going

go·ing
G2O1I1N1G2
UK, UK/ˈɡəʊ.ɪŋ/UK, West Midlands/ˈɡuː.ɪŋ/ [ˈɡʊw.ɪŋɡ]Northumbria, UK/ˈɡæn.ɪn/UK, sometimes/ɡaːn/

verb

Attending or visiting (a stated event, place, etc.) habitually or regularly.

“I'm afraid I must be going.”

Very commonScrabble 7

Meanings

going1

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of go

    I'm afraid I must be going.

  2. in compoundsAttending or visiting (a stated event, place, etc.) habitually or regularly.

    theatre-going, church-going, movie-going

noungoing (countable and uncountable, plural goings)

plural goings

  1. countableuncountableA departure.

    Māna-Yood-Sushāī was before the beginning of the gods, and shall be after their going. […] After the going of the gods there will be no small worlds nor big.

    1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC
    1 more example

    But he found it strange to think […] of all these little things that cluster round the comings, and the stayings, and the goings, that he would know nothing of them, nothing of what they had been, as long as he lived, […]

    1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC
  2. countableuncountableThe suitability of ground for riding, walking etc.

    The going was very difficult over the ice.

  3. countableuncountableProgress.

    We made good going for a while, but then we came to the price.

  4. countablefigurativelyuncountableConditions for advancing in any way.

    Not only were the streets not paved with gold, but the going was difficult for an immigrant.

  5. countablein pluraluncountableCourse of life; behaviour; doings; ways.

    His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 34:21
  6. countableuncountableThe whereabouts (of something).

    I can't find my sunglasses; you haven't seen the going of them, have you?

  7. countableuncountableThe horizontal distance between the front of one step in a flight of stairs and the front of the next.

    Each step had a rise of 170 mm and a going of 250 mm.

adjectivegoing (not comparable)
  1. not comparableLikely to continue; viable.

    He didn't want to make an unsecured loan to the business because it didn't look like a going concern.

  2. not comparableCurrent, prevailing.

    The going rate for manual snow-shoveling is $25 an hour.

  3. especiallynot comparableAvailable.

    He has the easiest job going.

    1 more example

    Craig: Did you look at Tudor life? did you do a lot of studying about that? Natalie: Yeah, I was really geeky about it, I read every single book that was going.

    2013, Natalie Dormer, interview on, The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

Going2

proper nounGoing (plural Goings)

plural Goings

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivein full operation

Similar

nounthe act of departing

Broader
actdeedhuman action

nouneuphemistic expressions for death

nounadvancing toward a goal

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishgoing
  2. Proto-Germanic*gēną
  3. Proto-Germanic*gēndz
  4. Old Englishgānde
  5. Middle Englishgoinge
  6. Englishgoing

Verb form from Middle English goinge, goynge, gayng, variants of gonde, goonde, gaand, from Old English gānde, from Proto-Germanic *gēndz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *gēną, *gāną (“to go”), equivalent to go + -ing. Cognate with West Frisian geanend (“going”), Dutch gaand (“going”), German gehend (“going”), Danish gående (“going”), Swedish gående (“going”). Noun and adjective from Middle English going, goyng, gaing, gayng, equivalent to go + -ing. Compare German Gehung, Old English gang (“a going”). More at gang.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish käyvä, lähtö
  • käyväattending habitually or regularly
  • lähtödeparture
  • menodeparture
  • edistysprogress
  • menoprogress
  • menoconditions for advancing
  • menocourse of life, doings, ways
  • mahdollinenlikely to continue; viable
  • nykyinencurrent, prevailing
  • mitä onavailable
German Fortschritt, Weiterkommen
  • Fortschrittprogress
  • Weiterkommenconditions for advancing
  • geltendcurrent, prevailing
Hindi व्रजन, चालू
  • व्रजन (vrajan)departure
  • चालू (cālū)progress
Hungarian aktuális
  • aktuáliscurrent, prevailing
Latin itio
  • itioprogress
Polish chodzący, odejście
  • chodzącyattending habitually or regularly
  • odejściedeparture
  • odjazddeparture
  • odlotdeparture
  • postępprogress
  • warunkiconditions for advancing
  • sposobycourse of life, doings, ways
  • realnylikely to continue; viable
  • bieżącycurrent, prevailing
  • dostępnyavailable

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with going

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

going. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/going

MLA

“going.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/going. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “going,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/going.

Source: going on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.