Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To move or travel; proceed: We will go by bus. Solicitors went from door to door seeking donations. How fast can the boat go?
- v. To move away from a place; depart: Go before I cry.
- v. To pursue a certain course: messages that go through diplomatic channels to the ambassador.
- v. To resort to another, as for aid: went directly to the voters of her district. See Synonyms at resort.
- v. To extend between two points or in a certain direction; run: curtains that go from the ceiling to the floor.
- v. To give entry; lead: a stairway that goes to the basement.
- v. To function properly: The car won't go.
- v. To have currency.
- v. To pass from one person to another; circulate: Wild rumors were going around the office.
- v. To pass as the result of a sale: The gold watch went to the highest bidder.
- v. Informal Used as an intensifier when joined by and to a coordinate verb: She went and complained to Personnel.
- v. Used in the progressive tense with an infinitive to indicate future intent or expectation: I am going to learn how to dance.
- v. To continue to be in a certain condition or continue an activity: go barefoot.
- v. To come to be in a certain condition: go mad; hair that had gone gray.
- v. To continue to be in effect or operation: a lease with one year to go.
- v. To carry out an action to a certain point or extent: Your parents went to great expense to put you through college.
- v. To be called; be known: Our friend William often goes by Billy.
- v. To be customarily located; belong: The fork goes to the left of the plate. Where do the plates go?
- v. To be capable of entering or fitting: Will the suitcase go into the trunk of your car?
- v. To pass into someone's possession: All the jewelry went to her heirs.
- v. To be allotted: How much of your salary goes for rent?
- v. To be a contributing factor: It all goes to show us that the project can be completed on time.
- v. To have a particular form: as the saying goes.
- v. To be such, by and large: well behaved, as big dogs go.
- v. To extend in time: The story goes back to the Middle Ages.
- v. To pass by; elapse: The day went pleasantly enough until I received your call.
- v. To be used up or finished: My interest in such things has gone.
- v. To be discarded or abolished: All luxuries will have to go.
- v. To become weak; fail: His hearing has started to go.
- v. To give way; break up: The dam is about to go.
- v. To cease living; die.
- v. To happen or develop; fare: How are things going?
- v. To have a successful outcome: creativity that made the advertising campaign really go.
- v. To be suitable or appropriate as an accessory or accompaniment: a color that goes beautifully with your complexion.
- v. To have authority: Whatever I say goes.
- v. To be valid, acceptable, or adequate.
- v. Informal To excrete waste from the bladder or bowels.
- v. Informal To begin an act: Here goes!
- v. Obsolete To walk.
- v. To proceed or move according to: I was free to go my own way.
- v. To traverse: Only two of the runners went the entire distance.
- v. To engage in: went skiing.
- v. Informal To bet: go $20 on the black horse.
- v. Informal To bid: I'll go $500 on the vase.
- v. Informal To take on the responsibility or obligation for: go bail for a client.
- v. Informal To participate to (a given extent): Will you go halves with me if we win the lottery?
- v. To amount to; weigh: a shark that went 400 pounds.
- v. Sports To have as a record: went 3 for 4 against their best pitcher.
- v. Informal To enjoy: I could go a cold beer right now.
- v. To say or utter. Used chiefly in verbal narration: First I go, "Thank you,” then he goes, "What for?”
- n. The act or an instance of going.
- n. An attempt; an effort: had a go at acting.
- n. The time or period of an activity.
- n. Informal Energy; vitality: had lots of go.
- n. Informal The go-ahead.
- n. Informal The starting point: "And from Go there was something deliciously illicit about the whole affair” ( Erica Abeel).
- n. Informal Informal A situation in which planned operations can be effectuated: The space mission is a go.
- adj. Informal Functioning correctly and ready for action: All systems are go.
- go about To set about to do; undertake: Go about your chores in a responsible way.
- go along To cooperate: They get along by going along.
- go around To satisfy a demand or requirement: just enough food to go around.
- go around To go here and there; move from place to place.
- go around To have currency: rumors going around.
- go at To attack, especially with energy.
- go at To approach; undertake: He went at the job with a lot of energy.
- go by To elapse; pass: as time goes by.
- go by To pay a short visit: My parents were away when we went by last week.
- go down To drop below the horizon; set: The sun went down.
- go down To fall to the ground: The helicopter went down in a ball of fire.
- go down To sink: The torpedoed battleship went down.
- go down To experience defeat or ruin.
- go down To admit of easy swallowing: a cough syrup that goes down readily.
- go down To decrease in cost or value.
- go down Chiefly British To leave a university.
- go down Slang To occur; happen: "a collection of memorable pieces about the general craziness that was going down in those days” ( James Atlas).
