to-go

1 of 2

adjective

tə-ˈgō 

: of, relating to, or providing food or beverages consumed away from their place of sale : take-out

a to-go order

to-go boxes/containers

This is mostly a take-out joint, and Filipinos in the know trickle in all day for a to-go lunch, dinner or breakfast.

—Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee

to go

2 of 2

idiomatic phrase

1

: still remaining

There are five minutes to go before halftime.

There's only one week to go until election day.

2

of food and beverages : for consumption away from its place of sale

They ordered their lunches to go.

You stop at the corner for a doughnut and coffee to go.

—Jay McInerney

Examples of to-go in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Baristas—most of whom already felt overwhelmed—now have to wear a black T-shirt and pants, greet customers, scribble personalized messages on each to-go cup, and ideally hand over drinks within four minutes. —Molly Liebergall, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2025

Or grab a quart to-go of The Soup Market’s cozy African peanut stew. —Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 11 Sep. 2025

Idiomatic phrase

At the same time, other costs are on track to go up. —Susan Tompor, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2025

Born three months premature, the quads spent about 10 weeks in the hospital in Boston before three of them were allowed to go home. —Jeff Truesdell, People.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1953, in the meaning defined above

Idiomatic Phrase

1884, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for to-go

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Geographical Definition

Togo

geographical name

To·​go ˈtō-(ˌ)gō 

republic in western Africa on the Bight of Benin; capital Lomé area 21,925 square miles (56,785 square kilometers), population 8,176,000

Togolese

ˌtō-gə-ˈlēz 

-ˈlēs

adjective or noun

Biographical Definition

Tōgō

biographical name

Tō·​gō ˈtō-(ˌ)gō 

Marquis Heihachirō 1848–1934 Japanese admiral