Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

Thesaurus

go

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of go

being in a state of fitness for some experience or action
  • All systems are go!
Synonyms of go

fit, prepared, ready, set
Words Related to go

conditioned, primed, ripe

armed, braced, fortified, steeled

qualified, trained
Near Antonyms of go

unqualified, untrained
Antonyms of go

half-baked, half-cocked, underprepared, unprepared, unready

go

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of go

1 a practice or interest that is very popular for a short time
  • Snowboarding is all the go.
Synonyms of go

craze, enthusiasm, fad, fashion, last word, latest, mode, rage, sensation, style, trend, vogue
Words Related to go

nine days' wonder (also nine day wonder)

new wave

crush, infatuation

fervor, passion

furor, fuss, hullabaloo, to-do, uproar

bandwagon, crusade, cult, movement

novelty, wrinkle

caprice, fancy, whim
Near Antonyms of go

classic, standard
2 active strength of body or mind
  • a healthy six-year-old full of go
Synonyms of go

beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, gusto, hardihood, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip
Words Related to go

animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity

ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal

main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength

brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility

health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness
Near Antonyms of go

indolence, laziness

debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness

enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration
Antonyms of go

lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity
3 an effort to do or accomplish something
  • It took several goes to get the car started.
Synonyms of go

attempt, bid, crack, endeavor, essay, fling, offer, pass, shot, stab, trial, try, whack, whirl
Words Related to go

striving, struggle, throes, undertaking

trial and error
4 readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity
  • a young executive with the go to make this company grow
Synonyms of go

action, aggressiveness, ambition, drive, enterprise, hustle, initiative
Words Related to go

grit, gumption, pluck, snap, spirit, spunk, starch

ambitiousness, killer instinct, overambitiousness

assertiveness, self-reliance

energy, hardihood, pep, vigor, vitality
Near Antonyms of go

inactivity, inertia, passivity

diffidence, faintheartedness, timidity

hesitation, reluctance

indolence, laziness, lethargy

go

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of go

1 to move forward along a course
  • Everything is going according to our plans.
Synonyms of go

advance, come, come along, do, fare, forge, get along, get on, go along, go off, march, pace, proceed, progress
Words Related to go

accelerate, fast-forward, speed

approach, near

journey, pass, repair, run, travel, wend

actuate, drive, impel, propel, push

take out
Phrases Synonymous with go

gain ground
Near Antonyms of go

arrest, balk, block, check, detain, halt, hinder, hold back, impede, nip, obstruct, slow (down or up), stem

repress, retard, stunt, suppress

delay, interrupt, stall

cramp, hamper, inhibit

cease, let up, pause
Antonyms of go

remain, stand, stay, stop
2 to leave a place often for another
  • We will go on vacation at the end of the year.
  • She decided it would be better to go before it got any later.
Synonyms of go

bail, bail out, begone, bug off, bug out, buzz (off), clear out, cut out, depart, dig out, exit, get, get off, go off, move, pack (up or off), part, peel off, pike (out or off), pull out, push off, push on, quit, run along, sally (forth), shove (off), step (along), take off, vamoose, walk out
Words Related to go

set out, start, strike out

abscond, decamp, escape, evacuate, flee, fly, get out, run away, scat, scram, skip

go out, light out, step out

abandon, desert, forsake, vacate

emigrate

adjourn, remove, retire, retreat, withdraw
Phrases Synonymous with go

beat it, hit the road, pull stakes (or pull up stakes), take a hike (also take a walk), take a powder
Near Antonyms of go

abide, dwell, lodge, remain, settle, stay, tarry

approach, close, near

hit, land, reach
Antonyms of go

arrive, come, show up, turn up
3 to be fitting or proper
  • At Mardi Gras, just about anything goes.
Synonyms of go

befit, do, serve, suit
Words Related to go

satisfy, suffice

function, work
Phrases Synonymous with go

fill the bill (or fit the bill)
4 to be in agreement on every point
  • Your account of how the fire started doesn't go with what she said.
Synonyms of go

accord, agree, answer, check, cohere, coincide, comport, conform, consist, correspond, dovetail, fit, harmonize, jibe, rhyme (also rime), sort, square, tally
Words Related to go

equal, match, parallel

align (also aline), line up, register
Phrases Synonymous with go

fall in with
Near Antonyms of go

contradict, dispute, gainsay

negate, nullify

clash, conflict, jar
Antonyms of go

differ (from), disagree (with)
5 to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction
  • The highway goes right along the river.
Synonyms of go

bear, extend, head, lead, lie, run
Words Related to go

cross, cut, pass

course, follow, span, traverse
6 to eventually have as a state or quality
  • The room went dark.
Synonyms of go

become, come, get, grow, run, turn, wax
Words Related to go

alter, change, metamorphose, modify, mutate, transfigure, transform, transmute
Near Antonyms of go

