirituality, Family, and La Vida‎^[5], Basic Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC:

      In fact, Hispanics and Asians are riding the wave—26 percent of Latino and 31 percent of Asian newlywed couples were mixed race or ethnicity. And, when marrying out, we went white—four in ten Latinos married a white spouse, […]

    • 2012 March 1, Sylvia Lett, All Night Lover, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 182:

      She's gone black now. That's a big change for you, Cassie. So tell me, is it true what they say about black men?

    • 2017 May 16, Judith A. Yates, "She Is Evil!": Madness and Murder in Memphis‎^[6], WildBlue Press, →ISBN, →OCLC:

      “She went black,” he remembers. “She only started dating black guys. Or foreigners.”

    • 2018 November 27, M.J. Kane, A Heart Not Easily Broken (Butterfly Memoirs)‎^[7], Written Musings, →ISBN:

      “Your twin is dating a white man,” Lashana interjected. […] “ […] Now, let me get this straight, Eb, you've gone white?”

    • 2022 January 4, Radhika Sanghani, 30 Things I Love About Myself‎^[8], Penguin, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC:

      She's hot. Hey, how are your parents about it all? I mean, you're breaking two taboos there—you're dating women, and you've gone white.

35. To attack:
    1. (intransitive) To fight or attack.
       • 2002, “Objects in Space”, in Firefly, Jayne Cobb (actor):

         You wanna go, little man?

       I went at him with a knife.

    2. (transitive, obsolete, US, slang) To fight.
       • 1900, Burt L. Standish, Frank Merriwell's Tricks: Or True Friends and False‎^[9]:

         You've shown me his weak points, and I'll go him whether you stick by me or not.

    3. (transitive, Australian slang) To attack.
       • 1964, Robert Close, Love Me Sailor, page 131:

         As big as me. Strong, too. I was itching to go him, And he had clouted Ernie.

       • 2002, James Freud, I am the Voice Left from Drinking, unnumbered page:

         Then I′m sure I heard him mutter ‘Why don′t you get fucked,’ under his breath.
         It was at that moment that I became a true professional. Instead of going him, I announced the next song.

       • 2005, Joy Dettman, One Sunday, page 297:

         Tom stepped back, considered the hill, and taking off down it. She was going to go him for blowing that flamin′ whistle in her ear all day.

37. (in phrases with 'as') Used to express how some category of things generally is, as a reference for, contrast to, or comparison with, a particular example.

    My cat Fluffy is very timid, as cats go.

    As far as burgers go, this is one of the best.

    • 1975, Private Eye, numbers 340-366, page 9:

      Booster is not a loud trumpeter as elephants go.

    • 1982, Fernand Braudel, On History, →ISBN, page 40:

      They are fairly rough and ready as models go, not often driven to the rigor of an authentic scientific law, and never worried about coming out with some revolutionary mathematical language — but models nonetheless, […]

    • 1991, Katherine Paterson, Lyddie:

      She was, as girls go, scrawny and muscular, yet her boyish frame had in the last year betrayed her.

38. (transitive) To take (a particular part or share); to participate in to the extent of.
    • 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:

      They were to go equal shares in the booty.

    Let's go halves on this.

39. (transitive) To yield or weigh.
    • 1910, Ray Stannard Baker, Adventures in Friendship‎^[10], page 182:

      This'll go three tons to the acre, or I'll eat my shirt.

    Those babies go five tons apiece.

40. (transitive, intransitive) To offer, bid or bet an amount; to pay.

    That's as high as I can go.

    We could go two fifty.

    I'll go a ten-spot.

    I'll go you a shilling.

    I'll go him one better.

41. (transitive, colloquial) To enjoy. (Compare go for.)

    I could go a beer right about now.

    • 1996, Jonathan Goodman, The Last Sentence, Chivers North America, →ISBN:

      'But I bet you could go a cup of tea? I know I could. Always ready for char.' He looked over my shoulder towards Albert Hicks, who was standing in the doorway. 'Albert, could you rustle up a pot of our best Darjeeling? […]'

42. (intransitive, colloquial) To go to the toilet; to urinate or defecate.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:urinate, Thesaurus:defecate

    I really need to go.

    Have you managed to go today, Mrs. Miggins?

    • 2006, Kevin Blue, Practical Justice: Living Off-Center in a Self-Centered World, →ISBN, page 54:

      Clarence was just as surprised to see Richard, and he went—right there in the doorway. I had slept through all this mayhem on the other side of the apartment. By the time I got up, these were all semi-comical memories and the urine had been cleaned up.

