- present participle of go.
going
Americannoun
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the act of leaving or departing; departure.
a safe going and quick return.
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the condition of surfaces, as those of roads, for walking or driving.
After the heavy rain, the going was bad.
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progress; advancement.
With such slow going, the work is behind schedule.
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Usually goings. behavior; conduct; deportment.
adjective
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moving or working, as machinery.
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active, alive, or existing.
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continuing to operate or do business, especially in a successful manner.
a going company.
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current; prevalent; usual.
What is the going price of good farmland in this area?
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leaving; departing.
idioms
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going away, by a wide margin, especially as established in the late stages of a contest.
The champion won the bout going away.
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get going, to begin; get started.
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going on,
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nearly; almost.
It's going on four o'clock.
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happening.
What's going on here?
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continuing; lasting.
That party has been going on all night.
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noun
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a departure or farewell
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the condition of a surface such as a road or field with regard to walking, riding, etc
muddy going
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informal speed, progress, etc
we made good going on the trip
adjective
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thriving (esp in the phrase a going concern )
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current or accepted, as from past negotiations or commercial operation
the going rate for electricians
the going value of the firm
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(postpositive) available
the best going
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a statement by an auctioneer that the bidding has finished
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of going
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; see go 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
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:
"I'm going to have to stretch my budget even more this month, with great difficulty," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Three years into the AI trade, Wall Street is no closer to agreeing about whether it’s a bubble, how much longer it can keep going or what might ultimately end it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
He saw more trash, several guests going off trail and trampling plant life, and far fewer park rangers to tell them to stop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"All the benefits I was getting were going on fuel to get my daughter to and from school every day," he told the BBC.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
I know exactly where he’s going with this, and so does Dad.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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In front of the hospital gates, a guard in a surgical mask did his best to keep track of all the comings and goings.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Some of the players were not happy with the goings on.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
“Jazz Island” names nine characters, plus four secondary ones, whose individual comings and goings sometimes distract from those of the others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
Meyer owns and operates the Record, managing a staff of only seven that reports on the comings and goings of the city of Marion’s 1,900 or so residents.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2025
For near a fortnight there had been so many comings and goings that Robb ordered both portcullises kept up and the drawbridge down between them, even in the dead of night.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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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.