goˈ-off noun (informal; old)

Start

go-slow see go slow below.

go'-to adjective (informal)

To be resorted to with confidence in an emergency

go-to-meeting see under Sunday

all systems go

1. Everything in the spacecraft is operating as it should
2. Everything in readiness

all the go (informal; old)

Very fashionable

a pretty go (archaic informal; ironic)

An awkward turn of events

as far as it goes

Bearing in mind certain limitations

at one go

In a single attempt or effort, simultaneously

be going on for

To be approaching (a particular age)

from the word go

From the very beginning

give it a go (informal)

To try, make an attempt at something

go about

1. To pass from place to place
2. To busy oneself with
3. To seek, endeavour to (with gerund)
4. (of a rumour, etc) to circulate
5. (of a ship) to change course

go about one's business

1. To attend to one's own affairs
2. To be off, to leave or depart

go abroad

1. To go to a foreign country or (old) out of doors
2. (of rumour, etc) to circulate

go against

1. To turn out unfavourably for
2. To be repugnant to
3. To be in conflict with

go ahead

To proceed at once

go all out for

To endeavour to achieve with great vigour

go along with

To agree with, support

go along with you (informal)

None of that!, away with you!, get away!

go and (informal)

1. To be so stupid or unfortunate as to (eg hurt oneself)
2. To go in order to (do something)

go around (or round) with

To be a regular companion of

go aside

1. To err (archaic)
2. To withdraw, retire

go at

To attack vigorously

go back

To have known someone for a long or specified time

go back on

To betray, fail to keep (a promise, etc)

go bail see under bail¹

go by

To be guided by or act in accordance with

go down

1. To sink, decline
2. To deteriorate
3. To be swallowed, believed, received or accepted (esp with pleasure)
4. (of a computer or other electronic system) to break down
5. To fail to fulfil one's contract (bridge)
6. To leave a university
7. To happen (US sl)
8. To be sent to prison (slang)
9. To be defeated in a competition

go down on (vulgar sl)

To perform fellatio or cunnilingus on

go down the drain, the toilet or the tubes (informal)

1. To be wasted
2. To become valueless

go down with (informal)

To contract (an illness)

go Dutch see under Dutch

go far

1. To go a long way (lit and figurative)
2. To achieve success

go for

1. To assail
2. To set out to secure
3. To go to get or fetch
4. To be attracted by (informal)
5. To be true of

go for broke see under broke

go for it (informal)

To make every effort to succeed in an undertaking

go for nothing

To have no value

go great guns see under gun

go halves see under half

go hang (slang)

1. To be forgotten, neglected
2. To be no longer of concern

go hard (with) see under hard¹

go in

1. To enter
2. (of the sun or moon) to become concealed behind cloud
3. To begin batting (cricket)

go in and out

To come and go freely

go in for

1. To make a practice of
2. To take up as a career or special interest
3. To take part in (a competition, etc)

go into

1. To enter
2. To examine thoroughly, investigate or elaborate on
3. To adopt as a profession, etc
4. (of a whole number) to be capable of dividing a number

go in unto (Bible)

To have sexual intercourse with

go in with

1. To enter into partnership with
2. To join, combine with

go it

To act in a striking or dashing manner (often in imperative by way of encouragement)

go it alone see under alone

go live /līv/ (informal; of a radio station, automation equipment, etc)

To go into operation

go native

To assimilate oneself to an alien culture or to the way of life of a foreign country (usu less advanced than one's own)

go off

1. To leave
2. To explode
3. (of an alarm) to sound
4. To deteriorate
5. (of food) to become rotten and inedible
6. To proceed to an expected conclusion
7. To cease to like or be fond of (a person, etc) (informal)
8. To go to sleep
9. To experience an orgasm (slang)
10. To scold, reprimand (with at; Aust sl)
11. To be raided by the police (old Aust sl)
12. To get married (old Aust sl)
13. To cease to operate
14. To die (Shakespeare)

go off with

1. To go away with
2. To remove, take away (informal)

go on

1. To continue, proceed
2. An exclamation expressing disbelief (informal)
3. To behave, conduct oneself (informal)
4. To happen, as in What's going on?
5. To talk at length (informal)
6. To be capable of being fitted onto
7. To appear on stage
8. To fare
9. To begin to function
10. To proceed from (as in nothing to go on)

go on at

To carp at persistently

go one better

In some card games, to take a bet and increase the stake (also go better)

go one better (than)

