go around — behave habitually
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
to repeatedly behave in a particular way, especially one that is annoying, inappropriate, or disapproved of.
Say it like a native
Textbook He habitually makes such claims to people.
Native He goes around telling people that.
'Go around + -ing' naturally adds the disapproving 'keeps doing it' sense. The formal version loses the attitude.
Pattern: go around (doing something)
In use
- He goes around telling everyone how busy he is, but he never seems to get anything done.behaviour
- Some people go around criticising others without considering the impact of their words, which can damage workplace morale.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ You can't go around to say things like that.
✓ You can't go around saying things like that.
This sense takes '-ing', not 'to + verb', and it carries criticism.
Common collocations
go around + -ing— saying, telling people, claiming, acting like
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense 'circulate', which refers to physically moving or spreading something, this sense is figurative and focuses on someone's repeated behaviour or actions.
Related
- go around (circulate) — 'go around' also has the more basic meaning 'circulate'; this is the advanced sense.