Goings-on are the activities, events, or happenings taking place in a particular situation, especially when they seem interesting, unusual, or slightly mysterious. When your teacher asks “What are the goings-on in the back row?” during class, she wants to know what activities or behavior are happening back there.

The phrase often carries a sense of curiosity or mild suspicion. If neighbors are peeking through curtains at the goings-on next door, they've noticed unusual activity: maybe moving trucks, lots of visitors, or strange noises. A student might report the goings-on at recess to explain why a crowd had gathered near the basketball court.

The word can describe both innocent activities and questionable ones. You might hear about the exciting goings-on at a town festival, or someone might disapprove of the goings-on at a party that got too loud. A detective investigating a mystery pays close attention to the goings-on at the scene, looking for clues in the activities and behavior of everyone involved.

The phrase is always plural (never “a going-on”) and suggests multiple things happening, often simultaneously. When someone wants to know all the goings-on at school while they were sick, they're asking for a full report of everything that happened while they were away.