to let it go
370
3.5
- phrasal verb
:
dejar pasar
- You know, you just have to let it go and keep moving forward.
- just let it go
- so I let it go
And sometimes we can think that we've let it go and we haven't.
- And sometimes we can think that we've let it go and we haven't.
- But I never regretted letting it go because it's just a thing.
- I'm like just letting it go as much as it needs to.
- Strip it down, let it go, Jada, and then let's see what's left.
- And, and Johnson decided, you know what, just let it go with Castro.
- And then after a few days, eventually let it go, just left it behind.
- And I let it go in the moment on stage.
- So let it go, let it go as Elsa would have said.
- So if you don't want the same things, you got to let it go now.
- You just have to let it go because, yeah, you were so calm.
- But if you don't know how to let it go when you need to, now you're trapped.
- Your ex needs to let it go and like you move on with his life.
- You can simply let it go because this didn't happen to me.
- Now we need to leave that and and let it go and die a death.
- Yeah, OK, ABCD and I let it go.
- So just let her go, don't message her, don't be annoying.
- I'm just like, let it go, let it go.
Examples
-
He learned to let it go instead of holding on to grudges.
-
Should I just let it go and address this issue directly at home?
Academic text (2011) -
And I let it go in the moment on stage.
-
How about you just let it go for a few days.
-
And boy, until you learn to let it go, you will never enjoy it while you have it.
Fiction book (1993) -
Just let it go, Charlotte.
-
And that's why I'm here to tell you let it go, let it go.
-
Just let it go.
-
When someone annoys you, it's better to just let it go than to get upset.
-
Sometimes, you have to let it go to find peace in your life.
Synonyms
381
3.7
To stop worrying about something and relax
356
2.8
Move away from someone, or stop taking part in something
356
1.9
To stop holding something so it is not in your hand
332
3.0
To refuse to accept an idea or claim
56
3.8
To avoid getting involved in an argument or fight
49
5.3
To stop talking about an issue and accept it as it is
38
5.9
To ignore a small mistake to avoid an argument
33
4.1
Accept a situation without trying to change it
27
3.9
Treat something as unimportant and ignore it
15
3.7
To refuse to have anything to do with someone or something
7
4.1
Refuse to think about something, for example worries or objections
5
5.0
Deal with a problem calmly without getting upset
4
3.4
To stop thinking about a worry or feeling
2
5.9
Treat something as unimportant and ignore it
2
3.0
Choose not to touch or change something
1
5.1
To let something stay as it is without changing it
1
6.7
To keep worries and problems out of a place so you can focus
1
9.1
Give up control and trust God or a higher power
To decide not to worry about something and let it go
Antonyms
How Reactive
71
5.6
∞
1.0
370
3.5
- Informal
38
5.9
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to choose not to react' is directly inferable from 'let' (allow/leave alone) + 'go' (move away/cease to be held); together they convey allowing something to pass or releasing it, and the pronoun 'it' is just a placeholder. This compositional sense is common cross-linguistically (e.g., French 'laisse tomber', Spanish 'déjalo'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand the MWE.
Etymology
Let it go comes from the simple picture of letting go of something you hold — let (let go), it (the thing), go (away), like dropping a rope or watching a balloon float up. So when people say let it go today, they mean 'choose not to react' or 'stop thinking about something'.