to know what's going on
320
3.1
- phrasal verb
- They know what's going on.
- want to know what's going on
- know exactly what's going on
- people know what's going on
Examples
-
We didn't know what was going on.
-
Children feel more comfortable knowing what's going on so that they can deal with it.
Academic text (2011) -
We're pretty sure you know what's going on.
-
I just want to know what's going on.
-
If you see him, tell him to let me know what's going on.
-
Everybody knows what's going on in here.
-
Tell my agent I want to know what's going on in my career.
Fiction book (1991) -
"Now the whole neighborhood is going to know what's going on in this house.
Fiction book (1993) -
From the start, Israel's then prime minister, Ehud Barak, knew exactly what was going on.
Academic text (2006) -
She always tries to know what's going on in her community to help others.
Synonyms
13
4.9
Understand what really happens in a situation, often when it is bad
9
3.1
To keep up with the latest news and events
7
6.4
To understand what is really happening because of experience
7
6.7
To understand a situation or subject well
4
6.3
To notice things quickly and act to fix them
1
7.8
To understand how things work in a place or job
1
7.9
Work out what is happening in a situation by looking and thinking
Antonyms
How Aware
10
3.0
320
3.1
9
5.6
- Informal
6
8.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to be well-informed about the current situation' is directly derivable from combining 'know' with 'what's (what is)' and 'going on' where 'going on' means 'happening' or 'occurring'. This is a straightforward compositional pattern (know + what is happening) that follows normal English grammar and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words and the contraction will understand it.
Etymology
Know what's going on comes from the simple picture of someone standing where they can see and hear everything that happens. That's why to know what is going on means 'to be well-informed'.