go wrong


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go wrong

1. To go awry or make a mistake. Where did I go wrong? Why is this pipe still leaking?
2. To misbehave after previous upright behavior. He was always such a good kid that I'm shocked to hear that he's in jail. I wonder what made him go wrong.
3. To malfunction. Well, the coffee pot went wrong again this morning, so can you pick up another one while you're at the mall?
See also: go, wrong
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

go wrong

to fail; [for something bad] to happen. The project failed. I don't know what went wrong. I'm afraid that everything will go wrong.
See also: go, wrong
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

go wrong

1. Go astray, make a mistake. For example, We made a left turn and somehow went wrong from then on, or You won't go wrong if you follow the directions in the dress pattern. [c. 1300]
2. Take to evil ways, become a criminal, as in As soon as he turned thirteen, Billy fell in with a gang and began to go wrong. [c. 1500]
3. Fail, turn out badly, as in Everything about this party has gone wrong. [Late 1500s]
4. Fail to work properly, as in The car starts fine, but as soon as you put it in gear, the transmission goes wrong. [Late 1800s]
See also: go, wrong
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

go ˈwrong


1 make a mistake with something: It doesn’t work. We must have gone wrong somewhere. Pass me the instruction manual. ♢ Where did we go wrong (= what mistakes did we make for things to be so bad)?
2 (of a machine) stop working correctly: This television keeps going wrong. I’m fed up with it.
3 not progress or develop as well as you expected or intended: Their marriage started to go wrong when he lost his job. ♢ What else can go wrong (= what other problems are we going to have)?
See also: go, wrong
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

go wrong

1. To go amiss; turn out badly: What went wrong with their business?
2. To make a mistake or mistakes: parents wondering where they went wrong raising their child.
3. To behave immorally after a period of innocence or moral behavior: a young man who went wrong.
See also: go, wrong
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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