be on the go

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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!"

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.

See also: go, on

on the go

1. Constantly in motion, active, or working. I feel as if I need to always be on the go; life's too short to be idle!

2. Leaving or departing, often unexpectedly or with great haste; on the move. Look out, that toddler's on the go!

See also: go, on

on the go

busy; moving about busily. I'm usually on the go all day long. I hate being on the go all the time.

See also: go, on

on the go

In constant activity, very busy, as in I'm exhausted-I've been on the go since eight this morning. [Mid-1800s]

See also: go, on

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.

on the go

very active or busy. informal

See also: go, on

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.

See also: go, on

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.”