1. To outdo, excel
2. To cap a performance
3. To achieve something more impressive, effective, etc (than someone or something)

go one's own way, go one's way see under way¹

go out

1. To become extinguished
2. To become unfashionable
3. To be broadcast
4. To mingle in society (old)

go out with

To have a romantic relationship with

go over

1. To examine or check in review
2. To recall
3. To revise

go over to

To transfer allegiance to

go places

1. To travel widely
2. To go far in personal advancement

go round

To be enough for all

go slow

(of workers) deliberately to restrict output or effort in order to obtain concessions from employers (go-slowˈ adjective and noun)

go slow with

To be sparing with

go steady

To court romantically, date regularly (with with)

go the whole hog see under whole

go through

1. To perform to the end, often perfunctorily
2. To examine in order
3. To undergo
4. To be approved
5. To use up or spend (informal)

go through fire and water

To undertake any trouble or risks (from the usage in ancient ordeals)

go through with

To carry out

go to (archaic)

Come now (a kind of interjection, like the L agedum, the Gr age nyn)

go to pieces see under piece

go to show (or prove)

To serve as an illustration for or as evidence of

go to the country see under country

go to the wall see under wall

go under

1. To become submerged, overwhelmed or ruined, eg (of a business) to fail, fold
2. To die (archaic)

go up

1. To ascend
2. To be erected
3. To be destroyed by fire or explosion
4. (of costs, prices, etc) to increase
5. To enter a university

go with

1. To accompany
2. To agree with, accord with
3. To court romantically

go without

To suffer the lack of

go without saying

To be self-evident (a Gallicism; Fr cela va sans dire)

great go

1. At Cambridge University, a degree examination, contrasted with little go (last held in 1961), a preliminary examination
2. At Oxford University, Greats (obsolete)

have a go (informal)

1. To make an attempt
2. (of a member of the public) to tackle a criminal

have a go at (informal)

1. To criticize severely
2. To attack physically
3. To tease or pick on

have something going for one (informal)

To enjoy the advantage of something

I could go (informal)

I could do with, I wouldn't mind (a drink, rest, etc)

let go see under let¹

make a go of

To make a valiant attempt to succeed at something

no go

1. Not possible
2. Futile
3. In vain

no-go area

A part of a city, etc to which normal access is prevented by the erection of barricades, esp by local militants, a paramilitary group, etc

on the go

Very active

to be going on with (informal)

For the moment, in the meantime

to go (usu N American)

(of food or drink from a restaurant or cafe) to be consumed off the premises

off /of/

adverb

1. Away
2. In or to a position that is not on something
3. In motion
4. Out of continuity
5. Out of connection, supply, activity, operation, or validity
6. To a finish, up
7. No longer available
8. In deterioration or diminution
9. Into freedom

combining form

Used to signify a knockout competitive event, esp one held to decide a draw, as in jump-off, play-off, swim-off

adjective

1. Most distant
2. On the opposite or farther side
3. On the offside of a cricket field
4. (of a horse or vehicle) right
5. Out of condition or form
6. Not devoted to the particular or usual activity (eg off-day, off-season)

preposition

1. From
2. Away from
3. Removed from
4. Opening out of
5. In or to a position or condition that is not on
6. Disengaged from
7. Disinclined to, not wanting
8. Out to sea from
9. From a dish of
10. From a ball bowled by (cricket)
11. With a handicap of (golf)
12. Not up to the usual standard of
13. Not eating or drinking
14. Not subject to or following

noun

1. The offside
2. (with the) the start, as in ready for the off

transitive verb

1. To put off
2. To take off
3. To kill (US sl)

intransitive verb (or transitive verb with it)

1. To go off
2. To take off (with with; informal)

interjection

Away! depart!

offˈing noun

1. The region some distance offshore
2. A place or time some way off

offˈish adjective

Aloof in manner

offˈishly adverb

offˈishness noun

offˈ-ward or offˈ-wards adverb

Off or away from, esp the shore

off-airˈ adjective

1. (of a recording, etc) received from a broadcast transmission
2. Relating to, but not broadcast as part of, a radio or television programme

off-and-onˈ adjective

1. Occasional
2. Intermittent

offˈ-beam adjective

Mistaken, wrong-headed, misguided

offˈbeat noun

Any of the usu unaccented beats in a musical bar

adjective

1. Away from standard
2. Unusual
3. Eccentric

offˈ-board adjective (commerce)

Of or relating to over-the-counter securities transactions

off break noun (cricket)

