go far

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Verb

go far (third-person singular simple present goes far, present participle going far, simple past went far, past participle gone far)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To attain success, especially from humble origins; achieve a great deal.

   Synonym: go a long way

   Keep studying and you'll go far.

   • 1960 December, “New G.E. Line diesel loco maintenance depot at Stratford”, in Trains Illustrated, page 767:

     The new shed, in conjunction with the existing multiple-unit shed, goes far to provide a complete diesel motive power depot at Stratford, [...].

2. (idiomatic, intransitive, in negative constructions) To cover significant expenses.

   A ten-pound note doesn't go far these days.

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with go too far.

Translations

to attain success

• Finnish: päästä pitkälle
• French: aller loin
• German: es weit bringen
• Polish: odnosić sukces impf, odnieść sukces pf
• Romanian: ajunge departe
• Russian: далеко́ пойти́ (ru) pf (dalekó pojtí)

References

• “go far”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• Fargo