43. (imperative) Expressing encouragement or approval.

    Go, girl! You can do it!

44. (UK, Australia, intransitive, colloquial) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Clipping of go to the.
    • 2018 June 17, mya hill, Twitter‎^[11]:

      Going pub now :)

    • 2021 September 9, __merrycrisis, Reddit‎^[12]:

      Ffs I really want to go pub now

    • 2021 October 11, Wilton Public School, Grammar_Focus_Wk3_Y4.pdf‎^[13]:

      I’m gonna go shops on Monday arvo.

    • 2023 November 25, 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕊𝕦𝕘𝕒𝕣 🌸, Twitter‎^[14]:

      Guys I went McDonalds

    • 2024 September 5, NotSureIfIWanna20, “I was sick yesterday, went hospital in the morning at 6 am and came back at 9am.”, in Reddit‎^[15]:

      I had a severe stomach pain, my GP was closed so had to go hospital at 6 am

    • 2024 November 8, bob katya, Twitter‎^[16]:

      Went pub and got a free beer!

• Along with do, make, and to a lesser extent other English verbs, go is often used as a substitute for a verb that was used previously or that is implied, in the same way a pronoun substitutes for a noun. For example:

  Chris: Then he goes like this: (Chris then waves his arms around, implying that the phrase means then he waves his arms).

• Some speakers use went for the past participle, especially in informal contexts, though this is considered nonstandard and is proscribed.
• Like other English verbs, the verb go once had an alternative present participle formed with the suffix -and, i.e. goand. Goand is now obsolete, having been replaced by going, except in a few rural dialects in Scotland and Northern England, where it is considered archaic. Even in such dialects, it is never used to form the continuous tenses. These examples are from the Highlands:

  Goand snell athwart the houf, hoo hent 'im be the swyr. ― Going swiftly across the churchyard, she grabbed him by the neck.

  Goand oot of the holt, she saw a woundor baist. ― Going out of the woods, she saw a magical creature.

• In certain contexts, been is idiomatically substituted for gone as the past participle. For example, one might go to London but later say that one has been to London.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:go.

go (countable and uncountable, plural goes)

1. (uncommon) The act of going.
   • 1993, Francis J. Sheed, Theology and Sanity, →ISBN:

     The Apostles were to be the first of a line. They would multiply successors, and the successors would die and their successors after them, but the line would never fail; and the come and go of men would not matter, since it is the one Christ operating through all of them.

   • 2009, Mark Raney, David Midgett, →ISBN, page 68:

     They talk easily together and they hear the come and go of the breeze in the soon to be turning burnt leaves of the high trees.

2. A turn at something, or in something (e.g. a game).

   Synonyms: stint, (turn in a game) turn, (turn in a game) move, turn

   You’ve been on that pinball machine long enough—now let your brother have a go.

   It’s your go.

3. An attempt, a try.

   Synonyms: attempt, bash, shot, stab, try

   I’ll give it a go.

   • 2012, Alex Montgomery, Martin O'Neill: The Biography, →ISBN, page 196:

     You have to stay and we will have a go at winning the championship next season."

4. A period of activity.

   ate it all in one go

   • 1995, William Noel, The Harley Psalter, →ISBN, page 65:

     This could mean that the artist traced the illustration in two goes, as it were, or that the Utrecht Psalter slipped while he was tracing, but I do not think that the relative proportions are consistent enough to demonstrate this.

5. A time; an experience.
   • 2011 May 20, Sue L Hall M D, For the Love of Babies: One Doctor's Stories about Life in the Neonatal ICU, WorldMaker Media, →ISBN, page 155:

     Even if she was bigger and more mature, she would have a tough go of it. We have read a lot on this diagnosis and have known from the beginning what she has been up against.” “It's true about this being a tough go,” I said. “Listen, I'm very sorry, but I'm on call here tomorrow and I will […]"

   • 2013 July 2, Addison Fox, From This Moment On: An Alaskan Nights Novella (A Penguin Special from Signet Eclipse), Penguin, →ISBN:

     "She's had a rough go of things and no one wants to see her hurt.” Jason stared at Kate's slender frame, backlit by a spear of sunlight breaking through the cloud cover. "Then that makes the entire town plus one."

   • 2015 May 26, Dr. Kevin Leman, Jeff Nesbit, A Perfect Ambition (The Worthington Destiny Book 1): A Novel, Revell, →ISBN:

     With public opinion turned more empathetic toward AF with the bombing of their building, Sarah and the Justice Department would have a tough go of it. But if this really was true [that they were behind the bombing themselves], and the media got ahold of it. . .

