Idiomatic: words and definitions (4,686) | English Dictionary

This page gathers the 4,686 dictionary entries of which at least one sense is labelled “Idiomatic” by Wiktionary. The definition shown is that sense; each word leads to its full entry. Page 17 of 47: from “give someone what for” to “gone case”.

give someone what for verb To punish; to rebuke.
give the lie verb To respond to an insult, accusation, or falsehood by saying the offender is lying, particularly in the context of provoking a challenge to…
give the time of day verb To acknowledge someone; to give someone respect or attention; to tip one's hat.
give up the ghost verb To cease clinging to life; to die.
give weight verb To attach importance to.
glass ceiling noun An unrecognized or unwritten barrier to further progression or promotion, in employment and elsewhere, for a member of a specific…
gloss verb Used in a phrasal verb: gloss over (“to cover up a mistake or crime, to treat something with less care than it deserves”).
gloss over verb To cover up a mistake or a crime; to hush up or whitewash.
gloves are off phrase Expressing that people are arguing or competing without regard to propriety, restraint, feelings, or (even) safety.
gnash one's teeth verb To grind or strike the teeth together in anger, signaling extreme rage, frustration, pain, or ferocity.
go a long way verb To be adequate or helpful for a significant amount of time.
go all the way verb To continue to the conclusion of a task or project.
go along for the ride verb To accompany someone in a passive manner, or to take a relatively passive or detached role in a project or group activity.
go ballistic verb To become very angry and irrational.
go bananas verb To get angry; to go mad.
go by the board verb To fall or to go overboard; to be cast over the side of a ship.
go commando verb To not wear underwear (chiefly underpants) under one's outer clothing.
go down in flames verb To fail miserably and with long-term consequences.
go down the toilet verb To fail.
go down the wrong way verb To go down the trachea (windpipe) in one's throat instead of the esophagus (the tube in the throat for swallowed food and fluids)…
go downtown verb To perform oral sex.
go Dutch verb To pay for one's own food and bills, or split the cost, when eating at a restaurant or going out for entertainment.
go far verb To attain success, especially from humble origins; achieve a great deal.
go for verb To cost.
go for broke verb To try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.
go for it verb To put maximum effort into achieving something.
go for the throat verb To exert an unrestrained, aggressive effort, especially by assailing an opponent's or victim's area of greatest vulnerability.
go free verb To go or travel where one wishes; to not be kept in custody or confinement.
go from zero to hero verb To change from a negative to a positive outcome; to improve one's fortunes significantly.
go Galt verb To become a recluse and stop contributing to society, especially in the form of taxes, by reducing one's work or productivity or by…
go great guns verb To perform particularly well; to be particularly successful.
go green verb To implement certain lifestyle changes designed to help one live in a more ecologically friendly way.
go Hollywood verb To adapt one's lifestyle in order to pursue fame; especially, to debase oneself by adopting decadent culture.
go left verb To take a turn for the worse, to go horribly wrong.
go moggy verb To go without restraint; to go wild; to be adventurous.
go native verb To adopt the lifestyle or outlook of local inhabitants, especially when dwelling in a colonial region.
go off at score verb To break suddenly into a gallop.
go off the boil verb To lose interest; to pall.
go on one's merry way verb To depart.
go on the scout verb To go into hiding.
go out verb To leave one's abode to go to public places, especially for recreation or entertainment.
go out with the ark verb To become obsolete.
go over verb To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
go over someone's head verb To take up an issue with another person's boss or other superior rather than beginning or continuing to deal with the original person.
go overboard verb To go too far; to exceed reasonable bounds.
go places verb To make progress or achieve success.
go public verb To make something public; to announce publicly or to the press.
go rogue verb To behave in a very unconventional, independent, uncontrolled, or unauthorized way that ignores rules, norms, or expectations.
go south verb To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.
go the distance verb To have the endurance to see a difficult, sustained challenge to its natural end without faltering.
go the way of the dinosaurs verb To go extinct or become obsolete; to fall out of common use or practice; to become a thing of the past.
