go for broke

verb

To wager everything.

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Meanings

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

present singular third person goes for broke · participle present going for broke · past went for broke · participle past gone for broke

  1. To wager everything.
  2. idiomaticTo try everything possible or do every last thing possible in a final attempt.

    These shoeless gladiators "shoot the works" or as they themselves term it "go for broke" in each game. They battle for every inch ...

    1931 September 19, "Loui", “Want a Lot of Action? See Barefoot Games”, in Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, HI, page 11
    3 more examples

    Well, we shot the line and we went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus In a chartreuse microbus.

    1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall

    Going for broke, the BRB said that Edinburgh-Aberdeen and Hull-Doncaster-Leeds should be considered [for electrification], along with Plymouth-Penzance and Crewe-Holyhead, all to be in place by 2001. Norman Fowler's reply was short and to the point: Sorry, no.

    2024 January 10, Howard Johnston, “Launched for enthusiasts - now it's for everyone”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 29

    But Mr. Trump’s team went for broke, deciding not to seek a jury instruction that would have permitted jurors to find that Mr. Trump committed a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

    2024 May 30, Renato Mariotti, “How Trump’s Team Blew It”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
empty the tankgo all outgo big or go homego hard or go homethrow one's hat over the fencethrow one's hat over the wall

Origin

From Hawaiian Pidgin craps slang, meaning “to wager everything on one roll”: one would be broke, i.e. bankrupt, if one lost. Popularized by the movie Go for Broke! (1951), which is named for the 442nd Infantry Regiment’s unit motto.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish laittaa kaikki peliin, yrittää kaikkensa
  • laittaa kaikki peliinto wager everything
  • yrittää kaikkensato try everything possible in a final attempt
French tenter le tout pour le tout
  • tenter le tout pour le toutto try everything possible in a final attempt
German alles aufs Spiel setzen, alles auf eine Karte setzen
  • alles aufs Spiel setzento wager everything
  • alles auf eine Karte setzento try everything possible in a final attempt
Italian tentare il tutto per tutto
  • tentare il tutto per tuttoto try everything possible in a final attempt
Polish stawiać wszystko na jedną kartę, postawić wszystko na jedną kartę
  • stawiać wszystko na jedną kartęto wager everything
  • postawić wszystko na jedną kartęto wager everything
  • stawiać wszystko na jedną kartęto try everything possible in a final attempt
  • postawić wszystko na jedną kartęto try everything possible in a final attempt
  • iść na całośćto try everything possible in a final attempt
  • pójść na całośćto try everything possible in a final attempt
Spanish echar el resto
  • echar el restoto try everything possible in a final attempt
Swedish satsa allt på ett kort
  • satsa allt på ett kortto try everything possible in a final attempt
Cite this entry
APA

go for broke. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20for%20broke

MLA

“go for broke.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20for%20broke. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go for broke,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20for%20broke.

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