A ball that breaks from the offside towards the legside on pitching

off-Broadˈway adjective

1. (of US theatres) not on Broadway, the centre of commercial theatre in New York
2. Of or relating to the kind of theatre productions often presented in theatres not on Broadway, ie experimental, non-commercial, etc (off-off-Broadˈway of or relating to very low-cost, often highly experimental theatre, usu presented in cafés, etc, and often considered the US equivalent of British fringe theatre)

off-cenˈtre adjective

Not quite central

offˈ-chance or off chance noun

A remote chance (on the offchance or on the off-chance (with that or of) just in case, in the hope of (something happening))

off-colˈour or off-colˈoured adjective

1. (of eg a diamond) unsatisfactory in colour and so inferior
2. Of mixed race (offensive)
3. (off-colour) not completely healthy
4. (off-colour; of jokes, etc) smutty, blue (informal)

offˈ-come noun

1. A subterfuge (Scot)
2. A pretext (Scot)
3. The manner of coming off, issue or success

offˈ-comer noun (informal)

A person living in a place, esp a rural area, in which he or she was not born, an incomer

offˈcut noun

A small piece cut off or left over from a larger piece of some material (eg wood)

offˈ-cutter noun (cricket)

A fast bowler's delivery that moves from off to leg after pitching

offˈ-day noun

1. See off (adj) above
2. A day when one is not at one's best or most brilliant

off drive noun (cricket)

A drive to the offside (also intransitive verb and transitive verb)

offˈ-duty adjective

Not on duty

offˈ-fore adjective and noun

(relating to) the right foreleg of a horse, opp to near-fore

offˈ-grid adjective and adverb

Not using one or more public utilities

offhandˈ adverb

1. Extempore
2. At once
3. Without hesitating

adjective /ofˈhand/

1. Without study
2. Impromptu
3. Free and easy
4. Ungraciously curt or summary

offˈhandˈed adjective

offhandˈedly adverb

offhandˈedness noun

offhand grinding noun (engineering)

Grinding in which the tool, eg a grinding wheel, is held in the hand and worked freely

offˈ-job adjective

Outside normal work duties and conditions

offˈ-job training or offˈ-the-job training noun

The part of a training course that a trainee follows away from the workplace at a college, etc, eg one day a week

off-keyˈ adjective and adverb

1. Out of tune (lit and figurative)
2. Conflicting, jarring, discordant

offˈ-label adjective (US)

(of a prescription drug) used to treat a condition for which the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it (also adverb)

offˈ-licence noun

1. A shop with a licence to sell alcoholic liquors for consumption off the premises only
2. Such a licence

offˈ-limˈits adjective

Prohibited, out of bounds

offˈline or offˈ-line adjective and adverb (computing)

1. Not under the direct control of the central processing unit
2. Not connected, switched off

offˈload transitive verb and intransitive verb (orig S Afr)

1. To unload
2. To get rid of (something unwanted) by passing to someone else (with onto)
3. To pass (the ball) to a teammate just as one is tackled (rugby)

off-messˈage adverb and adjective (politics)

Not following the approved party line

off-off-Broadway see off-Broadway above.

offˈpeak adjective

1. Not at the time of highest demand
2. Relating to times of the day when television or radio audiences are smaller, advertising rates for these times being lower, opp to peak time

offˈ-piste adjective

Of or relating to skiing on new snow-surfaces, not on established tracks or runs

offˈ-plan adjective

Relating to a home, etc bought before (completion of) building on the basis of plans seen, or to the buyer of such a property

offˈprint noun

A reprint of a single article from a periodical

offˈput noun (Scot)

The act of putting off (in any sense)

offˈ-putter noun

offˈ-putting noun

An act of putting off

adjective

1. That puts off
2. Disconcerting
3. Causing disinclination or aversion

offˈ-puttingly adverb

offˈ-ramp noun (chiefly N American)

An exit road from a main thoroughfare

off-reckˈoning noun

1. (usu in pl) a deduction
2. An account between army officers and governments concerning the men's clothes, etc (obsolete)

offˈ-road adjective

1. Of or relating to paths, tracks, etc, as opposed to roads
2. Of or relating to vehicles, etc designed to operate away from roads

off-roadˈer noun

An off-road vehicle

off-roadˈing noun

The practice of driving over rough terrain in specially designed vehicles, esp as a sport

offˈsaddle transitive verb and intransitive verb

To unsaddle

off-salesˈ noun (S Afr)

