go Dutch

verb

To pay for one's own food and bills, or split the cost, when eating at a restaurant or going out for entertainment.

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Meanings

verbgo Dutch (third-person singular simple present goes Dutch, present participle going Dutch, simple past went Dutch, past participle gone Dutch)

present singular third person goes Dutch · participle present going Dutch · past went Dutch · participle past gone Dutch

  1. idiomaticinformalslangTo pay for one's own food and bills, or split the cost, when eating at a restaurant or going out for entertainment.

    Ashley Olsen may be a teenage zillionaire, but when she's out on the town with pals, she goes dutch.

    2005, Rex Reed, reviewing De-Lovely in Mews Items: Amazing But True Cat Stories, by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun, p. 193
    1 more example

    GOING DUTCH Some girls are quite willing to pay part of the expenses on special dates. When something is planned which is beyond the boy's means. . . .

    1958, Evelyn Ruth (Millis) Duvall, The Art of Dating, Associated Press, p. 138

Origin

A derivative of Dutch treat, from Dutch (“poor imitation; ersatz”), a derogatory term originally referring generically to German-speaking peoples as a whole; first attested 1914.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic وَزَّعَ الْمَصَارِيف
  • وَزَّعَ الْمَصَارِيف (wazzaʕa l-maṣārīf)split the cost
Chinese Mandarin AA制, 各自付帳 /各自付帐
  • AA制 (èièi zhì)split the cost
  • 各自付帳 /各自付帐 (gèzì fù zhàng)split the cost
Finnish maksaa omansa, jakaa lasku
  • maksaa omansasplit the cost
  • jakaa laskusplit the cost
French payer chacun sa part
  • payer chacun sa partsplit the cost
German getrennte Kasse machen, getrennt zahlen
  • getrennte Kasse machensplit the cost
  • getrennt zahlensplit the cost
Italian fare alla romana
  • fare alla romanasplit the cost
Japanese 割り勘する
  • 割り勘する (warikan suru)split the cost
Korean 더치페이하다
  • 더치페이하다 (deochipeihada)split the cost
Norwegian spleise
  • spleisesplit the cost
Polish płacić osobno
  • płacić osobnosplit the cost
Portuguese dividir o custo, dividir a conta
  • dividir o custosplit the cost
  • dividir a contasplit the cost
Romanian plăti nemțește
  • plăti nemțeștesplit the cost
Russian устра́ивать скла́дчину, устро́ить скла́дчину
  • устра́ивать скла́дчину (ustráivatʹ skládčinu)split the cost
  • устро́ить скла́дчину (ustróitʹ skládčinu)split the cost
  • плати́ть отде́льно (platítʹ otdélʹno)split the cost
  • плати́ть ка́ждый за себя́ (platítʹ káždyj za sebjá)split the cost
Spanish ir a escote, pagar a escote
  • ir a escotesplit the cost
  • pagar a escotesplit the cost
  • pagar a la inglesasplit the cost
  • pagar a pachassplit the cost
  • pagar a mediassplit the cost
  • dividir la cuentasplit the cost
  • compartir el costosplit the cost
  • para de por mediosplit the cost
  • pagar mitimitisplit the cost
  • pagar mitimotasplit the cost
  • dividir el comptosplit the cost
Tagalog kanya-kanyang bayad
  • kanya-kanyang bayadsplit the cost
Turkish Alman usulü ödemek
  • Alman usulü ödemeksplit the cost
Ukrainian плати́ти ко́жен за се́бе, плати́ти в скла́дчину
  • плати́ти ко́жен за се́бе (platýty kóžen za sébe)split the cost
  • плати́ти в скла́дчину (platýty v skládčynu)split the cost
Cite this entry
APA

go Dutch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20Dutch

MLA

“go Dutch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20Dutch. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go Dutch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20Dutch.

Source: go Dutch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.