go berserk

idiomatic phrase

1
: to become very angry and often violent
… the driver went berserk and started punching him when he told him they had called police.Rob Parascandola et al.
On one ski run, a teenage snowboarder nearly creamed a little girl, and [retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general Robin] Olds went berserk. The snowboarder took off with that old dogfighter hot on his tail …Ralph F. Wetterhahn
2
: to become very excited
The crowd was going berserk as the team scored with seconds to go.
My first day ashore at Hanna Point, I went berserk taking pictures of the chinstrap penguins.Vera Spooner

Examples of go berserk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Devin Booker goes berserk for 62 points After scoring 22 points in the third quarter of a 46-point performance in Wednesday's win over the Mavericks, the Suns' Devin Booker didn't slow down at all to start Friday's game. Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Jan. 2024 The place went berserk when Escobar dropped a single to right field, but Puerto Rico right fielder Nelson Velazquez gunned down the runner trying to advance from second to home. Dominic Pino, National Review, 6 Feb. 2024 California may have dominated the freaky weather news in most of 2023, but Utah is where winter truly went berserk. Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2023 Government agencies get involved, drug dealers go berserk and a rock ’n’ roll family tries to survive the increasing mayhem. Liz Braswell, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2023 The Pogues didn’t bother with the authentic trad style of the Chieftains or De Danann — more like a wedding band gone berserk. Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 1 Dec. 2023 During his promo on Monday’s Raw, Rollins took a verbal jab at Punk, just two days after he was seen going berserk following Punk’s improbable Survivor Series return. Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023 After first herding unarmed villagers together, American soldiers go berserk, murdering babies, kids, old people, and everyone in between. Matt Thompson, Spin, 10 Sep. 2023 Back in Perth, Moroccan players and coaches went berserk, hugging, screaming, wiping away rivers of tears. Sean Gregory, Time, 3 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'go berserk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of go berserk was in 1869

Dictionary Entries Near go berserk

Cite this Entry

“Go berserk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20berserk. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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