good

Alternative forms

• goode (obsolete)

Adjective

good (comparative better or (nonstandard, humorous) gooder, superlative best or (nonstandard, humorous) goodest)

1. (of people or animals)
   1. Acting in the interest of what is beneficial, ethical, or moral.

      good intentions

      • c. 1525, The Example of Euyll Tongues, page a3 rectoː

        Yf ony man wolde begynne his synnes to reny / Or ony good people that fro vyce dyde refrayne / What so euer he were that to vertue wolde applye / But an yll tonge wyll all ouer throwe agayne

        If any man would begin to renounce his sins, / Or any good people who refrained from vice, / Whatsoever he who wished to apply himself to virtue might be, / Still an ill tongue would overthrow it all again.

      • 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter 6, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

        When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.

   2. Competent or talented.

      a good swimmer

      • 1704, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached on Several Occasions, On the nature and measure of conscience:

        Flatter him it may, I confess, (as those are generally good at flattering who are good for nothing else,) but in the meantime the poor man is left under the fatal necessity of a needless delusion

      • 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:

        Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house ; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something ; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.

      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

        And Marsha says I am a good cook!

        Audio (US):

        (file)

   3. Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit; used with for.

      Can you lend me fifty dollars? You know I'm good for it.

   4. Well-behaved (especially of children or animals).

      Be good while your mother and I are out.

      Were you a good boy for the babysitter?

   5. (US) Satisfied or at ease; not requiring more.

      Would you like a glass of water? — I'm good.

      [Are] you good? — Yeah, I'm fine.

      Gimme another beer! — I think you're good.

   6. (colloquial, with with) Accepting of, OK with

      My mother said she's good with me being alone with my date as long as she's met them first.

      The soup is rather spicy. Are you good with that, or would you like something else?

   7. (archaic) Of high rank or birth.
      • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 23, columns 1–2:

        Thou art a Traitor, and a Miſcreant;
        Too good to be ſo, and too bad to liue,
        Since the more faire and chriſtall is the skie,
        The vglier ſeeme the cloudes that in it flye:

2. (of capabilities)
   1. Useful for a particular purpose; functional.

      it’s a good watch;  the flashlight batteries are still good

      • 1526, Herballː

        Against cough and scarceness of breath caused of cold take the drink that it hath been sodden in with Liquorice[,] or that the powder hath been sodden in with dry figs[,] for the same the electuary called dyacalamentum is good[,] and it is made thus.

      • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

        Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.

   2. Effective.

      a good worker

      • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter II, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0091:

        There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good, serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.

   3. (obsolete) Real; actual; serious.

      in good sooth

      • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

        Love no man in good earnest.

3. (properties and qualities)
   1. (of food)
      1. Having a particularly pleasant taste.

         The food was very good.

      2. Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.

         Eat a good dinner so you will be ready for the big game tomorrow.

   2. Of food or other perishable products, still fit for use; not yet expired, stale, rotten, etc.

      The bread is still good.

   3. Valid, of worth, capable of being honoured.

      This coupon is good for a free doughnut.

   4. True, valid, of explanatory strength.

      This theory still holds good even if much higher temperatures are assumed.

      • 1966, K. Rothfels, Margaret Freeman, “The salivary gland chromosomes of three North American species of Twinnia (Diptera: Simuliidae)”, in Canadian Journal of Zoology, volume 44, number 5, →DOI:

        Twinnia biclavata differs from T. nova by inversion IS-1 and a nucleolar shift. Both are good species.

   5. Right, proper, as it should be.
      • 15th c., “[The Creation]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 6, lines 184–185:

        It is not good to be alone, / to walk here in this worthely wone, / In all this welthly wyn;

        It is not good to be alone / to walk here in this noble dwelling-place / in all this rich delight.

      • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXIV, page 41:

        If all was good and fair we met,
        ⁠This earth had been the Paradise
        ⁠It never look’d to human eyes
        Since Adam left his garden yet.

   6. Healthful.

      Exercise and a varied diet are good for you.

   7. Pleasant; enjoyable.

      We had a good time.

   8. Favorable.

      a good omen;  good weather

      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:

        Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.

   9. Unblemished; honourable.

      a person's good name

   10. Beneficial; worthwhile.

       a good job

   11. Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
       • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 212, column 2:

         [I]f thou ask me why, / Sufficeth my reaſons are both good and waighty.

4. (colloquial, when with and) Very, extremely. See good and.

   The soup is good and hot.

5. (colloquial) Ready.

   I'm good when you are.

   The reports are good to go.

6. Holy (especially when capitalized) .

   Good Friday, Good Wednesday, the Good Book

7. (of quantities)
   1. Reasonable in amount.

      all in good time

   2. Large in amount or size.

      a good while longer

      a good number of seeds

      A good part of his day was spent shopping.

      It will be a good while longer until he's done.

      He's had a good amount of troubles, he has.

      • 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter III, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC:

        The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them, […].

   3. Full; entire; at least as much as.

      This hill will take a good hour and a half to climb.  The car was a good ten miles away.

      • 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:

        Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.

Interjection

good

1. That is good; an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.

   Good! I can leave now.