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Glite Dictionary
to go a long way

to go a long way

92 3.2
To help a lot or make something much better
  • idiom
translation icon : ser de gran ayuda
  • A little planning can go a long way.
  • go a long way toward explaining
  • go a long way in helping
  • go a long way toward improving

A little bit goes a long way with this.

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Examples

  • So many are suffering and in such pain; a little kindness goes a long way.

    Academic text (1994)

  • His backing me up went a long way.

    Reservoir Dogs (1992)

  • So if you could get their costs while by doing that, that would go a long way to paying for it.

  • These tiny social interactions go a long way to making you feel warm.

  • Simply sharing how this happens goes a long way toward addressing the problem.

    Academic text (2013)

  • It would go a long way with the president to solve the problems.

  • If she could make a full and humble apology, that would go a long way in terms of... helping towards my emotional recovery.

    By Deception (2022)

  • How you train, how you apply yourself and that goes a long way to being reflected at what we've seen on the football pitch.

  • The intensive phonics approach to teaching goes a long way to support this belief.

    Academic text (1993)

  • A little planning can go a long way in ensuring everything runs smoothly.

Synonyms

to make a difference
vsto go a long way
482 2.8

Cause a clear, positive change in a situation or person

is about helping reach success rather than directly producing the outcome
to go far
vsto go a long way
42 3.2

To become very successful or important in a career

is focused on helping others achieve goals rather than personal success
to serve well
vsto go a long way
3 3.5

Be useful to someone when they need it

is stronger meaning it makes a big difference in achieving results

How Helpful

to go a long way
92 3.2
to help
∞ 1.0
to serve
∞ 1.8

Surface Forms

go a long way infinitive
went a long way past
gone a long way past participle
going a long way present participle
goes a long way third person singular

Morphology

go + a + long + way

The phrase evokes a literal motion/extent image (go + a long way) that is metaphorically extended to degree or effectiveness, so a learner who knows the constituent words can often infer that something will have a big effect or be very helpful. Because the meaning relies on a metaphorical mapping from distance to impact—common cross-linguistically but not purely compositional—it is not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Go a long way paints a picture of a small thing that goes a long way, traveling far and reaching many people. So a little help or a small gift can 'make a big difference' because it 'goes a long way'.