go hard (with) see under hard¹

go in

1. To enter
2. (of the sun or moon) to become concealed behind cloud
3. To begin batting (cricket)

go in and out

To come and go freely

go in for

1. To make a practice of
2. To take up as a career or special interest
3. To take part in (a competition, etc)

go into

1. To enter
2. To examine thoroughly, investigate or elaborate on
3. To adopt as a profession, etc
4. (of a whole number) to be capable of dividing a number

go in unto (Bible)

To have sexual intercourse with

go in with

1. To enter into partnership with
2. To join, combine with

go it

To act in a striking or dashing manner (often in imperative by way of encouragement)

go it alone see under alone

go live /līv/ (informal; of a radio station, automation equipment, etc)

To go into operation

go native

To assimilate oneself to an alien culture or to the way of life of a foreign country (usu less advanced than one's own)

go off

1. To leave
2. To explode
3. (of an alarm) to sound
4. To deteriorate
5. (of food) to become rotten and inedible
6. To proceed to an expected conclusion
7. To cease to like or be fond of (a person, etc) (informal)
8. To go to sleep
9. To experience an orgasm (slang)
10. To scold, reprimand (with at; Aust sl)
11. To be raided by the police (old Aust sl)
12. To get married (old Aust sl)
13. To cease to operate
14. To die (Shakespeare)

go off with

1. To go away with
2. To remove, take away (informal)

go on

1. To continue, proceed
2. An exclamation expressing disbelief (informal)
3. To behave, conduct oneself (informal)
4. To happen, as in What's going on?
5. To talk at length (informal)
6. To be capable of being fitted onto
7. To appear on stage
8. To fare
9. To begin to function
10. To proceed from (as in nothing to go on)

go on at

To carp at persistently

go one better

In some card games, to take a bet and increase the stake (also go better)

go one better (than)

1. To outdo, excel
2. To cap a performance
3. To achieve something more impressive, effective, etc (than someone or something)

go one's own way, go one's way see under way¹

go out

1. To become extinguished
2. To become unfashionable
3. To be broadcast
4. To mingle in society (old)

go out with

To have a romantic relationship with

go over

1. To examine or check in review
2. To recall
3. To revise

go over to

To transfer allegiance to

go places

1. To travel widely
2. To go far in personal advancement

go round

To be enough for all

go slow

(of workers) deliberately to restrict output or effort in order to obtain concessions from employers (go-slowˈ adjective and noun)

go slow with

To be sparing with

go steady

To court romantically, date regularly (with with)

go the whole hog see under whole

go through

1. To perform to the end, often perfunctorily
2. To examine in order
3. To undergo
4. To be approved
5. To use up or spend (informal)

go through fire and water

To undertake any trouble or risks (from the usage in ancient ordeals)

go through with

To carry out

go to (archaic)

Come now (a kind of interjection, like the L agedum, the Gr age nyn)

go to pieces see under piece

go to show (or prove)

To serve as an illustration for or as evidence of

go to the country see under country

go to the wall see under wall

go under

1. To become submerged, overwhelmed or ruined, eg (of a business) to fail, fold
2. To die (archaic)

go up

1. To ascend
2. To be erected
3. To be destroyed by fire or explosion
4. (of costs, prices, etc) to increase
5. To enter a university

go with

1. To accompany
2. To agree with, accord with
3. To court romantically

go without

To suffer the lack of

go without saying

To be self-evident (a Gallicism; Fr cela va sans dire)

great go

1. At Cambridge University, a degree examination, contrasted with little go (last held in 1961), a preliminary examination
2. At Oxford University, Greats (obsolete)

have a go (informal)

1. To make an attempt
2. (of a member of the public) to tackle a criminal

have a go at (informal)

1. To criticize severely
2. To attack physically
3. To tease or pick on

have something going for one (informal)

To enjoy the advantage of something

I could go (informal)

I could do with, I wouldn't mind (a drink, rest, etc)

let go see under let¹

make a go of

To make a valiant attempt to succeed at something

no go

1. Not possible
2. Futile
3. In vain

no-go area

A part of a city, etc to which normal access is prevented by the erection of barricades, esp by local militants, a paramilitary group, etc

on the go

Very active

to be going on with (informal)

