go for

verb

1. to go somewhere in order to have or fetch

   he went for a drink

   shall I go for a doctor?

2. to seek to obtain

   I'd go for that job if I were you

3. to apply to

   what I told him goes for you too

4. to prefer or choose; like

   I really go for that new idea of yours

5. to be to the advantage of

   you'll have great things going for you in the New Year

6. to make a physical or verbal attack on

7. to be considered to be of a stated importance or value

   his twenty years went for nothing when he was made redundant

8. 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

Was it the night when, despite my atrial fibrillation, I went for broke and surreptitiously swallowed a half-dose of generic Viagra?

From Los Angeles Times

The other one was against Burnley in week two, where I went for a draw... and they suffered their only defeat of the season.

From BBC

And as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza City, the UN says that attacks on and around hospitals have left sick and injured civilians with nowhere to go for life-saving treatment.

From BBC

Last month he went for tests and was told he would need hearing aids in the future, he says.

From BBC

Morgan and I went for brunch and immediately knew we had to return for dinner.

From Salon

Related Words

• accept 
• favor 
• prefer