: containing less fat and being less tender than higher grades—used of meat and especially of beef
gsports
(1)
of a serve or shot: landing in the proper area of the court in tennis and similar games
The serve was good.
(2)
of a shot or kick: successfully done
(basketball) The first foul shot was good but she missed the second one.
(American football) The kick was good from 45 yards.
The kick was no good. [=was missed]
h
informal: having everything desired or required : content and not wanting or needing to do anything further
"Do you want anything else to drink?" "No thanks, I'm good."
"I have had girlfriends say, 'Hey, you wanna go walking?' And I'm just not interested. I'm like 'Uh, no, I'm good.' But they keep inviting me!"—Laila Ali
An old notion that it is wrong to say "I feel good" in reference to health still occasionally appears in print. The origins of this notion are obscure, but they seem to combine someone's idea that good should be reserved to describe virtue and uncertainty about whether an adverb or an adjective should follow feel. Today nearly everyone agrees that both good and well can be predicate adjectives after feel. Both are used to express good health, but good may connote good spirits in addition to good health.
Adverbial good has been under attack from the schoolroom since the 19th century. Insistence on well rather than good has resulted in a split in connotation: well is standard, neutral, and colorless, while good is emotionally charged and emphatic. This makes good the adverb of choice in sports.
"I'm seeing the ball real good" is what you hear —Roger Angell
In such contexts as
listen up. And listen good—Alex Karras
lets fly with his tomatoes before they can flee. He gets Clarence good—Charles Dickinson
good cannot be adequately replaced by well. Adverbial good is primarily a spoken form; in writing it occurs in reported and fictional speech and in generally familiar or informal contexts.
Adjective
You'll need better tools for this job.
The car is in good condition.
There are some good restaurants in this neighborhood.
I'm afraid your work is just not good enough.
Keep up the good work.
“Would you hire her again?” “Yes, I would. She does good work.”
The food was good but not great.
He has done good but not outstanding work.
Did you have a good time at the party?
We're expecting good weather for the weekend. Noun
the battle of good versus evil
Teachers can be a strong force for good.
the difference between good and bad
They had to sacrifice lesser goods for greater ones.
What is life's highest good?
Parents must teach their children the difference between the good and the bad.
She believes that the good go to heaven when they die and the bad go to hell.
Only the good die young.
She believes there is some good in everyone. Adverb
Things have been going good lately.
The team is doing good this year.
“How did you hit the ball today?” “Good.”
The other team whipped us good.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The show also isn’t especially good at putting its finger on any particular pulse.—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 There is a lot going on in the world, a lot of it not good.—Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Each of the Democratic candidates did their best to burnish the bona fides about who would be the best bulwark against the former president.—Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Crystal trophies will be awarded for best vocals, choreography, costumes, instrumentals, the People’s Choice and Grand Champion.—Sue Kiesewetter, The Enquirer, 7 Mar. 2024 The multi-element ICP results show good, positive relationships between Au, Cu, Bi, Ag, As, W and K (potassic alteration), negative relationships with Mo, Sb and Ca.—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 First baseman Troy Johnston -- the Marlins’ best offensive player in the minors last season — is hitting 4 for 9.—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2024 Actors lived their best lives Saturday night at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards – giving each other trophies and looking darned good doing so.—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 With a sixth-place finish in the race last March, Hamlin earned his best finish in four starts since the track was reconfigured in 2022.—Shane Connuck, Charlotte Observer, 24 Feb. 2024
Noun
On the lower lot vendors offered organic candles, sustainable-cotton clothing, a rainbow of crystals and other home goods.—Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Credit card players will get a 200% match up to $1,000 on their first deposit as well as a 100% match good for up to $500 on their next eight deposits – for a total of $5,000.—Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 Shira Ovide writes The Washington Post's The Tech Friend, a newsletter about making your technology into a force for good.—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Next, lay the largest sweets such as the baked goods and chocolate bunny on the platter.—Joy Howard, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2024 Independent sellers are the invisible secret behind the massive selection on Amazon’s marketplace, accounting for more than 60% of all goods sold on Amazon for the first time ever in the fourth quarter of 2023.—Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2024 In comments before a House panel on Wednesday that echoed his previous outlook, Powell noted that U.S. prices are falling for both goods and services.—CBS News, 6 Mar. 2024 The New York-Italian style bakery has a long list of baked goods on its menu, with everything made in-house and from scratch, including:
