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go for
verb
to go somewhere in order to have or fetch
he went for a drink
shall I go for a doctor?
to seek to obtain
I'd go for that job if I were you
to apply to
what I told him goes for you too
to prefer or choose; like
I really go for that new idea of yours
to be to the advantage of
you'll have great things going for you in the New Year
to make a physical or verbal attack on
to be considered to be of a stated importance or value
his twenty years went for nothing when he was made redundant
informal, to make the maximum effort to achieve a particular goal
Idioms and Phrases
Go in order to get, as in I'll go for the paper , or He went for the doctor . This usage, dating from the late 1500s, gave rise to the 20th-century noun gofer , a person who is habitually sent on routine errands.
Be equivalent to or valued as; also, pass for, serve as. For example, All our efforts are going for very little , or That silver went for a lot of money , or That sofa can go for a bed . [Mid-1500s]
Aim or try for, especially making a vigorous effort. For example, They're going for the league championship . This idiom is also put as go for it , as in When Steve said he'd like to change careers, his wife told him to go for it . The related phrase go for broke means “to commit all one's available resources toward achieving a goal,” as in Our competitors are going for broke to get some of our accounts . The first expression dates from the mid-1500s; the two colloquial variants from the first half of the 1900s. Also see all out ; go out for .
Attack, as in We have to tie up our dog, because he loves to go for letter carriers . A hyperbolic variant, go for the jugular , is used for an all-out attack on the most vital part, as in In political arguments he always goes for the jugular . The jugular is a blood vessel whose rupture is life-threatening. [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]
Have a special liking for, as in I really go for progressive jazz . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
Be valid for or applicable to, as in Kevin hates broccoli, and that goes for Dean, too . [Early 1900s] Also see have going for one .
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