- go down To be accepted or tolerated: How will your ideas go down as far as corporate marketing is concerned?
- go down To come to be remembered in posterity: a debate that will go down as a turning point in the campaign.
- go down Vulgar Slang To perform fellatio or cunnilingus.
- go for Informal To have a special liking for: I really go for progressive jazz.
- go for To attack: an opponent who is known to go for the jugular in arguments.
- go for To pass for or serve as: a couch that also goes for a bed.
- go in To take part in a cooperative venture: went in with the others to buy a present.
- go in To make an approach, as before an attack: Troops went in at dawn.
- go into To discuss or investigate: The book goes into classical mythology.
- go into To undertake as a profession or course of study: She's going into medicine.
- go off To undergo detonation; explode.
- go off To make a noise; sound: The siren went off at noon.
- go off To leave: Don't go off mad.
- go off Informal To adhere to the expected course of events or the expected plan: The project went off smoothly.
- go on To take place; happen: didn't know what was going on.
- go on To continue: Life must go on.
- go on To keep on doing (something): Don't go on talking.
- go on To proceed: She went on to become a senator.
- go on Informal To talk volubly: My, you do go on.
- go out To become extinguished.
- go out To go outdoors; leave one's residence: He went out at seven.
- go out To take part in social life outside the home: goes out a lot.
- go out To become unfashionable: High boots went out last year.
- go out To undergo structural collapse: The bridge went out.
- go over To gain acceptance or approval: a new style that didn't go over.
- go over To examine or review: go over the test scores.
- go through To examine carefully: went through the students' papers.
- go through To experience: We went through hell while working on this project.
- go through To perform: I went through the sonata in 30 minutes.
- go under To suffer defeat or destruction; fail.
- go under To lose consciousness.
- go up To increase in price or value.
- go up To be in the process of construction: Office buildings went up all over town.
- go up Chiefly British To go to a university.
- go with To date (someone) regularly.
- go with To select or choose: decided to go with the pink wallpaper.
- idiom. from the word go From the very beginning.
- idiom. go all the way Slang To have sexual intercourse.
- idiom. go back on To fail to honor or keep: go back on a promise.
- idiom. go begging To be in little or no demand: "Prestige or no prestige, directors' jobs at some companies have actually gone begging” ( Bill Powell).
- idiom. go belly up Informal To undergo total financial failure: "A record number of . . . banks went belly up” ( New Republic).
- idiom. go bust Informal To undergo financial collapse: "Railroads were in the news mainly when they were going bust” ( Christian Science Monitor).
- idiom. go by the board To be discarded or ignored: old dress codes that have now gone by the board.
- idiom. go down the line To provide strong support.
- idiom. go fly a kite Informal To cease being an annoyance. Often used in the imperative.
- idiom. go for broke Informal To commit or expend all of one's available resources toward achievement of a goal: "Why not go for broke and take on somebody who is quite young and see what he does?” ( Roger L. Stevens).
- idiom. go for it Informal To expend all one's strength and resources toward achievement of an end or purpose.
- idiom. go in for To have interest in: goes in for classical music.
- idiom. go in for To take part in: goes in for water skiing.
- idiom. go in with To join in or combine with: He'll go in with them on the plan.
- idiom. go it alone To undertake a project, trip, or responsibility without the presence or help of others.
- idiom. go off the deep end To behave hysterically or very recklessly.
- idiom. go one better To surpass or outdo by one degree: He's gone me one better.
- idiom. go out for To seek to become a participant in: go out for varsity soccer.
- idiom. go out of (one's) way To inconvenience oneself in doing something beyond what is required.
- idiom. go out the window Informal To become insignificant or inoperative: "As soon as a third body is introduced to the Newtonian system, all lawful ordering of processes goes out the window” ( Fusion).
- idiom. go places Informal To be on the way to success: a young executive who is clearly going places.
- idiom. go steady To date someone exclusively.
- idiom. go the distance To carry a course of action through to completion.
- idiom. go the vole To risk all of one's resources in the prospect of achieving great gains.
- idiom. go to it To begin something right away.
- idiom. go to (one's) head To make one dizzy or inebriated.
- idiom. go to (one's) head To make one proud or conceited.
- idiom. go to pieces To lose one's self-control.
- idiom. go to pieces To suffer the loss of one's health.
- idiom. go to the mat Informal To fight or dispute until one side or another is victorious: The governor will go to the mat with the legislature over the controversial spending bill.
- idiom. go to the wall Informal To lose a conflict or be defeated; yield: Despite their efforts, the team went to the wall.