Muffins
Cookies
Biscotti
Macarons
Cakes
Tiramisu
Pies
Read Next
Looking for a sweet or savory treat?—Chyna Blackmon, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2024 The price of many goods is now set by the black-market value of the dollar, which rose to around 70 pounds to the dollar last month, compared with about 16 before the crisis.—Nada Rashwan, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Adverb
Ethics and dangers are obvious concerns, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that AI has the potential to do profound good beyond pithy conversation with some chatbot.—Steven Aquino, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 Josh has been able to swing back and forth pretty good which helps his value.—Andrew Gillis, cleveland, 9 Aug. 2023 On its own or in a cocktail, the fact is that smoky single malts taste pretty good in hot weather.—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 30 July 2023 Our work is paying off, with nearly 13,000 good-paying jobs secured.—Detroit Free Press, 25 Jan. 2023 There will be some weak performing companies that will bid good-bye to their CEOs while others will close their doors.—Walter Loeb, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2023 That’s the message that Caroline’s aunt reportedly tweeted, saying good-bye to her niece, according to the online version of the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, California.—Cnn Staff, CNN, 14 Dec. 2022 The Phillies are moving on, and will open the NL Division Series Tuesday against Atlanta, the defending World Series champions, while saying good-bye to the Cardinals’ icons.—Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 9 Oct. 2022 Deadline reports that longtime cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney will also be saying good-bye after the May 21 finale.—Vulture, 20 May 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'good.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective, Noun, and Adverb
Middle English, from Old English gōd; akin to Old High German guot good, Middle High German gatern to unite, Sanskrit gadhya what one clings to
First Known Use
Adjective
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
shall hold their offices during good behavior—U.S. Constitution art. III
also: characterized by or relating to good behavior
good
2 of 2noun
1
: advancement of prosperity and well-being
for the good of the community
2
: an item of tangible movable personal property having value but usually excluding money, securities, and negotiable instruments—usually used in pl.: as
a
plural: all things under section 2-103 of the Uniform Commercial Code that are movable at the time of identification to the contract for sale other than information, the money that is to be paid, investment securities, the subject matter of foreign exchange transactions, and choses in action
b
plural: all things under section 9-102 of the Uniform Commercial Code that are movable at the time that a security interest in them attaches or that are fixtures but excluding money, documents, instruments, accounts, chattel paper, general intangibles, commercial tort claims, deposit accounts, investment property, letter-of-credit rights, letters of credit, and minerals or the like before extraction
—consumer goods
: goods purchased primarily for personal, family, or household uses
—durable goods
: consumer goods that last and are used for a number of years : durables
—fungible goods
: goods of which any unit is by nature or by usage of trade the equivalent of any other like unit especially as defined by section 1-201 of the Uniform Commercial Code
—future goods
: goods that are the subject of a contract but are not yet existing or specified
—hard goods
: durable goods in this entry
—household goods
: goods used in connection with the home
specifically: furniture, furnishings, and personal effects used in a dwelling as defined by section 7-209 of the Uniform Commercial Code
—mobile goods
: goods as formerly defined in section 9-103 of the Uniform Commercial Code that are mobile, are of a type (as vehicles) usually used in more than one jurisdiction, are not covered by a certificate of title, and are either the equipment of a debtor or inventory leased by a debtor
—ordinary goods
: goods as formerly defined by section 9-103 of the Uniform Commercial Code that are anything other than those covered by a certificate of title, mobile goods, or minerals
—producer goods
: goods (as tools and raw materials) used to produce other goods and satisfy human wants only indirectly
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