6. (slang, dated) A circumstance or occurrence; an incident, often unexpected.
   • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, in 1868, The Works of Charles Dickens, Volume 2: Nicholas Nickleby, Martin Chuzzlewit, American Notes, page 306,

     “Well, this is a pretty go, is this here! An uncommon pretty go!

   • 1869, Punch, volume 57, page 257:

     “Ain't this a rum go? This is a queer sort of dodge for lighting the streets.”

   • 1839, Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby:

     The images of Mrs. Squeers, my daughter, and my son Wackford, all short of vittles, is perpetually before me; every other consideration melts away and vanishes, in front of these; the only number in all arithmetic that I know of, as a husband and a father, is number one, under this here most fatal go!

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     "Supposing now that some of them were to slip into the boat at night and cut the cable, make off with her? That would be a pretty go, that would."

   • 2018 February 11, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis, 01:02:03 from the start, in Endeavour(Cartouche), season 5, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by DCI Fred Thursday (Roger Allam):

     “It’s a rum go and no mistake.”

7. An approval or permission to do something, or that which has been approved.

   Synonym: green light

   We will begin as soon as the boss says it's a go.

   • 1894, Bret Harte, The Sheriff of Siskyou:

     "Well, Tom, is it a go? You can trust me, for you'll have the thousand in your pocket before you start. […] "

   • 2009, Craig Nelson, Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, →ISBN:

     And as soon as we gave them the go to continue, we lost communication.

8. An act; the working or operation.
   • 1598, John Marston, Pigmalion, The Metamorphosis of Pigmalions Image and Certaine Satyres, 1856, J. O. Halliwell (editor), The Works of John Marston: Reprinted from the Original Editions, Volume 3, page 211,

     Let this suffice, that that same happy night,
     So gracious were the goes of marriage […]

9. (dated) The fashion or mode.

   Synonyms: mode, style, trend

   quite the go

   • 1852, Jane Thomas (née Pinhorn), The London and Paris ladies' magazine of fashion (page 97)

     We are blowing each other out of the market with cheapness; but it is all the go, so we must not be behind the age.

10. (dated) Noisy merriment.

    a high go

    • 1820, Thomas Moore, W. Simpkin, R. Marshall, Jack Randall's Diary of Proceedings at the House of Call for Genius:

      Gemmen (says he), you all well know
      The joy there is whene'er we meet;
      It's what I call the primest go,
      And rightly named, 'tis—'quite a treat,' […]

11. (slang, archaic) A glass of spirits; a quantity of spirits.

    Synonyms: gage, measure

    • 1820, Thomas Moore, W. Simpkin, R. Marshall, Jack Randall's Diary of Proceedings at the House of Call for Genius:

      Jack Randall then impatient rose, / And said, ‘Tom's speech were just as fine / If he would call that first of goes [i.e. gin] / By that genteeler name—white wine.'

    • 1836, Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz:

      When the cloth was removed, Mr. Thomas Potter ordered the waiter to bring in two goes of his best Scotch whiskey, with warm water and sugar, and a couple of his "very mildest" Havannas,

    • 1868 March, In a City Bus, in the Eclectic Magazine, new series volume VII, number 3:

      “Then, if you value it so highly,” I said, “you can hardly object to stand half a go of brandy for its recovery.”

12. (dated) A portion
    • 1904, Edith Nesbit, The New Treasure Seekers, Chapter 1:

      Albert's uncle had had a jolly good breakfast—fish and eggs and bacon and three goes of marmalade.

13. (uncountable) Power of going or doing; energy; vitality; perseverance.

    Synonyms: energy, flair, liveliness, perseverance, pizzazz, spirit, verve, vigour, vim, vitality, zest

    There is no go in him.

14. (cribbage) The situation where a player cannot play a card which will not carry the aggregate count above thirty-one.
15. (obsolete, British slang) A dandy; a fashionable person.
    • 1881, Pierce Egan, chapter VII, in Tom and Jerry‎^[17], page 136:

      That TOM, who was the GO among the GOES, in the very centre of fashion in London, should have to encounter the vulgar stare of this village; or, that the dairy-maid should leave off skimming her cream to take a peep at our hero, as he mounted his courser, is not at all surprising: and TOM only smiled at this provincial sort of rudeness.

    • 2012, Kate Ross, A Broken Vessel:

      He's a go among the goes, is Mr. Kestrel. He's only got to sport a new kind of topper, or tie his crumpler a new way, and every gentry-cove in town does just the same.

    See Thesaurus:dandy