GO AHEAD | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
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English (UK)

Meaning of go ahead in English

go ahead

phrasal verb with go verb
uk
/ɡəʊ/ us
/ɡoʊ/
present participle going | past tense went | past participle gone
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B2
to start to do something:
go ahead with We've received permission to go ahead with the music festival in spite of opposition from local residents.
I got so fed up with waiting for him to do it that I just went ahead and did it myself.
B2 informal
said to someone in order to give them permission to start to do something:
"Could I ask you a rather personal question?" "Sure, go ahead."
If an event goes ahead, it happens:
The festival is now going ahead as planned.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Starting and beginning
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go-ahead
noun [ S ]
uk
/ˈɡəʊ.ə.hed/ us
/ˈɡoʊ.ə.hed/
an occasion when permission is given for someone to start doing something or for an event or activity to happen:
give the go-ahead The government has given the go-ahead for a multi-billion pound road-building project.
get the go-ahead We're ready to start but we're still waiting to get the go-ahead from our head office.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
to allow someone to do something
  • allowAm I allowed to go to the park?
  • letShe wanted to go but her parents wouldn't let her.
  • permitSmoking is not permitted in any part of the building.
  • have your permissionYou have my permission to stay out past midnight on Friday.
  • authorizeWho authorized this expenditure?
  • give something the go-aheadThe government has given the go-ahead for a multi-billion pound road-building project.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Accepting & agreeing
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go-ahead
adjective
uk
/ˈɡəʊ.ə.hed/ us
/ˈɡoʊ.ə.hed/

go-ahead adjective (ENTHUSIASTIC)

UK
enthusiastic about using new products and modern methods of doing things:
We have a flexitime system and crèche facilities and like to think of ourselves as a go-ahead employer.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Modern & fashionable
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go-ahead adjective (WINNING)

A go-ahead goal, run (= single point in cricket or baseball, scored by running from one place to another), touchdown (= score in American football), etc. is one that puts a team or player in the winning position:
go-ahead goal She scored the go-ahead goal in the 44th minute.
go-ahead run When he singled in two go-ahead runs, I jumped up and down with the crowd.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Winning, losing & scoring in sport
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(Definition of go ahead from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

go ahead | American Dictionary

go ahead

phrasal verb with go verb
us
/ɡoʊ/
present tense goes | present participle going | past tense went us/went/ | past participle gone us/ɡɔn, ɡɑn/
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to begin or continue with a plan or activity without waiting, esp. after a delay:
The meeting will go ahead as planned.
go-ahead
noun [ U ]
us
/ˈɡoʊ·əˌhed/
permission or notice that an activity may begin:
We’re ready to start the project but we’re still waiting for the go-ahead.
(Definition of go ahead from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

go ahead | Business English

go ahead

phrasal verb with go verb
uk
/ɡəʊ/ us
going | went | gone
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[ I ]
to start to do something:
go ahead with sth The United States can go ahead with the program with or without Canada's participation.
[ I ]
if an event goes ahead, it happens:
The company settled out of court on the day before the trial was due to go ahead.
go-ahead
noun [ S ]
uk
us
permission to start doing something or for an event or activity to happen:
the go-ahead to do sth Developers got the go-ahead to turn 42 acres of industrial land into housing development.
the go-ahead for sth Airbus wants half a dozen launch customers signed up before it gives the go-ahead for the new aircraft.
get/give/receive the go-ahead It applied for permission to launch the fund in December and received the go-ahead in May.
(Definition of go ahead from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of go ahead

go ahead
Initially the party leaders felt that if day-care expansion was to be given its final go-ahead the costs loomed high.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
It is likely that that relationship exists in most go-ahead companies that look to the future.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Which hospitals will be closed if the new district hospital is given the go-ahead?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
I hope that we shall be able to announce the firm go-ahead later this month.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
It is frustrating that they have not given the go-ahead for 90 local radio stations rather than nine.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
They are vibrant; they are go-ahead; they give good education to the young people concerned.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The parochial church council were an enterprising and go-ahead body, and they determined to get rid of these graves.
From the
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Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
What they did was to give the go-ahead to petrol stations, to gambling establishments, and to bowling alleys.
From the
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Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
How does he hope for a stable and go-ahead economy when enterprise and initiative are stifled by high taxation?
From the
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Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
They recognise that there is likely to be a consumer boycott of their products if irradiation is given the go-ahead and if people lose confidence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
Despite the fact that we do not yet have the go-ahead for the airport, almost 70 companies are working on the brownfield site.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
The go-ahead for container terminal 9 will certainly greatly help to consolidate vital international confidence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
So there is a lack of encouragement to the go-ahead person who wants to start up something new in his own locality.
From the
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Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
It is long overdue and must be given the go-ahead if the tinplate industry is to be saved.
From the
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Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
It is ridiculous that a man with that go-ahead endeavour has been placed under intolerable strain.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
See all examples of go ahead
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of go-ahead?
 

Translations of go ahead

in Chinese (Traditional)
開始做, 著手做, （用於給別人許可）進行，開始，做…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
开始做, 着手干, （用于给别人许可）进行，开始，做…
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in Spanish
seguir adelante, adelante, luz verde…
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in Portuguese
iniciar, começar, vá em frente…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Bengali
in Gujarati
in Polish
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Urdu
in Italian
in Russian
पुढे जाणे, काही करण्याची सुरुवात करणे, एखाद्याला काही बोलायला वा करायला परवानगी देताना काढलेले उद्गार.…
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始める, 取りかかる, どうぞ…
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yapmaya başlamak, yürütmek, ilerlemek…
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se dérouler, mettre à exécution, aller…
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tirar endavant, endavant…
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ఏదైనా చేయడం ప్రారంభించడానికి, కానివ్వండి, చెయ్యండి/ ఏదైనా చేయడం ప్రారంభించడానికి అనుమతి ఇవ్వడానికి ఎవరితోనైనా చెప్పేది…
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يَنطَلِق, يُشرِع في, تَفَضّل…
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ஏதாவது செய்ய ஆரம்பிக்க, ஏதாவது செய்யத் தொடங்க அவர்களுக்கு அனுமதி வழங்குவதற்காக ஒருவரிடம் கூறினார், ஒரு நிகழ்வு முன்னால் சென்றால்…
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किसी चीज़ की शुरुआत करना, किसी को कोई काम शुरू करने की इजाज़त देने के लिए प्रयुक्त, आयोजन होना…
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কিছু করার জন্যে অগ্রসর হওয়া, কিছু শুরু করার অনুমতি দেওয়ার সময়ে ব্যবহার করা হয়, পরিকল্পনা অনুযায়ী এগিয়ে যাওয়া…
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કંઈક શરૂ કરો, કોઈને કંઈક શરૂ કરવાની પરવાનગી આપવા માટે વપરાય છે, આયોજન કરવું…
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zaczynać, przystępować, proszę (bardzo)…
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gå videre, sette i gang, være i orden…
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시작하다, (허락)시작해!…
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جاری رکھنا, آگے بڑھنا, بالکل (پیش قدمی کی اجازت کے سیاق میں)…
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cominciare, fai pure, va’ avanti…
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начинать, пожалуйста!…
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go after someone
go against someone
go against the flow idiom
go against the grain idiom
go ahead
go all in
go all out idiom
go all the way idiom
go along

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