go to great lengths

English

Alternative forms

• go to extraordinary lengths

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

go to great lengths (third-person singular simple present goes to great lengths, present participle going to great lengths, simple past went to great lengths, past participle gone to great lengths)

1. (idiomatic) To make a major effort; to be very careful when doing something, especially to an extreme or excessive degree.
   • 1944 September and October, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 283:

     The most surprising thing was to discover that each job had its little tricks, peculiarities that had been learned in the experience of years, and one of the really pleasing features was the unlimited patience and kindliness of the chargehands and fitters, who would go to great lengths to teach the budding engineer all they themselves knew.

   • 2008, José Rodrigues does Santos, Codex 632: The Secret Identity of Christopher Columbus (trans. from the Portuguese by Alison Entrekin), William Morrow (2008), →ISBN, page 262:

     […] They said good-bye on the eleventh, and the Portuguese noblemen saw him off, going to great lengths to show him respect."

   • 2009, Diego Gambetta, Codes of the Underworld: How Criminals Communicate, Princeton University Press, published 2009, →ISBN, page 272:

     Most scholars writing on the mafia were going to great lengths to demonstrate that it did not exist—and the mobsters wanted to keep their brotherhood secret.

   • 2013, Chad R. Torgerson, Waking Up Catholic: A Guide to Catholic Beliefs for Converts, Reverts, and Anyone Becoming Catholic, Assisi Media, published 2013, →ISBN, page 62:

     As a father, I would go to great lengths to protect my children.

Synonyms

• bend over backwards
• go to the ends of the earth
• move heaven and earth

Translations

make a major effort

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不遺餘力／不遗余力 (zh) (bùyíyúlì), 竭盡全力／竭尽全力 (zh) (jiéjìnquánlì), 死拼 (zh) (sǐpīn)

• Finnish: nähdä paljon vaivaa
• Portuguese: não medir esforços, fazer das tripas coração
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: varını yoğuna katmak (idiom)

See also

• beg, borrow, or steal
• go to pains
• at pains
• spare no effort