From Middle Englishgon, goon, from Old Englishgān(“to go”), from Proto-Germanic*gāną(“to go”), from Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰeh₁-(“to leave”). The inherited past tense form yode (compare Old Englishēode) was replaced through suppletion in the 15th century by went, from Old Englishwendan(“to go, depart, wend”).
Cognate with Scotsgae(“to go”), West Frisiangean(“to go”), Low Germangahn(“to go”), Dutchgaan(“to go”), Germangehen(“to go”), Swedish and Danishgå(“to go”), Norwegiangå(“to walk”). Compare also Albanianngah(“to run, drive, go”), Ancient Greekκιχάνω(kikhánō, “to meet with, arrive at”), Avestan𐬰𐬀𐬰𐬁𐬨𐬌 (zazāmi), Sanskritजहाति(jáhāti)
go (third-person singular simple presentgoes, present participlegoing, simple pastwentor(archaic)yode, past participlegone)
To move:
(intransitive) To move through space (especially to or through a place). (May be used of tangible things like people or cars, or intangible things like moods or information.)syn.ant.transl.
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.
(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.
(intransitive) To navigate (to a file or folder on a computer, a site on the internet, a memory, etc).
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.
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.
(intransitive) To move or travel in order to do something, or to do something while moving.
(intransitive) To leave; to move away. syn.ant.
(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, in Kupperman 1988, page 129:
Master Piercie our new President, was so sicke hee could neither goe nor stand.
(intransitive, chiefly of a machine) To work or function (properly); to move or perform (as required). syn.transl.
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.
(intransitive) To start; to begin (an action or process).
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.
(intransitive) To take a turn, especially in a game. syn.transl.
(intransitive) To attend.
To proceed:
(intransitive) To proceed (often in a specified manner, indicating the perceived quality of an event or state).
(Can we date this quote by Arbuthnot and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
I think, as the world goes, he was a good sort of man enough.
(Can we date this quote by I. Watts and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
Whether the cause goes for me or against me, you must pay me the reward.
1986, The Opera Quarterly, volume 4, issues 3-4, page 24:
I certainly won't mention it to Ben, and will go carefully if he mentions it to me.
(intransitive, colloquial, with another verb, sometimes linked by and) To proceed (especially to do something foolish).
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.
To follow or travel along (a path):
To follow or proceed according to (a course or path).
She was going that way anyway, so she offered to show him where it was.
To travel or pass along.
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.
(intransitive) To extend (from one point in time or space to another).
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.
(intransitive) To lead (to a place); to give access to.
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.”
(copula) To become. (The adjective that follows usually describes a negative state.)syn.transl.
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 […]"
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.
(intransitive) To continuously or habitually be in a state.
To come to (a certain condition or state).
they went into debt, she goes to sleep around 10 o'clock, the local shop wants to go digital, and eventually go global
(intransitive) To change (from one value to another) in the meaning of wend.
To turn out, to result; to come to (a certain result).
How did your meeting with Smith go?
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.
(intransitive) To tend (toward a result).
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.
To pass, to be used up:
(intransitive, of time) To elapse, to pass; to slip away. (Compare go by.)
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 […]
(intransitive) To end or disappear. (Compare go away.)syn.transl.
(intransitive) To be spent or used up.
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.
(intransitive) To die.
(Can we date this quote by Walter Scott and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
By Saint George, he's gone! / That spear wound hath our master sped.
(intransitive) To be discarded.
(intransitive, cricket) To be lost or out:
(intransitive, cricket, of a wicket) To be lost.
(intransitive, cricket, of a batsman) To be out.
To break down or apart:
(intransitive) To collapse or give way, to break apart. syn.transl.
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.
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."
(intransitive) To break down or decay.
(intransitive) To be sold.
(intransitive) To be given, especially to be assigned or allotted.
(transitive, intransitive) To survive or get by; to last or persist for a stated length of time.
Against the Big Green, Princeton went the entire first and third quarters without gaining a first down, […]
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?'
(transitive, sports) To have a certain record.
