to go west
- phrasal verb
- /ɡoʊ wɛst/
- Informal
- There was a voice in the back of my head that was saying go West, young man, go West.
- go west 1 mile
- go west at the intersection
- turn left and go west
And then he left to go West to Stanford.
- And then he left to go West to Stanford.
- There was a voice in the back of my head that was saying go West, young man, go West.
- He was going east to West and I was going West to east.
Examples
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And, as I have nothing keeping me here, I thought I might go west.
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To find better job opportunities, she decided to go west in search of adventure.
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So if we keep going west, we should find it.
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Perhaps I should go west.
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I think we should go west.
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I'm going west, trying to get to Seattle.
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Not all, but many of India's best and brightest go west for education.
Blog text (4) -
Yup, they lost all their savings and their farms, and many went west to be migrant farm workers.
Blog text (4) -
I'll go west.
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Why don't you go west to Crescent Heights...
Synonyms
To move toward the west, as the sun does
Antonyms
How Far
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'go' and 'west' can readily derive the literal meaning 'go toward the west' because the phrase is a straightforward verb + direction composition. However, the additional cultural/historical nuance of migrating or seeking better opportunities by 'going west' (and any extended metaphorical senses) is not fully predictable from the constituents and may require prior exposure.
Etymology
Go west comes from old times when people set out toward the west to find gold, land, or a fresh start. Because many people left home and moved 'west' to try to improve their lives, go west came to mean 'to leave for a new life or better opportunities'.