go for — be sold at (price)
phrasal verbC2IELTS 8+neutraloccasional
to be sold for a particular amount of money, especially at an auction or in a financial context.
Say it like a native
Textbook The painting was sold for two million pounds at auction.
Native The painting went for two million at auction.
'Go for + price' is the natural way to say what something sold for. 'Was sold for' is more formal and passive.
Pattern: go for + amount/price
In use
- The rare manuscript went for over £50,000 at the auction.business
- At Sotheby’s, several paintings went for record-breaking sums, highlighting the growing demand for contemporary art.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ These flats are going at £300,000.
✓ These flats are going for £300,000.
It's 'go FOR + price', not 'go at'.
Common collocations
go for + price— a fortune, next to nothing, £500, double that
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense ('choose or try to get') and the B2 sense ('attack'), this sense refers specifically to the price at which something is sold, not to a choice or an action.
Related
- go for (choose or try to get) — 'go for' also has the more basic meaning 'choose or try to get'; this is the advanced sense.