go wrong
Idioms-
Go astray, make a mistake. For example, We made a left turn and somehow went wrong from then on , or You won't go wrong if you follow the directions in the dress pattern . [c. 1300]
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Take to evil ways, become a criminal, as in As soon as he turned thirteen, Billy fell in with a gang and began to go wrong . [c. 1500]
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Fail, turn out badly, as in Everything about this party has gone wrong . [Late 1500s]
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Fail to work properly, as in The car starts fine, but as soon as you put it in gear, the transmission goes wrong . [Late 1800s]
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.
Dimon told the Fox show that markets are unpredictable, but they could be reflecting worries that there’s a chance something could go wrong.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
Smucker’s SJM 0.14%increase; green up pointing triangle overpayment for Hostess Brands, based on excessively optimistic expectations for Twinkies, is a recent example of how that can go wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
All in all, you can’t really go wrong with either of these.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
Instead, he accepts that things can go wrong and if they do it is all about limiting the damage.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
If we mess about with that pattern, all kinds of things can go wrong.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