A shop where alcoholic drinks can be bought for consumption elsewhere

offˈscouring noun

1. (usu in pl) matter scoured off
2. Refuse
3. Anything vile or despised

offˈscum noun

Scum, refuse

offˈseason noun, adjective and adverb

(of or at) a time (for eg a holiday) other than the most popular and busy

offˈset noun

1. A thing set off against another as equivalent or compensation
2. A lateral shoot that strikes root and forms a new plant
3. A mountain spur
4. A side branch of anything
5. A sudden change of direction in a pipe
6. A reduction of thickness or the (usu sloping) ledge formed where part of a wall, buttress, bank, etc, is set back from the general face
7. A hillside terrace (US)
8. A smudge on a newly printed sheet from another laid on it
9. Offset printing
10. In surveying, a perpendicular from the main line to an outlying point
11. A small deviation of voltage or current (elec)

adjective

Set at an angle to the main alignment

transitive verb /of-setˈ or ofˈset/

1. To set off against something as an equivalent or compensation
2. To print using an offset process
3. To construct an offset in a wall, etc

intransitive verb

1. To branch off
2. /ofˈset/ to make an effort

offsetˈable (or /ofˈ/) adjective

offset printing, offset lithography or offset-litho printing noun

A method of printing lithographs, etc, by first taking an impression from a plate on a rubber cylinder and then transferring the impression to paper or metal, etc, using oil-based ink

off-shakeˈ transitive verb (pap (Spenser) off-shaktˈ)

To shake off

offˈshoot noun

A branch or derivative of anything

offshoreˈ adverb

1. From the shore
2. At a distance from the shore
3. Abroad

adjective /ofˈshōr or -shör/

1. Placed or operating abroad
2. Sited or operating outside the restrictions of British law and tax

transitive verb and intransitive verb /ofˈshōr or -shör/

(of a business enterprise) to transfer (work, jobs, etc) to another country, usu one where workers can be paid a lower wage

offshore purchase noun

A purchase by one country in another

offˈside noun

1. The far side
2. A horse's or vehicle's right, towards the middle of the road
3. That half of a cricket field on the opposite side to that on which the batsman stands when waiting to receive the ball, separated from the legside by an imaginary line drawn from wicket to wicket
4. /of-sīdˈ/ an instance of a player standing illegally between the ball and the opponents' goal (football, etc)

adjective and adverb /of-sīdˈ/

1. On the offside
2. Between the ball, or the last player who had it, and the opponents' goal
3. In American football, over the line of scrimmage or free-kick line when the ball is snapped

offsīdˈer noun (Aust informal)

A subordinate or sidekick

offˈ-site adjective and adverb

(working, happening, etc) away from a working site, etc

offˈ-sorts plural noun

Wool set aside in sorting, or unsuitable for a given purpose

off spin noun (cricket)

Spin imparted to a ball to cause an off break

offˈ-spin adjective

off spinner noun (cricket)

Someone who bowls off breaks

offˈspring noun

1. A child or children
2. Progeny
3. Issue
4. Ancestry (obsolete)
5. Source (obsolete)

offˈ-stage adjective and adverb

Not on the stage as visible to the spectators

offˈ-stream adjective and adverb

(of an industrial plant, etc) not in operation or production

offˈ-street adjective

(of parking) in a car park

offˈtake noun

1. The act of taking off in any sense
2. A take-off
3. That which is taken off
4. A channel, passage, or pipe for removing a fluid

off-the-peg see under peg

off-the-shelf see under shelf

offˈ-white adjective

Not quite white, rather, yellowish or greyish white

noun

A colour, paint, etc, that is off-white

a bit off (informal)

(of behaviour, etc) unfair or unacceptable

badly off

Not well-off, poor

be off

To go away quickly (as a command, also be off with you)

break off and come off see under break¹ and come

from off

From a position on

go off and go off with see under go¹

go off on one (slang)

To lose one’s temper

ill off

Poor or ill provided

in the offing

1. In sight or at hand
2. Expected, or likely to take place, shortly

make off and make off with see under make¹

off and on

Occasionally, intermittently

off beam or off the beam see under beam or see off-beam above.

off duty see under duty

off line same as offline above.

off one's oats, feed, head, rocker or trolley see under oat, feed¹, head, rock² and trolley¹

off the charts see under chart

off the cuff see under cuff¹

off the face or shoulder

(of a woman's hat, dress, etc) so as to reveal the face or shoulder

off the peg see under peg

off the wall (orig US)

See under wall

off with

Take off at once

put off, show off or take off see under put¹, show and take

tell off see under tell¹

walk off and walk off with see under walk¹

well-off

1. Rich, well-provided
2. Fortunate