- idiom. go to the wall Informal To be forced into bankruptcy; fail.
- idiom. go to the wall Informal To make an all-out effort, especially in defending another.
- idiom. go to town Informal To work or perform efficiently and rapidly.
- idiom. go to town Informal To be highly successful.
- idiom. flames To be utterly destroyed.
- idiom. go without saying To be self-evident: It goes without saying that success is the product of hard work.
- idiom. on the go Constantly busy or active.
- idiom. to go To be taken out, as restaurant food or drink: coffee and doughnuts to go.
- n. A Japanese game for two, played with counters on a board that is ruled with 19 vertical and 19 horizontal lines.
Wiktionary
- v. intransitive To move from one place to another. syn. ant. transl.
- v. intransitive To leave; to move away. syn. ant.
- v. intransitive To be given, especially to be assigned or allotted.
- v. intransitive To extend (from one point to another).
- v. intransitive To lead (in a direction).
- v. intransitive To elapse.
- v. intransitive To start.
- v. To begin an action or process.
- v. intransitive To resort (to).
- v. intransitive To change from one value to another.
- v. intransitive To end or disappear. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To be spent or used up.
- v. intransitive To be discarded.
- v. intransitive To be sold.
- v. intransitive To die.
- v. intransitive To collapse. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To break down or decay.
- v. intransitive To proceed (often to indicate the perceived quality of an event or state).
- v. intransitive To work (through or over), especially mentally.
- v. intransitive To tend or contribute toward a result.
- v. intransitive, often followed by a preposition To fit. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To be compatible, especially of colors or food and drink.
- v. intransitive To belong (somewhere). syn. transl.
- v. To be expressed or composed (a certain way).
- v. intransitive To take a turn, especially in a game. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To attend.
- v. this sense?) (intransitive) To take up a profession.
- v. intransitive To be in a state continuously.
- v. intransitive To survive or get by; to last or persist for a stated length of time.
- v. intransitive To move or travel in order to do something, or to do something while moving.
- v. intransitive To make an effort.
- v. intransitive To date. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To fight or attack.
- v. intransitive, of a machine To work or function. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive To have authority.
- v. intransitive To be valid or accepted.
- v. intransitive To be told; to circulate.
- v. intransitive To be known or considered.
- v. intransitive To sound; to make a noise.
- v. intransitive, colloquial To urinate or defecate. syn. transl.
- v. intransitive, colloquial, usually with "and" To do, especially to do something foolish.
- v. intransitive, archaic To walk.
- v. intransitive, cricket, of a wicket To be lost.
- v. intransitive, cricket, of a batsman To be out.
- v. copula To become. The adjective that follows usually describes a negative state. syn. transl.
- v. transitive To move for a particular distance or in a particular fashion.
- v. transitive To take a particular part or share.
- v. transitive To bet or venture (an amount).
- v. transitive To yield or weigh.
Etymologies
- From Middle English gon, goo, from Old English gān ("to go"), from Proto-Germanic *gānan (“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰēh₁- (“to leave”). Cognate with Scots ga ("to go"), West Frisian gean ("to go"), Dutch gaan ("to go"), German gehen ("to go"), Swedish gå ("to go"), Danish gå ("to go"). Compare also Albanian ngaj, Ancient Greek κιχάνω (kichanō, "to meet with, arrive at"), Avestan zazāmi, Sanskrit jáhāti). Inherited past tense forms (compare Old English ēode), however, have since the 15th century been replaced by forms from Old English wendan ("to go, depart, wend"); this process is called suppletion. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English gon, from Old English gān. Japanese, from Middle Chinese ginodotst.gif. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“CONAN: We were going to talk about it in just a minute, but I think we have to let Cornel go� Ms. SIMON: Oh, you've got to go.”
“A rumpus fun story about 10 clowns who want to go to town, but on each page the readers discover why each clown can't go*.”
“Here you go partner…..go here and look for it, it should be there for you to buy.”
“I'd s'pose Mr. BS has it buried some where in the "crap drivel"..just waiting 4u..go blog racer go blog racer go...vomit/hurl”
“May 22, 2008 at 9:15 am go to the window….go to the window…..go to the window….”
Polo - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“Al Gore should add 'go vegetarian' to the global warming pledge yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'Al Gore should add \'go vegetarian\' to the global warming pledge '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: Meat is the number one cause of global warming.”
Al Gore should add 'go vegetarian' to the global warming pledge
“November 3, 2006 at 12:18 pm i think scarlett is so amazing.her ways of performing herself are so nice and i like it..such a beautiful girl i ever know..go go scarlett.kepp moving on”
“Good: _He was told to go where he ought not to go_.”
