going

play

noun go·ing \ˈgō-iŋ, ˈgȯ(-)iŋ\

Definition of going

1 : an act or instance of going
2 goings plural : behavior, actions for his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings — Job 34:21 (King James Version)
3 : the condition of the ground (as for walking)
4 : advance toward an objective when the going gets tough

See going defined for English-language learners

See going defined for kids

Examples of going in a Sentence

Debris in the street made the going difficult.
The going got better as we neared the town.
She wrote four books in two years, and that's pretty good going by any standards!

Recent Examples of going from the Web

This is not the first time Lewinsky has provided valuable public commentary about Carter family goings-on.

— anna silman, The Cut, "For Some Reason, Monica Lewinsky Has Weighed in on the Jay-Z Cheating Rumors," 20 July 2017
Eventually, the United States cracked a secret code the spies used to communicate with Moscow, allowing the FBI to learn more about the Guryevs' comings and goings.

— thom patterson, CNN, "The Russian spies living next door," 19 July 2017
The two-day outage, which ended Thursday night, forced jail staff to track the comings and goings of inmates at both facilities by hand.

— alan hovorka, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee County Jail, House of Correction critical computer systems repaired," 7 July 2017
If watched on mute, the daily goings-on of this odd couple would be completely unremarkable except for the neo-Nazi flags on the walls of their otherwise entirely nondescript apartment.

— boyd van hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The White World According to Daliborek' ('Svet podle Daliborka'): Film Review | Karlovy Vary 2017," 7 July 2017
A few aging computer programs used at the Milwaukee County Jail and House of Correction for tracking the comings and goings of inmates crashed Wednesday and remained offline Thursday, officials said.

— don behm, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Computers crash at Milwaukee County Jail, House of Correction," 6 July 2017
Other than the occasional sound of the comings and goings of other guests, the room was noticeably quiet, making for excellent sleeping and adding to the hotel’s retreat-like feel.

— joann plockova, New York Times, "A Stylish Retreat in the Heart of Prague," 30 June 2017
Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King (9/26, Scribner) A collaboration between the King of horror and his son about mysterious goings-on in a women's prison.

— aimee levitt, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Books Books we can’t wait to read in the rest of 2017," 28 June 2017
In February 2011, under the ownership of Fred Smith, merchandise at that store was dramatically marked down in a going-out-of-business sale.

— mark glover, sacbee.com, "Get your Cheap Thrills in midtown while you still can," 16 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'going.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of going

14th century

going

adjective go·ing

Definition of going

1a : that goes —often used in combination easygoing outgoingb : working, moving everything was in going order
2 : living, existing the best novelist going
3 : current, prevailing going price
4 : conducting business with the expectation of indefinite continuance a going concern

going on

: drawing near to : approaching is six years old going on seven

See going defined for English-language learners

Examples of going in a Sentence

He's the best novelist going.
what's the going price for a good used washing machine?

First Known Use of going

14th century

GOING Defined for English Language Learners

going

play

noun

Definition of going for English Language Learners

: the act of leaving a place
: the condition of the ground for walking, running, etc.
—used to describe a situation in which you are trying to make progress or do something