go for

English

Verb

go for (third-person singular simple present goes for, present participle going for, simple past went for, past participle gone for)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go,‎ for.

   I'll go for some milk.

   If John goes for three days without sleep, he will be very tired.

   I need to go for a checkup at the clinic.

   Tickets are going for upwards of $100.

2. (transitive) To try for, to attempt to reach.

   I'll go for the world record.

   Go for it!

3. (transitive) To undertake (an action); to choose an option.

   His phone was off so I couldn't ask his permission, so I decided to just go for it.

   I'll go for a swim if it's warm enough.

   I went for the pay-as-you-go plan.

4. (transitive) To attack.

   Careful, he'll go for your throat!

5. (transitive) To develop a strong interest in, especially in a sudden manner; to be infatuated with.
   • 2007 September 28, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 2, Episode 6:

     Douglas: Well done on passing the test, Jen... Yes, all those clumsy attempts at seduction. Don't tell me you couldn't see through them. They were a test to find out whether you really wanted to work for me or whether you just wanted to come up here for my body.
     Jen: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, not at all.
     Douglas: All right.
     Jen: No, physically you're just not the sort of man I go for.
     Douglas: Yeah, thanks, Jen.
     Jen: I go for the classically good-looking men: Blond, broad, and generally clean shaven.
     Douglas: Alright, yeah, enough of the jibber-jabber!

   Clyde took one look at Bonnie and really went for her.

6. To favor, accept; to have a preference for.

   Management won't go for such a risky project now.

   Do you want to climb the mountain with me?
   Yeah, I could go for that.

   • 1987, “Love in the First Degree”, in Wow!, performed by Bananarama:

     And the judge and the jury
     They all put the blame on me
     They wouldn't go for my story
     They wouldn't hear my plea

7. (transitive) To apply equally to.

   Stop taking my food from the fridge! That goes for you too, Nick!

   What I'm about to say goes for all of you.

   My wife hates football, and that goes for me as well.

8. (transitive) To suffice to be used for; to serve as.

   It's a desk that goes for a dresser too.

   • 1503, “19 Henry VII. c. 5: Coin”, in A Collection of Statutes Connected with the General Administration of the Law‎^[1], published 1836, page 158:

     […] every of them, being gold, whole and weight, shall go and be current in payment throughout this his realm for the sum that they were coined for.

9. (intransitive) To be accepted as.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Samuel 17:12:

     The man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.

Derived terms

• go for the jugular

Translations

to go somewhere in order to get something

• Finnish: hakea (fi), käydä hakemassa, noutaa (fi)
• Swedish: gå efter (sv)

to try for something

• Finnish: yrittää (fi), tavoitella (fi)
• Italian: tentare (it), provare (it)
• Norwegian: gå for
• Portuguese: tentar (pt)

to undertake (an action)

• Finnish: tehdä (fi)

to attack something

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 攻击 (zh) (gōngjī)

• Finnish: yrittää iskeä, hyökätä (fi)
• Portuguese: atacar (pt)

to develop a strong interest in

• Finnish: innostua (fi), ihastua (fi)

to favor, accept

• Finnish: lähteä mukaan

to apply equally to

• Finnish: koskea (fi), päteä (fi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Portuguese: validar (pt)

Anagrams

• forgo