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Glite Dictionary
to go great guns

to go great guns

1 6.6
To move forward with great speed and success
  • phrasal verb
  • Archaic
translation icon : ir a toda velocidad
  • Being perfectly positioned next to the Muc-Off station and having super-support-crew Pete looking after them, Sebria were going great guns!

Then I'm on Instagram_everything_Katie_Hopkins_And that's going great guns.

Examples

  • Our project is going great guns; we are ahead of schedule and exceeding our goals.

  • Betsy... ...everything is going great guns, isn't it?

    Boom Town (1940)

  • The Chinese are going great guns on solar and wind; they have bought into the climate change problem.

    Blog text (4)

  • But he's going great guns there.

    Trigger Happy (2025)

  • Though I've been going great guns.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "I'm going great guns," Flaherty said.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We're going great guns.

    The Founder (2016)

  • Discussion with Bart at CA is going great guns, but with an amazing statement like this, I think Bart's find really needs to be put into common language.

    Blog text (21)

  • The team is going great guns in the championship this year, winning every match so far.

  • With her dedication and hard work, she is going great guns in her career.

Synonyms

to kill it
vsto go great guns
  • Slang
102 8.8

Do very well in something and impress people

highlights rapid success and energetic momentum rather than only skillful performance
to go to town
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
27 4.5

Do something with a lot of energy and excitement, often in a big, showy way

emphasises fast success and energy rather than thorough or excessive effort
guns blazing
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
8 7.4

Acting with strong energy and clear determination to win

emphasises quick success and forward motion rather than forceful manner
like gangbusters
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
6 8.1

Very quickly and with great success

emphasises quick sustained performance and enthusiasm rather than only forceful success
to be dynamite
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
6 8.3

To be very good and impress people

describes fast energetic achievement rather than static general excellence
with guns blazing
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
2 7.2

In a very strong and determined way, often to attack or confront someone

means moving forward with speed and success rather than only aggressive start
to run and gun
vsto go great guns
  • Jargon
1 7.3

To move quickly and attack often in sports or games

focuses on broad quick success and enthusiasm rather than sport attack style
to give it the gun
vsto go great guns
  • Informal
9.8

To try very hard and work quickly to finish something

emphasises rapid success and lively momentum rather than mere exertion

Antonyms

to fail
898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

How Fast

to go great guns
  • Archaic
1 6.6
to move it
  • Informal
512 6.7
to keep it moving
  • Informal
161 4.4

Surface Forms

go great guns infinitive
went great guns past
gone great guns past participle
going great guns present participle
goes great guns third person singular

Morphology

go + great + guns

The components 'go' and 'great' suggest doing well, but the noun 'guns' is metaphorical (firepower/speed) and not literally related to performance for most learners. Because the meaning relies on a figurative extension of 'guns' and a conventionalized idiomatic pattern, a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would only partially infer the sense, making it partially but not fully predictable.

Etymology

The phrase go great guns may come from old battles where the biggest cannons, the great guns, were fired quickly and with great force. So saying someone goes great guns brings to mind fast, powerful action and now means 'to do very well or move ahead quickly'.