“G, g | (go) like _g_ in _go_, _give_, as _gasto_ |”
“Her head was throbbing with the question why this girl would not go -- go -- _go!”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘go’.
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Sweet tooth fairy dominoes
As originally suggested on sweet tooth fairy domino:
Each person adds one word trying to create a single, potentially infinite sweet tooth fairy (please look it up if you are not familiar wit...banana, boat, house, arrest, warrant, peace, sign, post, box, clever, Hans, device and 119 more...
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®emovies
Movies or TV shows where the titles are also common words, generally one-word titles.
lost, alien, bug, elephant, siege, gladiator, flock, captivity, piano, roots, freaks, moonstruck and 269 more...
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Words that are also movies
Unabashedly stolen from a comment made by courier12.
vertigo, serendipity, casablanca, psycho, jaws, fantasia, stagecoach, network, rocky, giant, platoon, unforgiven and 285 more...
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EN - Glasgow stop list
Words to be replaced by a paragraph mark if you are after terms and MWEs.
about, above, across, after, afterwards, again, against, all, almost, alone, along, already and 291 more...
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FUN - gestures
There are thousands of sign languages and possibly millions of gestures in human communication but not all of them have a name. Some are understood everywhere, some are understood everywhere but di...
okay sign, abhayamudra, apology, beckoning sign, Bellamy salute, benediction, blessing, blah-blah, "check, please” sign, clenched fist, Chinese number ge..., Clinton thumb and 360 more...
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Words that can be spelled on an upsid...
Imagine my joy when I was wearing my calculator watch and was first introduced to someone named Leslie - there was exactly enough room on the display for 317537.14.
Edit: I've discove...hi, hello, leslie, sheesh, she, bells, hells, hog, boss, goggles, he, bob and 233 more...
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Words Heard Too Often In Songs
Words overused in modern pop music.
Also see ruzuzu's list: Words that should be heard in songs more often.love, heart, dance, dancefloor, down, take, want, night, fight, baby, like, ooooh and 136 more...
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X Up and X Down
Words that form common phrases (or compound words) when followed by the word "up", and also when followed by the word "down".
For example, "show" forms "show up" and "showdown".show, put, break, back, cut, dress, get, hold, let, set, throw, turn and 81 more...
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Cribbage
cribbage, cribbage board, spillikin, his heels, peg, cards, nobs, crib, dealer, pegging, pip, last card and 23 more...
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a beginners' list
a beginner's list should be about novices and all those that start on new journeys
noob, beginner, new, left foot, threshold, dawn, start, go, adventurer, undeterred, brave, foolish and 61 more...
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position (dynamic)
( visual, descriptive, open list )
related:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/static (opposite list, antonyms)
more:charismatic, lively, animated, shifting, permeate, wobble, shimmer, sparkle, flex, pizzazz, chaos, fractal and 47 more...
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Overused Words
GRRRR
about, like, very, awesome, good, cause, go, hard, bored, sweet, nice, cool and 3 more...
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just popped into my head
words that just popped into my head. Can be anything.
passion, borogoves, charlie chan, sequel, film franchise, just popped into ..., you, go, matrix, the, tetralogy, popsicle stand
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Autantonyms
Words with mutually exclusive double meanings. Also, here are some:
QUASI-AUTANTONYMS: slow up/slow down; bar/debar; bone/debone; burn up/burn down; fat chance/slim chance; fill in/fil...clip, cleave, sanction, handicap, fast, jibe, secrete, aloha, bimonthly, bolt, cheerio, commencement and 141 more...
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G
game, garden, goblin, ghost, ghoul, god, gloom, grim, gift, grow, germ, green and 20 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for go.

yarb A spokesman said: 'As prices go these days,
this is considered more than reasonable.'
- Peter Reading, Proposed Increases, from Fiction, 1979 Jun 26, 2008
lampbane Soon to be a major Hollywood picture, natch. With Matthew Fox as Racer X! Nov 14, 2007
reesetee I can't believe Speed Racer is still around! Nov 14, 2007
uselessness I wish I knew Japanese. Every time someone mentions things like this I get the idea that it's a delightful language, seemingly designed with wordplay in mind. I love the nuances, the layers of meaning. Even in silly cartoons. ;-) Nov 14, 2007
lampbane In Japan, Speed Racer is called "Mach Go Go Go." "Go" means "five" and it's also the name of the main character, G�? Mifune (Speed).
Thus, the title can be read a number of ways, such as "Mach 5, G�? Mifune, Go!" Nov 14, 2007
oroboros Contronymic in the sense: thrive vs. die. Jan 27, 2007