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go on

UK/ˈɡoʊˌɒn/US/ˈɡoʊˌɒn/
phraseB12 meaningsNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To go on is to keep happening or keep doing. Also, in the noun form, what is happening at all.

It has an unusual number of jobs. It means continue, so go on with what you were saying. It means happen, and asking what is going on is one of the most used questions in English. It means to talk too long, since going on about something is a complaint. And in British speech go on is an encouragement, meaning have a try, which is why it is what everybody says when offering somebody a second biscuit.

Definitions of go on

  1. 1phrasego onTo continue.B1

    “Please go on with what you were saying.”

  2. 2phrasehappenTo happen.B1

    “Nobody could say what would go on behind those doors.”

Also accepted in games: continue

Where it comes from

Structurally equivalent to go onward.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 3 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word