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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

good.

Of a person or an animal:

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. Of a person or an animal: Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral.

    good intentions
  2. Of a person or an animal: Competent or talented.

    a good swimmer
  3. Of a person or an animal: Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit; used with for.

    Can you lend me fifty dollars? You know I'm good for it.
  4. Of a person or an animal: Well-behaved (especially of children or animals).

    Be good while your mother and I are out.
    Were you a good boy for the babysitter?
  5. Of a person or an animal: Satisfied or at ease; not requiring more.

    US
    Would you like a glass of water? — I'm good.
    [Are] you good? — Yeah, I'm fine.
  6. Of a person or an animal: Accepting of, OK with

    colloquial
    My mother said she's good with me being alone with my date as long as she's met them first.
    The soup is rather spicy. Are you good with that, or would you like something else?
  7. Of a person or an animal: Of high rank or birth.

    archaic
  8. Of a capability: Useful for a particular purpose; functional.

    it’s a good watch;  the flashlight batteries are still good
  9. Of a capability: Effective.

    a good worker
  10. Of a capability: Real; actual; serious.

    obsolete
    in good sooth
  11. Of a property or quality: Of food: Having a particularly pleasant taste.

    The food was very good.
  12. Of a property or quality: Of food: Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.

    Eat a good dinner so you will be ready for the big game tomorrow.
  13. Of a property or quality: Of food or other perishable products, still fit for use; not yet expired, stale, rotten, etc.

    The bread is still good.
  14. Of a property or quality: Valid, of worth, capable of being honoured.

    This coupon is good for a free doughnut.
  15. Of a property or quality: True, valid, of explanatory strength.

    This theory still holds good even if much higher temperatures are assumed.
  16. Of a property or quality: Right, proper, as it should be.

  17. Of a property or quality: Healthful.

    Exercise and a varied diet are good for you.
  18. Of a property or quality: Pleasant; enjoyable.

    We had a good time.
  19. Of a property or quality: Favorable.

    a good omen;  good weather
  20. Of a property or quality: Unblemished; honourable.

    a person's good name
  21. Of a property or quality: Beneficial; worthwhile.

    a good job
  22. Of a property or quality: Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.

  23. Very, extremely. See good and.

    colloquial
    The soup is good and hot.
  24. Ready.

    colloquial
    I'm good when you are.
    The reports are good to go.
  25. Holy (especially when capitalized) .

    Good Friday, Good Wednesday, the Good Book
  26. Of a quantity: Reasonable in amount.

    all in good time
  27. Of a quantity: Large in amount or size.

    a good while longer
    a good number of seeds
  28. Of a quantity: Full; entire; at least as much as.

    This hill will take a good hour and a half to climb.
    The car was a good ten miles away.
  29. Special, best, favorite.

    No, not that one. That's my good shirt I only wear for special occasions.
    Shoot! A tear. And these are my good jeans.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit, fit”). Related to gather and together, but not to god/God. Eclipsed non-native Middle English bon, bone, boon, boun (“good”) borrowed from Old French bon (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”). Cognates Cognate with Scots gude, guid (“good”), Yola gayde, gooude, gude (“good”), North Frisian goud, gud, guid, gur, gödj, gööd (“good”), Saterland Frisian goud (“good”), West Frisian goed (“good”), Alemannic German guet (“good”), Bavarian guad (“good”), Central Franconian gut, jot, jott (“good”), Cimbrian guat, guut (“good”), Dutch goed (“good”), Dutch Low Saxon good (“good”), German gut (“good”), Limburgish good, gott (“good”), Low German god, goot, got, gued (“good”), Luxembourgish gutt (“good”), Mòcheno guat (“good”), Vilamovian güt (“good”), Yiddish גוט (gut, “good”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish god (“good”), Elfdalian guoð (“good”), Faroese and Icelandic góður (“good”), Gothic 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 (gōþs, “good”), Vandalic *guths (“good”); also Albanian nge (“chance, leisure, opportunity, time”), Latvian gods (“honor”), Lithuanian guõdas (“nobleness, virtue; glory, honour”), Belarusian го́дны (hódny, “worthy”), Bulgarian го́ден (góden, “fit, suitable”), Czech hodný (“good, kind”), Polish godny, godzien (“dignified, worthy”), Russian го́дный (gódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”), Ukrainian гі́дний (hídnyj, “deserving, worthy”), го́дний (hódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”).

intj/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. That is good; an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.