For the moment, in the meantime

to go (usu N American)

(of food or drink from a restaurant or cafe) to be consumed off the premises

hard¹ /härd/

adjective

1. Not easily penetrated or broken
2. Unyielding to pressure
3. Firm, solid
4. Difficult to scratch (mining)
5. Difficult
6. Strenuous
7. Laborious
8. Vigorous
9. Bodily fit
10. Coarse and scanty
11. Stingy, niggardly
12. Difficult to bear or endure
13. Difficult to please
14. Unfeeling
15. Insensitive
16. Severe
17. Rigorous
18. Stiff
19. Tough
20. Constrained
21. Intractable
22. Obdurate
23. Troublesome
24. (of coal) anthracitic
25. (of water) difficult to lather owing to calcium or magnesium salt in solution
26. Harsh
27. Brilliant and glaring
28. Over-sharply defined
29. Live, reverberating
30. Lacking in finer shades
31. Used as a classification of pencil-leads to indicate durability in quality and faintness in use
32. (of drink) alcoholic or extremely so
33. (of a drug) habit-forming
34. (of news) definite, substantiated
35. (of consonants) representing a guttural, not a sibilant sound
36. Voiceless (obsolete phonetics)
37. (of radiation) penetrating
38. (of photographic paper) giving a high degree of image contrast
39. (of a person) tough
40. (of a space, hyphen or carriage return in typesetting or word processing) compulsory, not fortuitously required by a particular piece of typesetting, as, for instance, is the hyphen used to break a word at the end of a justified line, opp to soft

noun

1. Hardship
2. Hard state
3. Hard ground
4. A firm beach or foreshore
5. A layer of gravel or similar material laid down on swampy or wet ground to provide passage on foot
6. Hard labour
7. An erection of the penis (informal)

adverb

1. With urgency, vigour, etc
2. Earnestly, forcibly
3. Uneasily
4. In excess
5. Severely
6. To the full extent (as hard aport)
7. With difficulty
8. Harshly
9. Close, near, as in hard by

hardˈen transitive verb

1. To make hard, harder or hardy
2. To make firm
3. To strengthen
4. To confirm in wickedness
5. To make insensitive

intransitive verb

1. To become hard or harder (lit or figurative)
2. (of a market or prices) to stop fluctuating, esp to rise

hardˈened adjective

1. Made hard
2. Unfeeling
3. Obdurate

hardˈener noun

hardˈening noun

1. The act or fact of making or becoming hard
2. A substance added to harden anything
3. Sclerosis of the arteries

hardˈish adjective

Somewhat hard

hardˈly adverb

1. With difficulty
2. Scarcely, not quite
3. Severely, harshly

interjection

I shouldn't think so, it seems unlikely

hardˈness noun

1. The quality of being hard
2. Power of, and resistance to, scratching (mining)

hardˈship noun

1. A thing, or conditions, hard to bear
2. Privation
3. An instance of hard treatment (obsolete)

hard-a-leeˈ adverb

Close to the lee-side, etc

hard-and-fastˈ adjective

(of a rule, etc) rigidly laid down and adhered to

hard-and-fastˈness noun

hardˈback noun

A book with rigid covers (also adjective)

hardˈbacked adjective

hardˈbake noun

Almond toffee

hardˈball noun

No-nonsense, tough tactics used for (esp political) gain

hardˈbeam noun

The hornbeam

hardˈ-billed adjective

Having a hard bill or beak

hardˈ-bitten adjective

1. Given to hard biting, tough in fight
2. Ruthless, callous

hardˈboard noun

Compressed board made from wood fibre

hard-boiledˈ adjective

1. (of eggs) boiled until solid
2. (of a person) callous, brazen or cynical (informal)
3. Practical

hard bop noun

A type of jazz, developed in the late 1950s, with less complex rhythms than bop

hard card noun (computing)

A hard disk on a card for use with a personal computer

hard case noun (slang)

A person difficult to deal with or reform

hard cash noun

1. Coin
2. Ready money

hard cheese noun (slang)

Bad luck (chiefly as interjection)

hard coal noun

Anthracite

hard copy noun (computing)

