go-ahead
noun
Usually the go-ahead permission or a signal to proceed.
go-ahead
American
[goh-uh-hed]
/ ˈgoʊ əˌhɛd /
noun
-
go-aheads
plural
-
Usually the go-ahead permission or a signal to proceed.
They got the go-ahead on the construction work.
-
Baseball. Usually the go-ahead go-ahead run.
With two outs, and the go-ahead on first, Hoffman winds up and delivers the pitch.
-
Chiefly Hawaii and California. a sandal held on the foot by a strap between the big toe and the next toe.
adjective
-
moving forward; advancing.
-
a go-ahead Yankee peddler.
go ahead
British
verb
noun
adjective
go ahead
Idioms
-
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]
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of go-ahead
An Americanism first recorded in 1830–40; noun and adjective use of verb phrase go ahead
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, whose go-ahead home run Tuesday nearly made him a hero, collected two more hits and drove in two runs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Bauers delivered the knockout blow in Milwaukee’s 6-2 victory on Wednesday, smashing a go-ahead, two-run home run off ace Blake Snell to give the Brewers a lead they would never relinquish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
And then Luis Lara sent a ground-ball single through the middle of the infield to drive in the go-ahead run.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The residents' coalition is trying to overturn the decision to give the march the go-ahead.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
I assured her, and raised my scalpel, waiting for Mr. Mams to give us the go-ahead.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
OMM has faced some criticism on social media for allowing the run to go ahead in the poor weather.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
"We have promised the people of Mannar... that only projects already approved or under construction will go ahead," he said, adding that future wind farms would be built elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2026
The intervention follows the BBC's announcement that plans for a bespoke studio at its new Tea Factory headquarters in Digbeth would not go ahead.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
In winter, "pupils are forced to keep their coats on," he said, while summer heatwaves have raised questions about whether end-of-year exams can go ahead.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
If that bug wants to keep doing the same thing over and over and over and over till it dies, go ahead.
From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle
If they can secure the zoning approval and the go-aheads from the community advisory board and gaming commission, they will then have to pay at least a $500 million license fee to the state.
From New York Times ● May 2, 2022
After my recent column on different synonyms for flip-flops — zories, go-aheads, thongs, etc. — readers wrote in to share terms they learned growing up.
From Washington Post ● May 5, 2021
But church officials say their own plan is “shovel ready,” awaiting formal go-aheads from city and state financing agencies.
From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2010
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