go the way of the dodo verb To go extinct or become obsolete or defunct; to fall out of common practice or use; to become a thing of the past.
go their separate ways verb Of two or more people, to cease travelling or spending time together; to depart with different destinations.
go through the mill verb To experience the suffering or discipline necessary to bring one to a certain degree of knowledge or skill, or to a certain mental state.
go through the motions verb To do something in a mechanical, unreflective manner, especially as a matter of routine and without commitment or enthusiasm; to perform a…
go to verb To attend classes at a school as a student.
go to bat verb To champion, to actively assist, to provide support (for someone).
go to Canossa verb To submit to the pope.
go to great lengths verb To make a major effort; to be very careful when doing something, especially to an extreme or excessive degree.
go to ground verb To hide from public view or sequester oneself, especially when authorities, members of the news media, or others are looking for one.
go to sea verb To become a sailor.
go to sleep verb To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
go to someone's head verb To cloud one's thinking, as do alcohol and many drugs.
go to the wall verb To make an all-out effort.
go to town verb To proceed enthusiastically, vigorously, or expertly.
go to town on verb To devour or consume (something); to enthusiastically or assiduously work on (something); to tear into (something).
go to work verb To beat up, to batter.
go together verb To be in a relationship.
go towards verb To be a contribution to.
go under verb To collapse or fail, e.g. by going bankrupt.
go up in flames verb To catch fire.
go up in smoke verb To be completely ruined, devastated, or reduced to nothingness.
go wild verb To become very noisy and excited.
go with verb To choose or accept (a suggestion).
go with the flow verb To act as others are acting, conforming to common behavior patterns with an attitude of calm acceptance.
go with the flow of traffic verb To drive a vehicle at approximately the speed of other vehicles on the road, irrespective of the speed limit.
go with the wind verb To follow the direction of the wind.
go without verb To forgo (something).
go wrong verb To worsen; to fail or go amiss; to have a bad outcome.
go-getter noun An active and enterprising person; one who is motivated or inclined to excel; one who strives to achieve success or improvement.
God is in the detail proverb Expresses the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.
god that failed noun A notable let-down or flop; a concept, product, or person that has failed to live up to very high expectations.
God's eye noun A decorative diamond-shaped item woven from yarn, associated with Mexican and Central and South American Native American peoples.
God's gift noun Said of someone with an inflated sense of self-importance, or (occasionally) something that is overvalued.
God's gift to men noun Someone irresistible to men: someone whom all men find attractive; (often) someone ironically described as such.
God's gift to women noun Someone irresistible to women: someone whom all women find attractive; (often) someone ironically described as such.
God's work noun Any type of work that produces positive or constructive results.
going away adv Ahead of the competitors and still increasing the lead.
gold in them thar hills noun An opportunity for something to be profitable or beneficial.
gold mine noun A very profitable economic venture.
gold-dig verb To cultivate or develop a personal relationship (with someone) in order to attain wealth.
golden age noun A period of happiness, peace, prosperity, and great progress.
golden handcuffs noun Any arrangement or agreement designed to provide extremely favorable benefits or pay, so as to discourage a participant from choosing to…
golden hello noun A payment offered to an employee as an inducement to join, especially if currently working for a competitor.
golden parachute noun An agreement between a company and an employee, usually an executive, specifying that the employee will receive certain significant…
golden rule noun A fundamental rule or principle.
golden touch noun Synonym of Midas touch (“the ability to achieve financial reward (or, more generally, success) easily and consistently”).
golden years noun Old age; especially, the leisure years in later life after one has retired from employment.
golf widow noun A woman who is deprived of her husband's time and attention due to his regular absence in order to play golf.
gone case noun Someone or something that is deemed irredeemable, hopeless and beyond help; a doomed person or thing.

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