go to the trouble

Idioms

Also, take the trouble;. Make the effort or spend the money for something. For example, He went to the trouble of calling every single participant, or She took the trouble to iron all the clothes, or Don't go to the bother of writing them, or They went to the expense of hiring a limousine. [Second half of 1800s] Also see put oneself out.

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.

See Examples For:

go to the trouble

Why would Slate go to the trouble of creating this alternate reality?

From Slate ● Oct. 16, 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

Jackie says residents like her must go to the trouble of collecting a roll of clear pink bags from the local library, which is only open at specific times and on certain days.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

Kind of a cringey comedic bit between Trevor Noah and Bad Bunny that I won’t go to the trouble of play-by-playing here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026

Who would go to the trouble of writing things like that?

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023