go with the flow

Idioms  

1. Also, go with the tide. Move along with the prevailing forces, accept the prevailing trend, as in Rather than striking out in new directions, I tend to go with the flow, or Pat isn't particularly original; she just goes with the tide. The flow in the first and more colloquial term, which dates from the late 1900s, alludes to the ebb and flow of tides and probably gained currency because of its appealing rhyme.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go with the flow

But what type of fan are you - a die-hard enthusiast analysing all the tactics, a bag of nerves who watches from behind the sofa or an eternal optimist happy to go with the flow?

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

While you want to go with the flow, it seems like you don’t trust the maid of honor to finalize the trip details.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 29, 2026

Yet there’s equal incentive to surrender, to go with the flow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

Dymek, perhaps best known for creating a movie around a donkey’s perspective in the Oscar-nominated international feature “EO,” knew to go with the flow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024

“You just need to go with the flow a little. I mean, it’s just a job.”

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

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Related Words

• accept
• admit
• allow
• capitulate
• cave in
• cede
• confess
• give up
• grant
• hand over
• quit
• relinquish
• surrender
• yield

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