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go to

adj, verb, noun — 10 senses

go-to

adjalso spelled go-to

US /ˈɡoʊˌtu/

Etymology A univerbation of go + to. Compare typologically convenient, Russian подходя́щий (podxodjáščij) (<~ ходи́ть (xodítʹ)).

1

Desired; desirable; of choice.

  • Cheesecake is my go-to food whenever I feel down.
  • The USA Network, let's face it, isn't anyone's go-to channel.2003 July 7, The New Yorker, page 78:
2 more examples
  • For Donna Cona, who has played it since before the Times acquisition, Wordle has become her go-to thing each morning.2024 March 14, Saira Mueller, “Millions have played Wordle, but there’s more to the game than you’d expect”, in CNN:
  • When I was starting out, I was cast as nervous characters, because I was nervous in all my auditions. So the only roles I would get were ones where I was a nervous person. It’s kind of a default setting for me. Maybe I am the go-to nervous guy, who knows? But I’ve worked on it.2026 April 23, Rich Pelley, quoting Adam Scott, “Severance star Adam Scott: ‘There’s nothing wrong with being told that you resemble Tom Cruise’”, in The Guardian:
2

Reliable; likely to perform in difficult circumstances.

  • Smith is your go-to person if you want lasting results.
  • Trump resisted for many weeks. He called the Epstein story a “hoax,” his go-to move for maximally damaging accusations.2025 November 22, David Frum, “Marjorie Taylor Greene Came So Close to Getting the Joke”, in The Atlantic:

go to

verb
1

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go, to.

  • All the jewelry went to her heirs.
  • Don't go to all that bother for me.
2

To attend an event or a sight.

  • We went to a concert for my birthday.
3

Idiomatic To attend classes at a school as a student.

  • He went to the University of Kansas for almost two years before he dropped out.
4

To tend to support.

  • The study goes to the point I was making earlier about subsidies.
5

Archaic To get to work; (imperatively) come on.

  • Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges VII:3:
6

Archaic Used imperatively to express protest or surprise; "come, now!".

  • Doctor: Go to, go to. You have known what you should not.c. 1588, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act V, Scene I:
  • Benedict the Jew in vain pleaded parchments; his usuries were too many. The King said, “Go to, for all thy parchments, thou shalt pay just debt; down with thy dust, or observe this tooth-forceps!”1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. VIII, Unworking Aristocracy”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker):
1 more example
  • ‘Go to! — you’re dreaming, man! — there’s no one here.’ ‘Begging your pardon, sir, but there was someone there not a minute ago.’1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:

go to

noun
1

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences Capitalized, Sometimes The branching construct GOTO.

Related terms
going to, go to bed

go-to

noun

Etymology A univerbation of go + to. Compare typologically convenient, Russian подходя́щий (podxodjáščij) (<~ ходи́ть (xodítʹ)).

1

A person or thing that is one’s usual choice.

  • Going for a drink after work is usually my go-to.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for go-to and go to.