abide, be, continue, linger, remain, stay
7 to fall down or in as a result of physical pressure
  • We watched the building go after the demolition crew detonated the charges.
Synonyms of go

buckle, cave (in), collapse, crumple, founder, give, go out, implode, tumble, yield
Words Related to go

deflate, flatten, melt, melt down

break, break down, conk (out), crash, die, fail, give out, stall

burst, shatter, smash, splinter, split

crack, crumble, pop, snap
Phrases Synonymous with go

give way
Near Antonyms of go

inflate, rise, swell
8 to have or be in a usual or proper place
  • These plates go in this cabinet.
Synonyms of go

belong
Words Related to go

place, stay

fit (in)
9 to lose bodily strength or vigor
  • When you get old, your eyesight starts to go.
Synonyms of go

decay, droop, emaciate, fade, fail, flag, lag, languish, sag, sink, waste (away), weaken, wilt, wither
Words Related to go

break down, wear out

yield

degenerate, deteriorate, rot, run down
Near Antonyms of go

convalesce, rally, rebound, recover, recuperate

gain
10 to make one's way through, across, or over
  • I went the length of the street before finding an empty parking space.
Synonyms of go

course, cover, cross, cut (across), follow, navigate, pass (over), perambulate, peregrinate, proceed (along), track, transit, travel, traverse
Words Related to go

hike, traipse, tramp, tread, walk

ride, run

crisscross
11 to occur within a continuous range of variation
  • Selling prices for houses in that neighborhood generally go between one and two million.
Synonyms of go

range, run, vary
Words Related to go

alternate, fluctuate, move, shift

change, mutate

extend, reach, stretch, sweep
12 to risk (something) on the outcome of an uncertain event
  • To play in this game of poker, you have to be willing to go at least five dollars per round.
Synonyms of go

bet, gamble, lay, play, put, stake, wager
Words Related to go

bid, offer

adventure, chance, hazard, speculate, venture

endanger, imperil, jeopardize
13 to come to an end
  • We were having so much fun that the evening just came and went.
Synonyms of go

break off, break up, cease, close, conclude, dead-end, determine, die, discontinue, elapse, end, expire, finish, halt, lapse, leave off, let up, pass, quit, stop, terminate, wind up, wink (out)
Words Related to go

desist (from), lay off (of), refrain (from)

knock off, pack (up or in)

break down, conk (out), cut out, stall

pause, stay, suspend

abate, peter (out), wind down
Phrases Synonymous with go

bite the dust
Near Antonyms of go

draw out, extend, prolong, protract
Antonyms of go

continue, hang on, persist
14 to have enough money for
  • I think I can go for the new car after all.
Synonyms of go

afford, swing
Words Related to go

cover

expend, finance, outlay, pay (for), pony up, spring (for)

pick up, purchase, take

acquire, get, obtain, procure, secure

bid, offer

bankroll, endow, subsidize, underwrite
15 to put up with (something painful or difficult)
  • I can't go the smell of that rotting food for one more minute.
Synonyms of go

abide, absorb, accept, bear, brook, countenance, endure, hack, handle, meet, pocket, stand, stick out, stomach, support, sustain, sweat out, take, tolerate
Words Related to go

allow, permit, suffer, swallow

reconcile (to)

acquiesce, agree (with or to), assent (to), capitulate, consent (to), respect, submit (to), yield (to)
Phrases Synonymous with go

live with, lump (it), stand for, tough out (it)
Near Antonyms of go

decline, dismiss, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn, turn down

combat, contest, fight, oppose, resist

avoid, bypass, circumvent, dodge, elude, escape, evade, miss

abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from)
16 to stop living
  • Her grandmother went peacefully last night.
Synonyms of go

check out, conk (out), croak [slang], demise, depart, die, drop, end, exit, expire, fall, part, pass (on), pass away, perish, succumb
Words Related to go

predecease

consume, disappear, dry up, fade, fail
Phrases Synonymous with go

bite the dust, buy it (or buy the farm), give up the ghost, kick the bucket
Near Antonyms of go

come to, revive

linger

be, exist, subsist

flourish, prosper, thrive
Antonyms of go

breathe, live
17 to turn out as planned or desired
  • We tried very hard to get the food cooperative to go, but it never really worked out.
Synonyms of go

click, come off, deliver, go over, pan out, succeed, work out
Words Related to go

catch on

flourish, prosper, thrive

cook, percolate
Phrases Synonymous with go

bear fruit, catch fire, deliver the goods, do the trick, go like clockwork
Near Antonyms of go

languish

flounder, struggle

decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane

crash, crumble, flame out

choke, crack up, miscarry, misfire

fall down, go under

implode, self-destruct
Antonyms of go

bomb, collapse, fail, flop, flunk, fold, founder, miss, strike out, wash out

Learn More about go

  1. Dictionary: Definition of go Spanish Central: Translation of go Nglish: Translation of go for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of go for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about go

Seen and Heard

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

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

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