go on
Britishverb
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to continue or proceed
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to happen or take place
there's something peculiar going on here
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(of power, water supply, etc) to start running or functioning
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(preposition) to mount or board and ride on, esp as a treat
children love to go on donkeys at the seaside
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theatre to make an entrance on stage
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to act or behave
he goes on as though he's rich
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to talk excessively; chatter
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to continue talking, esp after a short pause
``When I am Prime Minister,'' he went on, ``we shall abolish taxes.''
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(foll by at) to criticize or nag
stop going on at me all the time!
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(preposition) to use as a basis for further thought or action
the police had no evidence at all to go on in the murder case
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(foll by for) to approach (a time, age, amount, etc)
he's going on for his hundredth birthday
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cricket to start to bowl
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to take one's turn
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(of clothes) to be capable of being put on
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(used with a negative) to care for; like
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something that is adequate for the present time
interjection
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Happen, take place, as in What's going on here? [Early 1700s]
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Continue, as in The show must go on . [Late 1500s]
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Keep on doing; also, proceed, as in He went on talking , or She may go on to become a partner . [Second half of 1600s]
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Act, behave, especially badly. For example, Don't go on like that; stop kicking the dog . [Second half of 1700s]
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Also, go on and on ; run on . Talk volubly, chatter, especially tiresomely. For example, How she does go on! The first usage dates from the mid-1800s; run on appeared in Nicholas Udall's Ralph Roister Doister (c. 1553): “Yet your tongue can run on.“
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An interjection expressing disbelief, surprise, or the like, as in Go on, you must be joking! [Late 1800s]
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Approach; see going on .
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Use as a starting point or as evidence, as in The investigator doesn't have much to go on in this case . [Mid-1900s]
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go on something . Begin something, as in go on line , meaning “start to use a computer,” or go on a binge , meaning “begin to overdo, especially drink or eat too much.”
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.
The event was rested for a fallow year this summer but will return in June 2027, with tickets expected to go on sale in November.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The superhero franchises just go on and on, and if you don’t know the histories or mythologies or inside jokes, well, you’re simply not a member of the sect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Now bands are like, “I don’t want to go on the road — I’m gonna take a mental health break.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Disney would go on to run a similar playbook with its acquisitions of Marvel and Lucasfilm—financing large portions of those deals with stock, then buying back shares with ESPN-funded cash flow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It was luck and the persistence of a few, making the most of the science they had to go on at the time.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
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.
