go west

Idioms  

1. Die, as in He declared he wasn't ready to go west just yet. This expression has been ascribed to a Native American legend that a dying man goes to meet the setting sun. However, it was first recorded in a poem of the early 1300s: “Women and many a willful man, As wind and water have gone west.”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

go west

Americans today likely don’t realize just how difficult it was for young men to take Horace Greeley’s advice and go west, especially to California.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Abu Daqqa was urging the family to go west, but Ayat was resisting.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025

Story left the Cincinnati area in 1979 to go west and find her biological father, traveling to Las Vegas with two male friends, police said.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

“You go west, what do they have? They have a skatepark. They have a dog park. They have concession stands,” Moise said.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022

“Traveling by instinct, they would simply go west by the most direct route—straight across country, over the Ironmouth Range.”

From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford

Related Words

• betray
• bolt
• depart
• escape
• flee
• forsake
• give up
• quit
• vacate