Meanings
present singular third person goes with the flow · participle present going with the flow · past went with the flow · participle past gone with the flow
- idiomaticTo act as others are acting, conforming to common behavior patterns with an attitude of calm acceptance.
“Look, you know, I go with the flow based on what the campaign wants to do,” Priebus told NBC’s Meet the Press. “I think Kellyanne is doing a phenomenal job. I don’t know Steve Bannon, to tell you the truth, very well.”
2016 August 28, Tom McCarthy, quoting Reince Priebus, “Reince Priebus on Trump campaign hires: ‘I go with the flow’”, in The GuardianSynonyms: blow with the wind, float with the stream · Antonyms: go against the flow
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo act as others are acting, conforming to common behavior patterns with an attitude of calm acceptance.
Origin
Here, flow is used in the sense of "direction of movement."
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 隨波逐流 /随波逐流
- 隨波逐流 /随波逐流 (suíbōzhúliú)to act as others are acting
Finnish mennä virran mukana
- mennä virran mukanato act as others are acting
French faire comme tout le monde
- faire comme tout le mondeto act as others are acting
German mit dem Strom schwimmen
- mit dem Strom schwimmento act as others are acting
Greek να πηγαίνεις με τα νερά τους
- να πηγαίνεις με τα νερά τους (na pigaíneis me ta nerá tous)to act as others are acting
Polish iść z nurtem
- iść z nurtemto act as others are acting
Portuguese deixar-se ir na onda
- deixar-se ir na ondato act as others are acting
Russian плыть по тече́нию
- плыть по тече́нию (plytʹ po tečéniju)to act as others are acting
Spanish ir / andar con la corriente, contemporizar
- ir / andar con la corrienteto act as others are acting
- contemporizarto act as others are acting
Swedish följa med strömmen
- följa med strömmento act as others are acting
Cite this entry
go with the flow. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20with%20the%20flow
“go with the flow.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20with%20the%20flow. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go with the flow,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20with%20the%20flow.
Source: go with the flow on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.