go a long way

present singular third person goes a long way · participle present going a long way · past went a long way · participle past gone a long way

1. idiomaticTo be adequate or helpful for a significant amount of time.

   This new law will go a long way in addressing this issue.

   5 more examples

   Thank you for your generous donation; I'm sure it will go a long way.

   […] and soon every field-mouse was sipping and coughing and choking (for a little mulled ale goes a long way) and wiping his eyes and laughing and forgetting he had ever been cold in all his life.

   1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, chapter V, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC

   “She’s every right to expect a handsome present from me, of course,” she thought, looking vaguely at the leopard on its hind legs, “and I’ve no doubt she does! Money goes a long way with every one. The young are very selfish. […]”

   1915, Virginia Woolf, chapter XIV, in The Voyage Out, London: Duckworth & Co., […], →OCLC

   Always, always hold her hand / You'll find out, oh just a little love / Goes a long way

   1965, “Try a Little Love”, performed by Sam Cooke

   Biden Is Hoping Small Changes Go a Long Way on Immigration [title]

   2022 September 27, Michael D. Shear, Miriam Jordan, “Biden Is Hoping Small Changes Go a Long Way on Immigration”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

2. idiomaticTo achieve considerable success.

   The moment I met him I knew he would go a long way.

   1 more example

   All parents hope that their children will go a long way in their lives.