go-ahead

[ goh-uh-hed ]

/ ˈgoʊ əˌhɛd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR go-ahead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Usually the go-ahead . permission or a signal to proceed: They got the go-ahead on the construction work.

Chiefly Hawaii and California. a sandal held on the foot by a strap between the big toe and the next toe.

adjective

moving forward; advancing.

enterprising (def. 1): a go-ahead Yankee peddler.

Origin of go-ahead

An Americanism first recorded in 1830–40; noun and adjective use of verb phrase go ahead

Words nearby go-ahead

Goa, Daman, and Diu, goaf, go after, go against, go against the grain, go-ahead, goal, goal area, goalball, goal crease, goaler

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for go-ahead

Steve thought it was an interesting approach and gave me the go-ahead.
Greil Marcus Talks About Trying to Unlock Rock and Roll in 10 Songs|Allen Barra|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Over the next two years, he got the go-ahead to open two more schools.
At This Creepy Libertarian Charter School, Kids Must Swear ‘to Be Obedient to Those in Authority’|ProPublica|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The family-owned company that revived Pabst Blue Ribbon has been given the go-ahead to purchase Hostess out of bankruptcy.
Twinkies Are Coming Back: The Metropoulos Brothers on the Brand|Daniel Gross|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We were able to really milk that moment of Gus Fring waiting in that parking lot, waiting for the go-ahead sign to kill Hector.
‘Breaking Bad’: Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Emmy Nominations|Maria Elena Fernandez|September 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST

On Nov. 18, 1963, the agency briefed Kennedy on the AMLASH plans, and received the go-ahead.
The Evil Genius of Fidel Castro|Glenn L. Carle|June 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And, indeed, it was not so heavy by a good deal as the cedar boats of the Go-Ahead girls.
Wyn's Camping Days|Amy Bell Marlowe
The operators were to give the special the "go-ahead," and after it had passed, to set their signals against the following engine.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
These represent the main tendencies which actuate mankind in public affairs—the go-ahead and the stand-still.
Practical Politics; or, the Liberalism of To-day|Alfred Farthing Robbins
It may be a go-ahead country, but the towns stand perfectly still.
Canada for Gentlemen|James Seton Cockburn
First, that America is not intellectually a go-ahead country, but both for good and evil an old-fashioned one.
George Bernard Shaw|Gilbert K. Chesterton

British Dictionary definitions for go-ahead

go ahead

verb

(intr, adverb) to start or continue, often after obtaining permission

noun go-ahead

the go-ahead informal permission to proceed

adjective go-ahead

enterprising or ambitious

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with go-ahead