go for — attack
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutraloccasional
to attack someone or something, either physically or with words.
Say it like a native
Textbook The dog suddenly attacked the postman.
Native The dog went for the postman.
'Go for' naturally means launch at / attack, and covers verbal attacks too. 'Suddenly attacked' is flatter.
Pattern: go for + noun/pronoun
In use
- The dog suddenly went for the mailman as he walked past the gate.relationships
- In some debates, people go for their opponents personally instead of focusing on the topic.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Why are you going for at me?
✓ Why are you going for me?
'Go for someone' takes a direct object — no extra preposition. (For criticism, 'have a go at' is also common.)
Common collocations
go for + target— the throat, him, each other, the ball
Don't confuse it
Different from 'go for' meaning 'choose'; here it means to attack.
Related
- go for (choose or try to get) — Another meaning of 'go for' is 'choose or try to get'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.