good
see also: Good
Pronunciation
  • enPR: go͝od, IPA: /ɡʊd/
  • (GA) IPA: [ɡʊ̈d], [ɡɪ̈d]
  • (AAVE) enPR: go͝o(d), IPA: /ɡʊ(d)/
Adjective

good (comparative better, superlative best)

  1. (of people)
    1. Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral.
      good intentions
      • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
        It is not good to be alone, to walk here in this worthly wone.
      • 1500?, Evil Tongues ↗ː
        If any man would begin his sins to reny, or any good people that frae vice deed rest ain. What so ever he were that to virtue would apply, But an ill tongue will all overthrow again.
      • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ch.6
        When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.
    2. Competent or talented.
      a good swimmer
      • 2016, [https://web.archive.org/web/20170918070146/https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-3-i-am-here/3126527.html VOA Learning English] (public domain)
        And Marsha says I am a good cook!
    3. Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit; used with for.
      Can you lend me fifty dollars? You know I'm good for it.
    4. (US) Satisfied or at ease
      Would you like a glass of water? — I'm good.
      [Are] you good? — Yeah, I'm fine.
    5. (archaic) Of high rank or birth.
      • 1595 December 9 (first known performance)​, William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i], page 23 ↗, column 1–2:
        Thou art a Traitor, and a Miſcreant;
        Too good to be ſo, and too bad to liue,
        Since the more faire and chriſtall is the skie,
        The vglier ſeeme the cloudes that in it flye:
  2. (of capabilities)
    1. Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
      it’s a good watch;  the flashlight batteries are still good
      • 1526, Herball ↗ː
        Against cough and scarceness of breath caused of cold take the drink that it hath been sodden in with Liquorice[,] or that the powder hath been sodden in with dry figs[,] for the same the electuary called dyacalamentum is good[,] and it is made thus.
    2. Effective.
      a good worker
      • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, OCLC 7780546 ↗; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], OCLC 2666860 ↗, page 0091 ↗:
        There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
    3. (obsolete) Real; actual; serious.
      in good sooth
      • c. 1598–1600, William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
        Love no man in good earnest.
  3. (properties and qualities)
    1. (of food)
      1. Edible; not stale or rotten.
        The bread is still good.
      2. Having a particularly pleasant taste.
        The food was very good.
        • c. 1430 (reprinted 1888), Thomas Austin, ed., Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London: N. Trübner & Co. for the Early English Text Society, volume I, OCLC 374760 ↗, page 11:
          Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke […] caste þher-to Safroun an Salt […]
        • 1962 (quoting 1381 text), Hans Kurath & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-01044-8, page 1242:
          dorrẹ̅, dōrī adj. & n. […] cook. glazed with a yellow substance; pome(s ~, sopes ~. […] 1381 Pegge Cook. Recipes page 114: For to make Soupys dorry. Nym onyons […] Nym wyn […] toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and god Almande mylk.
      3. Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.
        Eat a good dinner so you will be ready for the big game tomorrow.
    2. Healthful.
      Exercise and a varied diet are good for you.
    3. Pleasant; enjoyable.
      We had a good time.
    4. Favourable.
      a good omen;  good weather
    5. Unblemished; honourable.
      a person's good name
    6. Beneficial; worthwhile.
      a good job
    7. Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
      • c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act I, scene i]:
        My reasons are both good and weighty.
  4. (colloquial, when with and) Very, extremely. See good and.
    The soup is good and hot.
  5. Holy (especially when capitalized) .
    Good Friday
  6. (of quantities)
    1. Reasonable in amount.
      all in good time
    2. Large in amount or size.
      a good while longer;  a good number of seeds;  A good part of his day was spent shopping.  It will be a good while longer until he's done.  He's had a good amount of troubles, he has.
      • 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter III, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen, OCLC 12026604 ↗; republished New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1919, OCLC 491297620 ↗:
        The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them, […].
    3. Full; entire; at least as much as.
      This hill will take a good hour and a half to climb.  The car was a good ten miles away.
      • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], OCLC 16832619 ↗, page 16 ↗:
        Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations Translations
  • German: gut
  • Portuguese: bom
  • Russian: хоро́ший
  • Spanish: bien
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • French: bon
  • German: gut
  • Portuguese: bom, boa
  • Russian: хоро́ший
  • Spanish: bueno, güeno
Interjection
  1. That is good; an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
    Good! I can leave now.
Translations Adverb

good (comparative better, superlative best)

  1. (nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.
    The boy done good. (did well)
    • 2007 April 19, Jimmy Wales, “Jimmy Wales on the User-Generated Generation”, Fresh Air, WHYY, Pennsylvania [https://web.archive.org/web/20070423020137/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9683874]
      The one thing that we can't do...is throw out the baby with the bathwater.... We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this...high-quality website.
Noun

good

  1. (uncountable) The forces or behaviours that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.
    Antonyms: bad, evil
  2. (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.
    Antonyms: bad
  3. (uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.
    The best is the enemy of the good.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Psalms 4:6 ↗:
      There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
    • 1788, John Jay, The Federalist Papers No. 64:
      […] the government must be a weak one indeed, if it should forget that the good of the whole can only be promoted by advancing the good of each of the parts or members which compose the whole.
  4. (countable, usually, in the plural) An item of merchandise.
    • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene i]:
      Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
Translations Translations Translations Verb

good (goods, present participle gooding; past and past participle gooded)

  1. (intransitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
  2. (transitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To make good; turn to good; improve.
  3. (intransitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To make improvements or repairs.
  4. (intransitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To benefit; gain.
  5. (transitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
  6. (transitive, now, chiefly dialectal) To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
  7. (reflexive, now, chiefly dialectal) To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.
Verb

good (goods, present participle gooding; past and past participle gooded)

  1. (transitive, now, chiefly dialectal, Scotland) To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.

Good
Pronunciation Proper noun
  1. Surname
  2. An unincorporated community in West Virginia



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