Go is to move from one place to another. When you go to school in the morning, you travel from home to your classroom. When the bell rings for recess, you go outside. The word describes almost any kind of movement or travel: you can go by car, by bike, on foot, or even by spaceship.

The word carries a sense of action and departure. “Let's go!” means it's time to start moving or begin something. When a traffic light turns green, it signals drivers to go. In races, competitors wait tensely until someone shouts “Ready, set, go!”

Go also means to function or work properly. When a machine is going, it's running. If your computer stops going, it has broken down or stopped working.

The word appears in countless everyday phrases. When something is on the go, it's happening while moving around: eating breakfast on the go means eating while traveling somewhere. To go ahead means to proceed with something. To give it a go means to try something. When you're ready to leave, you might say “I've got to get going.”

In board games like chess or checkers, players take turns, and “your go” means it's your turn to move. There is also an ancient strategy board game called Go, invented in China thousands of years ago.