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

Nvidia’s first quarter earnings, after the close of trading on Wednesday, will go a long way toward defining the immediate future of the chip sector’s staggering spring advance.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Financial experts say building intentional saving and spending habits early can go a long way toward long-term financial success.

From MarketWatch • May 8, 2026

I think that will go a long way toward lowering the temperature.

From Slate • Jan. 5, 2026

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

If we all understood each other better, we could go a long way toward stopping violence.

From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine