go Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
    turn; tour; spell.
    • it's my go
    • a spell of work
  2. noun street names for methylenedioxymethamphetamine
    cristal; ecstasy; XTC; Adam; X; hug drug; disco biscuit.
  3. noun a usually brief attempt
    whirl; offer; crack; fling; pass.
    • he took a crack at it
    • I gave it a whirl
  4. noun a board game for two players who place counters on a grid; the object is to surround and so capture the opponent's counters
    go game.
  5. verb change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
    travel; move; locomote.
    • How fast does your new car go?
    • We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus
    • The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect
    • The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell
    • news travelled fast
  6. verb follow a procedure or take a course
    move; proceed.
    • We should go farther in this matter
    • She went through a lot of trouble
    • go about the world in a certain manner
    • Messages must go through diplomatic channels
  7. verb move away from a place into another direction
    go away; depart.
    • Go away before I start to cry
    • The train departs at noon
  8. verb enter or assume a certain state or condition
    become; get.
    • He became annoyed when he heard the bad news
    • It must be getting more serious
    • her face went red with anger
    • She went into ecstasy
    • Get going!
  9. verb be awarded; be allotted
    • The first prize goes to Mary
    • Her money went on clothes
  10. verb have a particular form
    run.
    • the story or argument runs as follows
    • as the saying goes...
  11. verb stretch out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or extend between two points or beyond a certain point
    run; extend; lead; pass.
    • Service runs all the way to Cranbury
    • His knowledge doesn't go very far
    • My memory extends back to my fourth year of life
    • The facts extend beyond a consideration of her personal assets
  12. verb follow a certain course
    proceed.
    • The inauguration went well
    • how did your interview go?
  13. verb be abolished or discarded
    • These ugly billboards have to go!
    • These luxuries all had to go under the Khmer Rouge
  14. verb be or continue to be in a certain condition
    • The children went hungry that day
  15. verb make a certain noise or sound
    sound.
    • She went `Mmmmm'
    • The gun went `bang'
  16. verb perform as expected when applied
    function; work; run; operate.
    • The washing machine won't go unless it's plugged in
    • Does this old car still run well?
    • This old radio doesn't work anymore
  17. verb to be spent or finished
    run short; run low.
    • The money had gone after a few days
    • Gas is running low at the gas stations in the Midwest
  18. verb progress by being changed
    move; run.
    • The speech has to go through several more drafts
    • run through your presentation before the meeting
  19. verb continue to live through hardship or adversity
    live on; last; hold up; live; endure; hold out; survive.
    • We went without water and food for 3 days
    • These superstitions survive in the backwaters of America
    • The race car driver lived through several very serious accidents
    • how long can a person last without food and water?
  20. verb pass, fare, or elapse; of a certain state of affairs or action
    • How is it going?
    • The day went well until I got your call
  21. verb pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
    decease; give-up the ghost; pop off; perish; die; buy the farm; snuff it; choke; drop dead; pass away; expire; exit; croak; pass; kick the bucket; conk; cash in one's chips.
    • She died from cancer
    • The children perished in the fire
    • The patient went peacefully
    • The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102
  22. verb be in the right place or situation
    belong.
    • Where do these books belong?
    • Let's put health care where it belongs--under the control of the government
    • Where do these books go?
  23. verb be ranked or compare
    • This violinist is as good as Juilliard-trained violinists go
  24. verb begin or set in motion
    start; get going.
    • I start at eight in the morning
    • Ready, set, go!
  25. verb have a turn; make one's move in a game
    move.
    • Can I go now?
  26. verb be contained in
    • How many times does 18 go into 54?
  27. verb be sounded, played, or expressed
    • How does this song go again?
  28. verb blend or harmonize
    blend in; blend.
    • This flavor will blend with those in your dish
    • This sofa won't go with the chairs
  29. verb lead, extend, or afford access
    lead.
    • This door goes to the basement
    • The road runs South
  30. verb be the right size or shape; fit correctly or as desired
    fit.
    • This piece won't fit into the puzzle
  31. verb go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way
    rifle.
    • Who rifled through my desk drawers?
  32. verb be spent
    • All my money went for food and rent
  33. verb give support (to) or make a choice (of) one out of a group or number
    plump.
    • I plumped for the losing candidates
  34. verb stop operating or functioning
    die; give out; give way; break; go bad; conk out; fail; break down.
    • The engine finally went
    • The car died on the road
    • The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
    • The coffee maker broke
    • The engine failed on the way to town
    • her eyesight went after the accident
  35. adjective functioning correctly and ready for action
    • all systems are go

