go-to

[ goh-too ]

/ ˈgoʊˌtu /

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adjective Informal.

being a person who can be turned to for expert knowledge, advice, or reliable performance, especially in a crucial situation: He's our go-to guy in a budget crisis.

noting something that can always be relied on to bring satisfaction, success, or good results: my go-to recipe for cheesecake.

(in team sports) being a player who can be relied on to score, especially at a crucial time in the game.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of go-to

First recorded in 1980–85

Words nearby go-to

go through the motions, go through the roof, go through with, got it, Gotland, go-to, go to any length, go to bat for, go to bed with, go together, go to hell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use go-to in a sentence

Everywhere I go, ‘Hey Cartman, you must like Family Guy, right?’
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Luckily enough I have this dedicated flat that is just along from my house that I go to every day.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The other songs go in to lesser percentages of “me” as you move along.
Belle & Sebastian Aren’t So Shy Anymore|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At the moment, the only chance I get is when I go do Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
All the operations of her brain related themselves somehow to to-morrow afternoon.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
When the women came, he was preparing to go to the west side for his daily visit with Mrs. Pruitt.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Were you ever arrested, having in your custody another man's cash, and would rather go to gaol, than break it?
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
He desired his secretary to go to the devil, but, thinking better of it, he recalled him as he reached the door.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for go-to

go to

verb (intr, preposition)

to be awarded tothe Nobel prize last year went to a Scot

go to it to tackle a task vigorously

interjection

archaic an exclamation expressing surprise, encouragement, etc

adjective go-to

(of a person) extremely dependablethe go-to guy in the team
(of a place) popularly visitedgo-to destinations

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with go-to

go to

See going to.

Also, go toward. Contribute to a result, as in Can you name the bones that go to make the arms and legs? or The director has a good eye for seeing what will go toward an entire scene. [c. 1600]

Begin, start, as in By the time she went to call, she'd forgotten what she wanted to say. The related idiom go to it means “get started, get going.” P.G. Wodehouse used it in Louder Funnier (1932): “Stoke up and go to it.” [First half of 1700s]