    Good! I can leave now.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English good, from Old English gōd, from Proto-West Germanic *gōd, from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit, fit”). Related to gather and together, but not to god/God. Eclipsed non-native Middle English bon, bone, boon, boun (“good”) borrowed from Old French bon (“good”), from Latin bonus (“good”). Cognates Cognate with Scots gude, guid (“good”), Yola gayde, gooude, gude (“good”), North Frisian goud, gud, guid, gur, gödj, gööd (“good”), Saterland Frisian goud (“good”), West Frisian goed (“good”), Alemannic German guet (“good”), Bavarian guad (“good”), Central Franconian gut, jot, jott (“good”), Cimbrian guat, guut (“good”), Dutch goed (“good”), Dutch Low Saxon good (“good”), German gut (“good”), Limburgish good, gott (“good”), Low German god, goot, got, gued (“good”), Luxembourgish gutt (“good”), Mòcheno guat (“good”), Vilamovian güt (“good”), Yiddish גוט (gut, “good”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish god (“good”), Elfdalian guoð (“good”), Faroese and Icelandic góður (“good”), Gothic 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 (gōþs, “good”), Vandalic *guths (“good”); also Albanian nge (“chance, leisure, opportunity, time”), Latvian gods (“honor”), Lithuanian guõdas (“nobleness, virtue; glory, honour”), Belarusian го́дны (hódny, “worthy”), Bulgarian го́ден (góden, “fit, suitable”), Czech hodný (“good, kind”), Polish godny, godzien (“dignified, worthy”), Russian го́дный (gódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”), Ukrainian гі́дний (hídnyj, “deserving, worthy”), го́дний (hódnyj, “fit, well-suited, good for; (coll.) good”).

adv/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.

    informal · proscribed · sometimes
    When you're cleaning these racks, you've got to get in there good, because the quality system specifies it.
    The boy done good.
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English goode (“good, well”, adverb), from the adjective. Compare Dutch goed (“good, well”, adverb), German gut (“good, well”, adverb), Danish godt (“good, well”, adverb), Swedish gott (“good, well”, adverb), all from the adjective.

noun/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. The forces or behaviours that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.

    uncountable
  2. A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.

    countable
  3. The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.

    uncountable
    The best is the enemy of the good.
    He is an influence for good on those girls.
  4. An item of merchandise.

    countable · plural-normally
  5. An article of personal property (as opposed to real property).

    countable · plural-normally
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English good, god, from Old English gōd (“a good thing, advantage, benefit, gift; good, goodness, welfare; virtue, ability, doughtiness; goods, property, wealth”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdą (“goods, belongings”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ-, *gʰodʰ- (“to unite, be associated, suit”). Compare German Gut (“item of merchandise; estate; property”).

verb/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.

    dialectal · intransitive
  2. To make good; turn to good; improve.

    dialectal · transitive
  3. To make improvements or repairs.

    dialectal · intransitive
  4. To benefit; gain.

    dialectal · intransitive
  5. To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.

    dialectal · transitive
  6. To satisfy; indulge; gratify.

    dialectal · transitive
  7. To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.

    dialectal · reflexive
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English goden, godien, from Old English gōdian (“to improve, get better; make better; endow, enrich”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdōn (“to make better, improve”), from Proto-Germanic *gōdaz (“good, favorable”).

verb/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. To furnish with dung; manure; fatten with manure; fertilise.

    Scotland · dialectal · transitive
Where this word comes from

From English dialectal, from Middle English *goden, of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish göda (“to fatten, fertilise, battle”), Danish gøde (“to fertilise, battle”), ultimately from the adjective. See above.

adj/ɡʊd/Australia, General-American, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation/ɡɵd/British, Southern, Standard/ɡʉd/Northern-Ireland, Scotland
  1. Of a black person, dead or killed.

    Internet · dialectal · ethnic · not-comparable · offensive · slur
Where this word comes from

Coined in reference to the phrase the only good nigger is a dead nigger, a popular saying among white supremacists.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.