Phrasal Verbs With Go

Here is a list of phrasal verbs using the word Go.

Go about something – set to work at it

• We are not going about it in the right way.

Go ahead – start; make progress

Go after – try to obtain or overtake

• There is no point in going after him.

Go away – leave home

Go back on / go back upon – withdraw from a promise etc.

• He went back on his promise.

Go by – pass; be guided by

• It is a good rule to go by.

Go down

When a ship goes down, it sinks. When the sea or wind goes down, it becomes calm. When a story goes down it becomes accepted by the reader.

• His explanation didn’t go down well with his wife. (= His wife didn’t accept his explanation.)

Go for – attack; be sold for

• That house went for a huge amount.
• All his work went for nothing.

Go in for – take part in a competition, examination; take up as a hobby

• He went in for gardening on retirement.
• He goes in for classical music. (= He has a special interest in classical music.)

Go into – enter; examine

• The investigators went into the evidence. (= The investigators examined the evidence.)
• Let’s go into the details.

Go off – (of a gun) explode; (of food) lose quality

• The milk has gone off.
• The goods in this shop have gone off. (= The goods in this shop are now inferior to the goods in other shops.)
• The gun went off all of a sudden.

Go off – have the result hoped for

• The program went off well.

Go on – continue; happen

Go out – (of a fire or light) stop burning

• Suddenly the lights went out.

Go over – examine or study thoroughly

• Students must go over the study materials before taking the exam.

Go around – be enough for everyone

• We don’t have enough food to go around.

Go through – suffer

After her husband’s death, the poor woman had to go through a lot of hardships.

Go with – (of colors) be in harmony with

• Green goes well with orange.

Go without – endure the lack of

Plants can’t go without water. (= Plants cannot endure the lack of water.)

Phrases with go

Go to law – start legal action against somebody

Go to pieces – break up

Go to seed – become less active intellectually

Full of go – energy, enthusiasm

• He is full of go. (= He is full of energy.)

Have a go at something – attempt

• Next week, I am going to have a go at TOEFL. (= I am going to attempt TOEFL next week.)

On the go – busy, active

• A laptop is an indispensable companion for professionals on the go.