a reliable person or thing one turns to as a preferred resource, strategy, option, etc..
She’s our go-to for computer advice.
This dish is my go-to when I need something quick for a potluck.
a person’s standard way of behaving or responding; reflex.
He’s not trying to impress you—that courtly politeness is his go-to with everybody.
relied on and turned to as a preferred resource, strategy, option, etc., for a particular purpose.
She’s been the team’s go-to penalty kicker all season.
This is my go-to dictionary.
being a person’s standard way of behaving or responding; usual or habitual.
When I tell them to get off the computer, their go-to excuse is that they need it for homework.
to be awarded to
the Nobel prize last year went to a Scot
to tackle a task vigorously
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]
First recorded in 1980–85
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Ranch outpost is rich in Hollywood history — a go-to site to shoot old westerns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
In those days, basketball was the go-to sport for wheelchair users and had been suggested to Parks while he recuperated in hospital but he had other ideas.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Whenever Celenza has a leftover vegetable, his go-to is usually a frittata or a stir fry.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
“You want to use it for what it’s really needed as opposed to making it your go-to solution,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
I had seen enough action films with my brothers to know that sheets were the go-to item in that situation, but I couldn’t think.
From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana
On the other side, recruiters and talent-acquisition professionals say they need to go to new lengths to check whether candidates are as well qualified as they claim — or if they even exist.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
The "aim is to determine whether there are grounds to go to the Criminal Cases Review Commission", before hoping to get the case to the Court of Appeal.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
"If there are activities you never do, the brain -- which works by saving energy -- won't go to the trouble of maintaining connections that aren't being used."
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
But in the same way that the legislative branch may delegate to the president its power to impose tariffs, it may delegate its power to go to war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
She refused the relative safety and comfort of house arrest with a German family and chose to go to prison instead.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
