a reliable person or thing one turns to as a preferred resource, strategy, option, etc..
She’s our go-to for computer advice.
This dish is my go-to when I need something quick for a potluck.
a person’s standard way of behaving or responding; reflex.
He’s not trying to impress you—that courtly politeness is his go-to with everybody.
relied on and turned to as a preferred resource, strategy, option, etc., for a particular purpose.
She’s been the team’s go-to penalty kicker all season.
This is my go-to dictionary.
being a person’s standard way of behaving or responding; usual or habitual.
When I tell them to get off the computer, their go-to excuse is that they need it for homework.
to be awarded to
the Nobel prize last year went to a Scot
to tackle a task vigorously
See going to .
Also, go toward . Contribute to a result, as in Can you name the bones that go to make the arms and legs? or The director has a good eye for seeing what will go toward an entire scene . [c. 1600]
Begin, start, as in By the time she went to call, she'd forgotten what she wanted to say . The related idiom go to it means “get started, get going.” P.G. Wodehouse used it in Louder & Funnier (1932): “Stoke up and go to it.” [First half of 1700s]
First recorded in 1980–85
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Dutch group supplies machines that use light to print tiny patterns that form circuits inside modern semiconductors, making it a go-to for big chip makers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Schwab, which has emerged as one of the Trumps’ go-to financial firms, is one of the major money managers at the center of that trading activity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Ranch outpost is rich in Hollywood history — a go-to site to shoot old westerns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
In those days, basketball was the go-to sport for wheelchair users and had been suggested to Parks while he recuperated in hospital but he had other ideas.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
I guess needing comfort food is a family trait, because all I want is my go-to food—Frosted Flakes.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
One reason why students are most at risk from meningitis is because when they go to university, they come into close contact with lots of people they have never met before.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Beijing wants “to move up the ladder fast and dominate technologies. For that, the fact that people consume and go to the cinema doesn’t really help.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“You don’t need to eat all organic food and go to a five-star gym. Utilize public parks and look at resources that are free in the community.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
"If there are activities you never do, the brain -- which works by saving energy -- won't go to the trouble of maintaining connections that aren't being used."
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Is she here to tell me that I can’t go to Sunridge, that I have to live with him, that I have no choice but to do what he wants?
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
