English Reference

Word

go

Irregular verb

Forms

Infinitive

go

Past

went

Past participle

gone

Definition

to move from one place to another. You can also use it to talk about leaving a place or traveling.

to move from one place to another; to travel. A primary intransitive verb of motion, it also functions as part of the semi-modal 'be going to' to express future plans or intentions.

Examples

“We often go for a walk after dinner.”

“If we're going to catch the 8 AM train, we need to go now or we will be late.”

“With the final witness testimony, the case against the defendant went from being circumstantial to overwhelmingly conclusive, leaving the jury with little room for doubt.”

Examples

simple

“We often go for a walk after dinner.”

contextual

“If we're going to catch the 8 AM train, we need to go now or we will be late.”

complex

“With the final witness testimony, the case against the defendant went from being circumstantial to overwhelmingly conclusive, leaving the jury with little room for doubt.”

Confusables

go vs come

Come indicates movement toward the speaker or listener's current or future location, while go indicates movement away from them toward a different destination.

RememberCome is toward me; go is away from me.

Word family

VERB

NOUN

Idioms

01. all dressed up and nowhere to go

02. all systems go

03. as you go

04. boldly go where no man has gone before

05. come and go

06. don't go there

07. easy come, easy go

08. enough to go around

09. from the word go

10. give something a go

Show all 178

11. go a long way

12. go against the grain

13. go all around the Wrekin

14. go all out

15. go all the way

16. go along for the ride

17. go along to get along

18. go along with

19. go along with the gag

20. go around the houses

21. go at a good clip

22. go back in time

23. go back to the drawing board

24. go ballistic

25. go bananas

26. go batshit

27. go begging

28. go berserk

29. go big or go home

30. go by the board

31. go by the wayside

32. go climb a tree

33. go commando

34. go down in flames

35. go down on

36. go down that road

37. go down the drain

38. go down the khazi

39. go down the pan

40. go down the road

41. go down the toilet

42. go down the tubes

43. go down the wrong way

44. go downhill

45. go downtown

46. go Dutch

47. go far

48. go fish

49. go fly a kite

50. go for a song

51. go for broke

52. go for it

53. go for the gold

54. go for the throat

55. go forth and multiply

56. go free

57. go from strength to strength

58. go from zero to hero

59. go Galt

60. go great guns

61. go green

62. go halfsies

63. go halves

64. go hang

65. go hard with someone

66. go Hollywood

67. go horribly right

68. go in one ear and out the other

69. go in the out door

70. go in with

71. go into one's shell

72. go jump in the lake

73. go jump off a building

74. go jump off a cliff

75. go left

76. go moggy

77. go native

78. go nowhere

79. go nowhere fast

80. go off at score

81. go off half-cocked

82. go off into the weeds

83. go off the boil

84. go on one's merry way

85. go on the mitch

86. go on the scout

87. go or blow

88. go out

89. go out of one's way

90. go out with a bang

91. go out with the ark

92. go over

93. go over someone's head

94. go over to the majority

95. go overboard

96. go pear-shaped

97. go places

98. go play in the traffic

99. go public

100. go rogue

101. go round in circles

102. go shit yourself

103. go snake

104. go so far as

105. go soak your head

106. go south

107. go straight

108. go the distance

109. go the extra mile

110. go the way of

111. go the way of the dinosaurs

112. go the way of the dodo

113. go the way of the dodo bird

114. go the whole hog

115. go their separate ways

116. go through the gears

117. go through the mill

118. go through the motions

119. go through with

120. go to

121. go to bat

122. go to Canossa

123. go to great lengths

124. go to ground

125. go to Prestwich

126. go to sea

127. go to sleep

128. go to someone's head

129. go to the bow-wows

130. go to the dogs

131. go to the ends of the earth

132. go to the mat

133. go to the mattresses

134. go to the polls

135. go to the scaffold

136. go to the wall

137. go to the well

138. go to town

139. go to town on

140. go to work

141. go together

142. go too far

143. go towards

144. go tutti-frutti

145. go under

146. go up in flames

147. go up in smoke

148. go walking

149. go wild

150. go with

151. go with one's gut

152. go with the flow

153. go with the flow of traffic

154. go with the wind

155. go without

156. go without saying

157. go wrong

158. grab and go

159. have a go

160. here we go again

161. in one go

162. let go and let God

163. let one go

164. let oneself go

165. let someone go

166. make a go of

167. make the world go around

168. mind how you go

169. pick up one's marbles and go home

170. scarper

171. take one's ball and go home

172. the show must go on

173. the word is go

174. there we go

175. there you go

176. to go

177. watch the world go by

178. when they go low, we go high

Grammar

Irregular Verbs

Domains

MilitarySports

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
Frequency
Very common
Level
A1 · Beginner
Updated

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