WordNet

Go p. p. of Go
Definitions
obs.
  1. Gone. Chaucer.
Go intransitive verb
Etymology
OE. gan, gon, AS. gan, akin to D. gaan, G. gehn, gehen, OHG. gn, gan, SW. g&adeg;, Dan. gaae; cf. Gr. to reach, overtake, Skr. ha to go, AS. gangan, and E. gang. The past tense in AS., eode, is from the root i to go, as is also Goth. iddja went. a. Cf. Gang, v. i., Wend.
Wordforms
imperfect Went ; past participle Gone ; present participle & verbal noun Going Went comes from the AS, wendan See Wend, intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To pass from one place to another; to be in motion; to be in a state not motionless or at rest; to proced; to advance; to make progress; -- used, in various applications, of the movement of both animate and inanimate beings, by whatever means, and also of the movements of the mind; also figuratively applied.
  2. To move upon the feet, or step by step; to walk; also, to walk step by step, or leisurely. ✍ In old writers go is much used as opposed to run, or ride. "Whereso I go or ride." Chaucer.
    You know that love Will creep in service where it can not go. Shak.
    Thou must run to him; for thou hast staid so long that going will scarce serve the turn. Shak.
    He fell from running to going, and from going to clambering upon his hands and his knees. Bunyan.
    ✍ In Chaucer go is used frequently with the pronoun in the objective used reflexively; as, he goeth him home.
  3. To be passed on fron one to another; to pass; to circulate; hence, with for, to have currency; to be taken, accepted, or regarded.
    The man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. 1 Sa. xvii. 12.
    [The money] should go according to its true value. Locke.
  4. To proceed or happen in a given manner; to fare; to move on or be carried on; to have course; to come to an issue or result; to succeed; to turn out.
    How goes the night, boy ? Shak.
    I think, as the world goes, he was a good sort of man enough. Arbuthnot.
    Whether the cause goes for me or against me, you must pay me the reward. I Watts.
  5. To proceed or tend toward a result, consequence, or product; to tend; to conduce; to be an ingredient; to avail; to apply; to contribute; -- often with the infinitive; as, this goes to show.
    Against right reason all your counsels go. Dryden.
    To master the foul flend there goeth some complement knowledge of theology. Sir W. Scott.
  6. To apply one's self; to set one's self; to undertake.
    Seeing himself confronted by so many, like a resolute orator, he went not to denial, but to justify his cruel falsehood. Sir P. Sidney.
    ✍ Go, in this sense, is often used in the present participle with the auxiliary verb to be, before an infinitive, to express a future of intention, or to denote design; as, I was going to say; I am going to begin harvest.
  7. To proceed by a mental operation; to pass in mind or by an act of the memory or imagination; -- generally with over or through.
    By going over all these particulars, you may receive some tolerable satisfaction about this great subject. South.
  8. To be with young; to be pregnant; to gestate.
    The fruit she goes with, I pray for heartily, that it may find Good time, and live. Shak.
  9. To move from the person speaking, or from the point whence the action is contemplated; to pass away; to leave; to depart; -- in opposition to stay and come.
    I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God; . . . only ye shall not go very far away. Ex. viii. 28.
  10. To pass away; to depart forever; to be lost or ruined; to perish; to decline; to decease; to die.
    By Saint George, he's gone! That spear wound hath our master sped. Sir W. Scott.
  11. To reach; to extend; to lead; as, a line goes across the street; his land goes to the river; this road goes to New York.
    His amorous expressions go no further than virtue may allow. Dryden.
  12. To have recourse; to resort; as, to go to law. ✍ Go is used, in combination with many prepositions and adverbs, to denote motion of the kind indicated by the preposition or adverb, in which, and not in the verb, lies the principal force of the expression; as, to go against to go into, to go out, to go aside, to go astray, etc.
Go transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To take, as a share in an enterprise; to undertake or become responsible for; to bear a part in.
    They to go equal shares in the booty. L'Estrange.
  2. To bet or wager; as, I'll go you a shilling. Colloq.
Go noun
Definitions
  1. Act; working; operation. Obs.
    So gracious were the goes of marriage. Marston.
  2. A circumstance or occurrence; an incident. Slang
    This is a pretty go. Dickens.
  3. The fashion or mode; as, quite the go. Colloq.
  4. Noisy merriment; as, a high go. Colloq.
  5. A glass of spirits. Slang
  6. Power of going or doing; energy; vitality; perseverance; push; as, there is no go in him. Colloq.
  7. (Cribbage) That condition in the course of the game when a player can not lay down a card which will not carry the aggregate count above thirty-one.

Webster 1913