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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 .
Example Sentences
Mr. Waterfield goes for “the strong do what they can and the weak concede them that right.”
Based on both teams' form, I should really go for a Manchester City win here, but sometimes gut instinct takes over and this is one of those occasions.
“Where like people would be gone for Thanksgiving and then they’d watch this and come back together and talk about it at work.”
That afternoon, after finishing his chores, Anthony told his parents he was going for some fresh air, which he often did to clear his head.
The same goes for writing about a disability, which is a mental or physical condition that significantly affects the ability to carry out at least one life activity.
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