go at it

present singular third person goes at it · participle present going at it · past went at it · participle past gone at it

1. As go at + it; spoken emphasis typically on 'go'.

   I can't figure out this problem. I've been going at it [going at the problem] for hours now.

2. As go + at it; spoken emphasis typically on 'at'.
   1. informalTo engage in some activity, especially vigorously or enthusiastically.

      We were all going at it like crazy, trying to get the job finished before the deadline.

   2. intransitiveslangTo fight or argue.

      Joe accidentally spilled his drink on Eric, Eric got up and insulted his mother, and before you know it, they were going at it.

      1 more example

      I sought Jem and found him in his room, on the bed deep in thought. “Have they been at it?” I asked. “Sort of. She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin‘ the family. Scout… I’m scared.”

      1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 15, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC

      Synonyms: get into it, mix it up, throw down, let someone have it

   3. euphemisticintransitiveslangTo have sex.

      I walked into my dorm room and caught my roommate and his girlfriend going at it.

      Synonyms: do it, get it on, approach, cohabit, common, company, copulate, couple