Output printed on paper, legible to the human reader, as distinct from material which is coded or stored on disk

hardˈ-copy adjective

hard core noun

1. A durable, unyielding central part
2. (usu hardˈ-core) the rubble and other material used in the foundation of roadways
3. Something very resistant to change, as, eg the most loyal or the most diehard members of a group

hardˈ-core adjective

1. Relating to a hard core
2. Blatant
3. (of pornography) explicit, very obscene
4. (of rock music) consisting of short fast songs with minimal melody and aggressive delivery

hard court noun

A tennis court laid with asphalt or concrete, etc, not grass

hardˈcover same as hardback above.

hardˈ-cured adjective

(of fish) thoroughly cured by drying in the sun

hard currency noun

1. Metallic money
2. A currency with a high, stable or improving exchange rate, not subject to depreciation
3. A currency backed by bullion

hard disk noun (computing)

A metal disc with a magnetic coating, in a sealed rigid container, having a higher recording density than a floppy disk

hardˈ-drawn adjective

(of wire, etc) drawn when cold to give the required thickness

hard drinker noun

Someone who drinks alcohol persistently and excessively

hard drive or hard disk drive noun (computing)

A disk drive that controls the recording and reading of data on a hard disk

hardˈ-earned adjective

Earned through hard work or with difficulty

hard edge adjective

(of a style of abstract painting) using bright areas of colour with sharply defined edges

hardˈface noun

A soullessly relentless person

hardˈ-faced adjective

1. Tough-looking
2. Uncompromising
3. Unsympathetic
4. Unsentimental

hard facts plural noun

Undeniable, stubborn facts

hard-favˈoured or hard-featˈured adjective

Having hard, coarse, or forbidding features

hardˈ-favˈouredness noun

hard-featˈuredness noun

hard feelings plural noun

Hostility, resentment

hardˈ-fern noun

The northern fern (Lomaria or Blechnum)

hard-fistˈed adjective

1. Having hard or strong fists or hands
2. Close-fisted
3. Niggardly

hardˈ-fought adjective

Determinedly contested

hardˈ-got or hardˈ-gotten adjective

Obtained with difficulty

hardˈ-grained adjective

1. Having a close firm grain
2. Forbidding

hardˈgrass noun

Cocksfoot or other coarse grass

hardˈhack noun

An American spiraea

hard-handˈed adjective

1. Having hard hands
2. Rough
3. Severe

hard hat noun

1. A bowler hat
2. A protective helmet worn by building workers, etc
3. A worker who typically wears one
4. An obstinately conservative person

hardˈhead noun

1. Knapweed
2. A fish of various kinds (eg gurnard, menhaden, father-lasher)

hard-headˈed adjective

1. Shrewd
2. Pitiless

hard-heartˈed adjective

1. Unfeeling
2. Cruel

hard-heartˈedly adverb

hard-heartˈedness noun

hard-hitˈ adjective

1. Seriously hurt, as by a loss of money, the death of a loved one, etc
2. Deeply smitten with love

hard-hittˈing adjective

1. Duly condemnatory
2. Frankly condemnatory, pulling no punches

hard house noun

A form of house music (qv) with a particularly strong beat

hard labour noun

Physical labour as an additional punishment to imprisonment, abolished in 1948

hard landing noun

One made by a spacecraft, etc in which the craft is destroyed on impact

hard launch noun (commerce)

The official introduction of a new product the general public

hard left or hard right noun

The extremes of political thought, allegiance, etc, favouring the left (socialist) or right (conservative) views

hard line noun

A hardline attitude or policy

hardˈline adjective

1. (of an attitude or policy) definite and unyielding
2. Having such an attitude or policy

hardlinˈer noun

hard lines plural noun

1. A hard lot
2. Bad luck (usu as interjection)

hard luck noun

Hard lines, bad luck

hard-luck story noun

A person's (esp false or exaggerated) account of his or her own bad luck and suffering, usu intended to gain sympathy

hard man noun (informal)

1. A criminal specializing in acts of violence
2. Generally, a tough man

hardˈ-metal noun

Sintered tungsten carbide, used for the tip of high-speed cutting tools

hardˈmouthed adjective

1. (of a horse) with a mouth insensible to the bit
2. Not easily managed

hardˈnosed adjective (informal)

Tough, unsentimental

hard on or hardˈ-on noun (vulgar slang)