To be authoritative, accepted, or valid:
(intransitive) To have (final) authority; to be authoritative.
(intransitive) To be accepted.
Bible, 1 Samuel 17:12
The man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
(Can we date this quote by John Locke and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
[The money] should go according to its true value.
(intransitive) To be valid.
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!) […]
To say (something), to make a sound:
(transitive, slang) To say (something, aloud or to oneself). (Often used in present tense.)
(transitive) To make the (specified) sound. transl.
(intransitive) To sound; to make a noise.
To be expressed or composed (a certain way).
(intransitive) To resort (to).
To apply or subject oneself to:
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.
(Can we date this quote by Philip Sidney and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
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.
(intransitive) To make an effort, to subject oneself (to something).
(intransitive) To work (through or over), especially mentally.
To fit (in a place, or together with something):
(intransitive, often followed by a preposition) To fit. syn.transl.
(intransitive) To be compatible, especially of colors or food and drink.
Synonym:harmonize
Antonym:clash
(intransitive) To belong (somewhere). syn.transl.
(intransitive) To date. syn.transl.
To attack:
(intransitive) To fight or attack.
(transitive, Australian slang) To attack.
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.
To be in general; to be usually.
As sentences go, this one is pretty boring.
(transitive) To take (a particular part or share); to participate in to the extent of.
(Can we date this quote by L'Estrange and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
They were to go equal shares in the booty.
(transitive) To yield or weigh.
(transitive, intransitive) To offer, bid or bet an amount; to pay.
(transitive, colloquial) To enjoy. (Compare go for.)
(intransitive, colloquial) To urinate or defecate. syn.transl.
Usage notes
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 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.)
Conjugation
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:go.
(depart def.ant.): depart, leave, exit, go away, go out
(function def.transl.): function, work, operate
(take a turn def.transl.): move, make one's move, take one’s turn
(become def.transl.): become, turn, change into
(disappear def.ant.transl.): disappear, vanish, go away; end, dissipate
(collapse def.transl.): crumble, collapse, disintegrate, give way
(fit): def.transl. fit, pass, stretch, come, make it
(belong in a place def.transl.): belong, have a place
(date def.transl.): go out (with), date, see
(urinate or defecate def.transl.):See Thesaurus:urinate and Thesaurus:defecate
Antonyms
(move def.syn.transl.): freeze, halt, remain, stand still, stay, stop
(depart def.syn.transl.): come, arrive, approach
(disappear def.syn.transl.): remain, stay, hold
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
go (countable and uncountable, pluralgoes)
(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.
A turn at something, or in something (e.g. a game).
You’ve been on that pinball machine long enough—now let your brother have a go.
It’s your go.
An attempt, a try.
I’ll give it a go.
An approval or permission to do something, or that which has been approved.
We will begin as soon as the boss says it's a go.
(Can we date this quote by Bret Harte and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
"Well," said Fleming, "is it a go?"
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.
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 […]
(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.”
(dated) The fashion or mode.
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.
(dated) Noisy merriment.
a high go
(slang, archaic) A glass of spirits; a quantity of spirits.
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.”
(uncountable) Power of going or doing; energy; vitality; perseverance.
There is no go in him.
(cribbage) The situation where a player cannot play a card which will not carry the aggregate count above thirty-one.
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.
(obsolete, British slang) A dandy; a fashionable person.
Synonyms
(turn at something): stint, turn; (turn in a game): move, turn
(postpositive) Working correctly and ready to commence operation; approved and able to be put into action.
1962, United States. Congress, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress, page 2754:
John Glenn reports all systems are go.
1964, Instruments and Control Systems
"Life support system is go," said the earphone.
2011, Matthew Stover, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor: Star Wars Legends, Del Rey (→ISBN)
“Green One has four starts and is go.”
2016, Tim Brewster, Stuck: It's About to Get Very Weird..., Lulu.com (→ISBN), page 118:
“Weapons ready?” Sam and I pull our loaded BB guns out of the bag and slot them into place in the longholsters on our backs.“ Weapons are go,” Sam replied.
