go for the gold

present singular third person goes for the gold · participle present going for the gold · past went for the gold · participle past gone for the gold · alternative go for gold

1. idiomaticintransitiveTo attempt to achieve the maximum result or reward in an endeavour.

   The 132-room Gaia Napa Valley Hotel wants to go for the gold, making it the highest-rated hotel in the state and the nation.

   2007 January 3, “Eco-friendly Napa Valley hotel caters to conscientious travelers”, in USA Today, McLean, Va.: Gannett Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2010

   5 more examples

   At next year's Senior Olympic event, [Sam] Griffith plans on adding the 100-meter low hurdle, discus, and the 220-meter run, in addition to the events he entered this year. "Sam, go for it," as General [Albert] Stubblebine once said, becomes a motto for him. With that thought in mind, Griffith goes for the gold!

   1984 November, “Griffith Goes for the Gold”, in Phoebe Russo, editor, INSCOM Journal, volume 7, number 11, Arlington, Va.: U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 3

   For the first three-quarters of the essay, [Jesse] Owens introduced the leading American athletes who would be going for gold. Then he turned to "an unhappier aspect of the games this year": the specter of black athletes using the Olympics as a forum of protest against America's treatment of its black citizens.

   1986, William J. Baker, “An Athlete Growing Old”, in Jesse Owens: An American Life, New York, N.Y.: The Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, →ISBN, page 210

   One look confirms that the Moby Brick is not destined to be a network server; this is a personal power tool to be carried around and plugged in wherever you need top-of-the-line computing power. And Ergo has gone for the gold in terms of the product's design.

   1992 February 11, John R. Quain, “Power Gets Cheaper”, in PC Magazine: The Independent Guide to Personal Computing, volume 11, number 3, New York, N.Y.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 152, column 2

   Deciding to go for the gold, he leaned close to Luke's ear and whispered, "Can you tell Mama I should have a dog? A really big dog?"

   1992, Nora Roberts, Honest Illusions, New York, N.Y.: Jove Books, published August 1993, →ISBN, page 439

   Volunteers in the 10-year study "went for the gold." Their objective was to bring their blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible.

   1994 April 21, Phillip Gorden, witness, “National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases”, in Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1995: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee of Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session: Part 4: National Institutes of Health […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 785

   Synonyms: go for the gold ring