An erection of the penis

hard pad noun

Once considered to be a neurotropic virus disease of dogs, now recognized as a symptom of distemper, causing hardness of the pads of the feet

hard palate noun

The bony front part of the palate

hardˈ-pan noun

1. A hard layer often underlying the superficial soil
2. The lowest level

hardˈparts plural noun

The skeletal material in an organism

hardˈ-paste adjective

(of porcelain) made of china clay and altered granite

hardˈ-pressed or hardˈ-pushed adjective

1. In difficulties
2. Under pressure
3. Closely pursued

hard radiation noun

The more penetrating types of X-rays, beta rays and gamma rays

hard-ridˈing adjective

Strenuously riding

hard right see hard left above.

hard rock noun

A style of rock music, usu structurally and rhythmically simple and highly amplified

hard-rock geology noun (informal)

The geology of igneous and metamorphic rocks

hard roe see roe¹

hard rubber noun

Ebonite

hardˈ-ruled adjective (Shakespeare)

Ruled with difficulty

hardˈ-run adjective

Greatly pressed

hard sauce noun

A sauce made with butter and sugar, and flavoured with rum or other liquor

hard science noun

Any of the physical or natural sciences

hard'scrabble adjective (chiefly US)

Esp of a place, barren and impoverished

hard-secˈtored adjective (computing; now obsolete)

Of a floppy disk, formatted by a set of holes punched near the hub of the disk, each hole marking the start of a sector

hard sell noun

An aggressive and insistent method of promoting, advertising or selling

hardˈ-set adjective

1. Beset by difficulty
2. Rigid
3. Obstinate

hardˈshell adjective

1. Having a hard shell
2. Rigidly orthodox
3. Uncompromising

hardshell clam noun

The quahog

hard shoulder noun

A surfaced strip forming the outer edge of a motorway, used when stopping in an emergency

hard-standˈing noun

A hard (concrete, etc) surface on which cars, aircraft, etc may be parked

hard stocks plural noun

Bricks that, though sound, are overburnt and of bad shape or colour

hard stuff noun (informal)

1. Strong alcohol, spirits
2. Important information

hard swearing noun

1. Persistent and reckless swearing (by a witness)
2. (often) perjury

hardˈtack noun

Ship biscuit, a hard biscuit formerly used as food on sailing ships

hardˈtail noun (informal)

A motorcycle or bicycle with no suspension at the rear

hard time noun

1. An unpleasant experience
2. A difficult task

hardˈtop noun

1. A rigid roof on a motor car
2. A motor car with such a roof

hard-upˈ adjective

Short of money, or of anything else (with for)

hard-visˈaged adjective

Of a hard, coarse or forbidding face

hardˈware noun

1. Domestic goods (esp tools, etc) made of the baser metals, such as iron or copper
2. Mechanical equipment including war equipment
3. Mechanical, electrical or electronic components of a computer (cf software)

hardˈwareman noun

hard-wearˈing adjective

Lasting well in use, durable

hard wheat noun

Wheat having a hard kernel with a high gluten content

hard'wire transitive verb (computing)

To incorporate (a feature) into a system in such a way that it cannot subsequently be modified

hardˈ-wired adjective

(of a computer function) depending on its circuitry, which cannot therefore be modified by software

hardˈ-won adjective

Won with toil and difficulty

hardˈwood noun

1. Timber of deciduous trees, whose comparatively slow growth produces compact hard wood
2. Such a tree

hard words plural noun

1. Words that give difficulty to a half-educated reader
2. Harsh words
3. Angry words

hardworkˈing adjective

Diligent, industrious

be hard going see under going¹

die hard see under die¹

go hard but

Be almost certain that

go hard with

Turn out badly for

hard as nails

1. Very hard
2. Callous
3. Very tough

hard at it

Working hard, very busy

hard done by

Badly treated

harden off

To accustom (a plant) to outdoor conditions by gradually increasing exposure to the weather

hard of hearing

Somewhat deaf

hard on the heels of

Following immediately after

hard put to it

In dire straits or difficulty

hold hard

To stop

no hard feelings

No offence taken, no animosity (as a result of a defeat, etc)

put the hard word on (Aust)

To ask, particularly for a loan or (esp sexual) favour

the hard way

Through personal endeavour or salutary experience