go-ahead
noun
Usually the go-ahead permission or a signal to proceed.
Jump to:
go-ahead
American
[goh-uh-hed]
/ ˈgoʊ əˌhɛd /
noun
-
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]
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.
“But I’m quite sure that we will go ahead with a significant exercise.”
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
It will go ahead without tanks and other military hardware being displayed.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
It is now unclear when the civil trial will go ahead, but the police are due to update the court at a hearing in July.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
If you do go ahead with the purchase, pay careful attention to your title deed.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
When they visited local families, they were often served food that both of them found unsavory, but they would go ahead and eat it.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
