go-ahead

[goh-uh-hed]

noun

1. Usually the go-ahead permission or a signal to proceed.

   They got the go-ahead on the construction work.

2. Baseball.,  Usually the go-ahead go-ahead run.

   With two outs, and the go-ahead on first, Hoffman winds up and delivers the pitch.

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

adjective

1. moving forward; advancing.

2. enterprising.

   a go-ahead Yankee peddler.

go ahead

verb

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

noun

1. informal,  permission to proceed

adjective

1. enterprising or ambitious

Word History and Origins

Origin of go ahead¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Move forward rapidly or act without restraint; also, continue something. For example, If you want to borrow the tractor, go ahead . This expression is often put as go ahead with , as in Are you going ahead with the house party? The term dates from the mid-1600s and gave rise to give the go-ahead , meaning “give permission to move or act in some way.”

go ahead of . Make one's way to the front of, as in They went ahead of me to see the purser . [Mid-1700s]

Related Words

• assent 
• consent 
• green light 
• permission