Etymology 2
From the Japanese character 碁(go), though it is usually called 囲碁(igo) in Japanese, taken from the Chinese character 圍棋.
Alternative forms
Go
Noun
go (uncountable)
(board games) A strategic board game, originally from China, in which two players (black and white) attempt to control the largest area of the board with their counters.
Synonyms
weiqi
Translations
Further reading
go at OneLook Dictionary Search
go in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
Anagrams
'og, O.G., OG, Og, og
Arigidi
Adjective
go
tall
References
B. Oshodi, The HTS (High Tone Syllable) in Arigidi: An Introduction, in the Nordic Journal of African Studies 20(4): 263–275 (2011)
Czech
Noun
gon
(board games) go
Dutch
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -oː
Noun
gon (uncountable)
(board games) go
Esperanto
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɡo/
Hyphenation: go
Audio:
Noun
go (accusative singulargo-on, pluralgo-oj, accusative pluralgo-ojn)
The name of the Latin-script letter G.
See also
(Latin-script letter names)litero; a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo
Finnish
Etymology
From Japanese碁(go).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈɡoː/, [ˈɡo̞ː]
Noun
go
go (game)
Declension
French
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɡo/
Rhymes: -o
Etymology 1
Noun
gom (pluralgo)
go (board game)
Synonyms
jeu de go
Etymology 2
Variant forms.
Noun
gom (pluralgos)
Alternative form of gau
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Bambarago, from Englishgirl.
Noun
gof (pluralgoorgos)
kweng, girl
Further reading
“go” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Hungarian
Etymology
From Japanese碁(go), though it is usually called 囲碁(igo) in Japanese.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈɡoː]
Noun
go (pluralgók)
(board games) go
Declension
Derived terms
gózik
gotábla
Indonesian
Etymology
From the Japanese碁(go) character, though it is usually called 囲碁(igo) in Japanese.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɡo/
Hyphenation: go
Noun
go (plural, first-person possessivegoku, second-person possessivegomu, third-person possessivegonya)
(board games) A strategic board game, originally from China, in which two players (black and white) attempt to control the largest area of the board with their counters.
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irishco, from Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm(“next to, at, with, along”). Cognate with Germange-(“with”) (collective prefix) and gegen(“toward, against”), Englishgain-, Spanishcon(“with”), Russianко(ko, “to”).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɡɔ/, /ɡə/
Conjunction
go(triggers eclipsis, takes dependent form of irregular verbs)
that (used to introduce a subordinate clause)
used to introduce a subjunctive hortative
until, till
Synonyms
(until):go dtí go
Related terms
(introducing subordinate clause; until):
gur(for past tenses)
nach(for negated clauses)
nár(for past tenses in negated clauses)
(introducing subjunctive hortative):nár(for a negative wish)
Preposition
go (plus dative, triggers h-prothesis, before the definite articlegos)
to (with places), till, until
Usage notes
In the meaning "to", used with place names that do not start with a definite article. Place names that do start with a definite article take the preposition go dtí instead.
Synonyms
go dtí
Particle
go(triggers h-prothesis)
used to make temporary state adverbs and predicative adjectives
(compare: Is maith mé I am good)
Italian
Noun
gom
(board games) go
Iu Mien
Etymology
From Proto-Hmong-Mien*qʷuw(“far”). Cognate with White Hmongdeb.
Adjective
go
far, distant
Japanese
Romanization
go
Rōmaji transcription of ご
Rōmaji transcription of ゴ
Middle English
Verb
go
Alternative form of gon(“to go”)
Northern Sami
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
(Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈko/
Conjunction
go
when
when, as
since, because
(in comparisons) than
Further reading
Koponen, Eino; Ruppel, Klaas; Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002-2008) Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages[7], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland
Larsson, Evert, Söderström, Sven, “god a. go:”, in Hössjömålet : ordbok över en sydvästerbottnisk dialekt [The Hössjö speech: dictionary of a southern Westrobothnian dialect] (in Swedish) →ISBN, page 74