ENGLISH
REFERENCE

go to great lengths

idiom
Meaning

To make a major effort; to be very careful when doing something, especially to an extreme or excessive degree.


Examples
SIMPLE

They go to great lengths to keep their garden looking perfect.

CONTEXTUAL

She went to great lengths to find the exact gift her friend wanted for her birthday.

COMPLEX

The author went to great lengths to research historical details, ensuring the novel felt authentic to the period.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    a great deal

    Very much; to a great extent; a lot; lots.

  2. 02

    all dressed up and nowhere to go

    Elaborately attired or otherwise fully prepared for an anticipated situation or activity which, nevertheless, fails to occur.

  3. 03

    all systems go

    Everything is ready.

  4. 04

    as you go

    While one is doing (something); as one progresses.

  5. 05

    boldly go where no man has gone before

    To break new ground.

  6. 06

    come and go

    To repeatedly appear and disappear; to be transient.

  7. 07

    don't go there

    Do not broach that topic.

  8. 08

    easy come, easy go

    Easily won and easily lost (usually said when resigned to a loss; something that comes in the same way, goes in the same way)

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