be on the go

1. To be in constant or frequent motion or activity. The boss is constantly on the go, so trying to pin her down for meetings can be really tricky sometimes. A: "You're retired, so why are you always on the go?" B: "Hey, life's too short to be idle!" Good luck catching Terri at home, that woman is always on the go.

2. To be leaving or departing, often unexpectedly or with great haste; to be on the move. Look out, that toddler's on the go! The suspicious man was on the go before the police officer had a chance to question him. All of the loitering teens were on the go at the first sound of sirens.

be on the ˈgo

(informal) be busy and active: I’ve been on the go all day and I’m exhausted. ♢ She’s always on the go. I wish she would just sit down and relax sometimes.

on the go, to be

To be extremely active and busy. Formerly used to mean a variety of conditions, among them intoxication and imminent catastrophe, this term acquired its present meaning in the first half of the nineteenth century. Thomas B. Aldrich used it in Prudence Palfrey (1874): “Ever since the day we said good-bye . . . I have been on the go.”