go west

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go west

Where it comes from

In reference to death, originally Scottish, reaching broader usage among the soldiers of World War I. In reference to Manifest Destiny in the United States, a paraphrase of Horace Greeley's 25 Aug. 1838 advice in The New Yorker that young men should "Go to the West" if free to do so.

verb goes west · going west · went west · gone west

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go, west. Go west until you hit the ocean, then turn left.
of the sun Synonym of set: to move toward the western horizon, to go down. For hit was nyght, the sonne goth west
Similar: set
dated, figuratively Synonym of die. Women and mony wilsome wy,
Similar: die
dated, figuratively To be lost, destroyed, or otherwise ruined. The glare of a burning house shone red in the sky over the roof tops. 'Somebody's 'appy 'ome gone west', remarked one man.
US To move to the American West, particularly (historical) during the 19th century era. It reminds me of the advice that Mr. Secretary Corwin gave to a young man that was applying for a clerkship. He said, ‘Young man, go West’.

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MLA

"go west." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/go%20west. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

go west. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/go%20west

Chicago

"go west." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/go%20west.

BibTeX

@misc{go_west_2026,
  title = {go west},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/go%20west},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}