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on the go

on the go

26 3.9
A person who is always busy and moves from one task or place to another
  • idiom
translation icon : ocupado
  • You work and work for years and years, you're always on the go.
  • always on the go

I've been been running around a lot been, you know, on the go.

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Examples

  • I've been on the go since breakfast.

  • I've been on the go a fair a fair bit recently.

  • So having healthy stuff on the go helps me keep going throughout the day and I need that.

  • Now I have a lot of other projects and things on the go and actually finding more doors are open.

  • Working parents, on the go all the time.

  • You are always on the go, boy.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • On the go, you know, from morning till night.

  • For many people on the go, smoothies seem like an obvious, healthy choice.

    Blog text (15)
  • Emily and her husband live life on the go, and they are currently living in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Blog text (13)
  • She is always on the go with meetings and errands to run.

Synonyms

busy
vson the go
1.0

Full of activity with many things to do

focuses on heavy activity without implying movement or change of location
on the move
vson the go
75 3.9

Often traveling or changing what you do

is very active but emphasizes continuous movement between tasks

Antonyms

57 2.8

Not working or being used

4 2.3

Not moving and not showing much physical or mental energy

How Busy

overworked
23 3.5
swamped with work
  • Informal
1 4.4
on the go
26 3.9
busy
1.0
relaxed
241 1.0
idle
57 2.8

Surface Forms

on the go positive

Morphology

on + the + go

The meaning 'very busy and active' is directly inferable from combining 'on' (in a state) with 'go' (movement) to mean 'in a state of going/moving', which maps naturally to being busy and active. This preposition + verb composition is a common, cross-linguistically recognizable pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely understand the phrase without prior exposure.

Etymology

On the go comes from the simple image of being on the go, always moving from one place or task to another, so it means 'very busy and active'.