go a long way toward

Idioms  

1. Have considerable effect or influence on. For example, This argument goes a long way toward proving the scientists are wrong, or, as Eudora Welty put it in The Ponder Heart (1954): “It went a long way toward making him touchy about what Uncle Daniel had gone and done.” This idiom, then put as go a great way toward, was first recorded in 1697.

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Example Sentences

The move could go a long way toward helping bring the second-oldest U.S. market index into the 21st century.

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

But $500 billion could go a long way toward solving a lot of American problems.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026

That would go a long way toward achieving Musk’s dream of eventually colonizing Mars.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025

Prevention strategies that take neurodiversity into account could go a long way toward reducing the number of young lives lost too soon.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

"My lords, it seems to me that if the rest of her kin were to remain loyal in this terrible time, that would go a long way toward laying our fears to rest."

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin