From Middle English gon, goon, from Old English gān, from Proto-West Germanic *gān, from Proto-Germanic *gāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁-.

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

Cognate with Scots gae, Western Frisian gean, Dutch gaan, Low German gahn, German gehen, Swedish - and Danish gå, Norwegian gå. Compare also Albanian ngah, Ancient Greek κιχάνω, Avestan 𐬰𐬀𐬰𐬁𐬨𐬌, Sanskrit जहाति.

• enPR: gō, IPA: /ɡoʊ/
  • (RP) IPA: [ɡəʊ]
  • (America) IPA: /ɡoʊ/
  • (Australia) IPA: [ɡəʉ]
  • (New Zealand) IPA: [ɡɐʉ]
  • (Black Country) IPA: [ɡu]

go (goes, present participle going; simple past went, past participle gone)

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.

      • 2016, [https://web.archive.org/web/20181113034859/https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-2-hello/3113733.html VOA Learning English] (public domain)

        I have to go now.

      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.)

      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

   4. To move (a particular distance, or in a particular fashion).

      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.

   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).

      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]
      • 1485, Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XII:

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

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 192658211X, 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.

   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.

7. (intransitive) To extend along.

   The fence goes the length of the boundary.

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, […]

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

   Does this road go to Fort Smith?

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.

    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.

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.

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.

    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.

18. (intransitive) To die.

    Synonyms: Thesaurus:die

    I want to go in my sleep.

    • 1808 February 21, 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.

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!

    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.

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, H. R. F. Keating, Zen there was Murder ISBN 1448202426:

      '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.

27. 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.

       I woke up just before the clock went.

28. 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.

29. (intransitive) To resort (to).

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

30. 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.

    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.

31. 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.

       Synonyms: harmonize

       Antonyms: 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.

32. (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.

33. (transitive) To (begin to) date or have sex with (a particular race).
34. To attack:
    1. (intransitive) To fight or attack.

       I went at him with a knife.

    2. (transitive, obsolete, US, slang) To fight.
    3. (transitive, Australian slang) To attack.
35. (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.

36. (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.

37. (transitive) To yield or weigh.

    Those babies go five tons apiece.

38. (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.

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

    I could go a beer right about now.

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

    Synonyms: Thesaurus:urinate, Thesaurus:defecate

    I really need to go.

    Have you managed to go today, Mrs. Miggins?

41. (imperative) Expressing encouragement or approval.

    Go, girl! You can do it!

• French: aller
• German: gehen
• Italian: andare
• Portuguese: ir
• Russian: ходи́ть
• Spanish: ir

• French: fonctionner, marcher
• Italian: funzionare
• Portuguese: funcionar, andar, ir

• German: dran sein, ziehen
• Portuguese: ir
• Russian: ходи́ть

• French: devenir
• Italian: diventare
• Portuguese: virar, ficar, tornar-se
• Russian: станови́ться
• Spanish: hacerse (roles, professions), ponerse (moods)

• French: s'en aller, (to go away) partir, (to disappear) disparaitre
• German: verschwinden, weggehen, fortgehen
• Italian: sparire
• Portuguese: desaparecer, sumir, ir-se
• Russian: исчеза́ть
• Spanish: desaparecer

• German: kaputtgehen, kaputt sein, zerstört sein
• Italian: distruggere, disintegrare
• Portuguese: ir-se
• Russian: слома́ться
• Spanish: destruir

• French: faire
• Italian: dire
• Portuguese: dizer
• Russian: говори́ть

• French: faire
• German: machen
• Italian: fare
• Portuguese: fazer
• Russian: говори́ть
• Spanish: hacer

• French: aller
• Portuguese: caber
• Russian: подходи́ть

• Portuguese: ir

• French: sortir avec
• Portuguese: sair
• Russian: встреча́ться
• Spanish: datar, salir (con)

• German: los

go

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.

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

   Synonyms: stint, turn, 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.

4. A period of activity.

   ate it all in one go

5. A time; an experience.
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.”

   • 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."

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

   Synonyms: 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. […] "

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.'

    • 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.

    See Thesaurus:dandy

• French: tour
• Italian: tocca
• Portuguese: vez, turno
• Russian: о́чередь

• French: essai
• German: Versuch
• Italian: prova
• Portuguese: tentativa
• Russian: попы́тка
• Spanish: intento

• French: approbation, feu vert
• Italian: approvazione

go (not comparable)

1. (postpositive, chiefly military and spaceflight) 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.

go (uncountable)

1. (board game) A strategic board game, originally from China and today also popular in Japan and Korea, in which two players (black and white) attempt to control the largest area of the board with their counters.

   Synonyms: weiqi, baduk

• French: go, jeu de go
• German: Go
• Italian: go
• Portuguese: go
• Russian: го
• Spanish: go

1. Abbreviation of Gorontalo, a province of Indonesia.
2. Abbreviation of Goiás, a state of Brazil.

go (uncountable)

1. Initialism of graphene oxide

go (uncountable)

From go, likely with reference to the first two letters of Google.

1. (computer languages) A compiled, garbage-collected, concurrent programming language developed by Google.