Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

gonna

pronunciation spelling
gon·​na | \ ˈgə-nə, gə-nə\

Definition of gonna

—used for "going to" in informal speech and in representations of such speech "It's not gonna be easy.""They're gonna get married in July.""I felt like something bad was gonna happen."

First Known Use of gonna

1806, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about gonna

Statistics for gonna

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for gonna

The first known use of gonna was in 1806

See more words from the same year

More from Merriam-Webster on gonna

Nglish: Translation of gonna for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of gonna for Arabic Speakers

Comments on gonna

What made you want to look up gonna? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

teetotaler

someone who never drinks alcohol

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Homophone Quiz

  • three-bears-two-of-them-look-like-theyre-whispering-to-a-third-bear-who-looks-chuffed-to-be-the-center-of-attention
  • In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a ______.
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games