: 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. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Judge Ken Casady noted Barb’s good behavior at Sanchez Gonzales’ trial, the release states. Arkansas Democrat-gazette, Arkansas Online, 22 Sep. 2022 Some economists think shocking markets is a good thing, and at least one Fed official agrees. Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 21 Sep. 2022 For a free service, Quad9 offers a good value package for secure and safe internet access. Toby Grey, BGR, 21 Sep. 2022 One of the best plants for feng shui, this hard-to-kill plant is said to bring positive energy and good fortune to your home. Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 21 Sep. 2022 The couple had quite a few good 19th-century antiques from their previous apartment.ELLE Decor, 21 Sep. 2022 Plumlee seemingly jumped 10 feet in the air, hurdled two would-be tacklers and executed an Elwayesque, Tebowian, McKenzie Milton-like flip into the end zone to put UCF ahead for good in the second quarter. Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2022 Are reboots a good thing or bad thing for creativity? Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 20 Sep. 2022 Honda made a good thing a little bit better with the 2023 CR-V, and that's probably enough. Nick Kurczewski, Car and Driver, 19 Sep. 2022
Noun
Whatever the choice may be, my colleagues and I will fight for the good of our patients. Richard Bosshardt, WSJ, 14 Sep. 2022 The business of doing good all began with a salad dressing back in 1982, when Paul and his friend, A. E. Hotchner, made a small batch of vinaigrette as Christmas presents for their friends. Amethyst Tate, Peoplemag, 24 Aug. 2022 As the last several months have shown, fossil fuel companies aren’t keen to make investments for the good of either consumers or the planet. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2022 Through volunteering; organizing in-office drives; and committing their time, talent, and treasure, so emerges a positive culture of doing good and having fun that benefits us all. Afdhel Aziz, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 Doing good can be hard work—the kind of hard work that demands dedicated advocates and a vehicle up to the task.Outside Online, 27 July 2022 One historian describes today’s Venice as an open-air museum, since many longtime families have left the city for the good. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 July 2022 Arriving at your destination with only a drop left isn’t doing anyone any good! Ava Darrin, ELLE, 26 July 2022 Apple should be cooling all of these systems properly, for the good of the hardware and the people using it. Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica, 22 July 2022
Adverb
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are all good-looking days. Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 But the rest of us should be able to forgive Aston Martin for having introduced something so good-looking. Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 20 Aug. 2022 Late in Period 4, both Jay Fair and Luke Deal dropped good-looking throws from Ashford. Tom Green | Tgreen@al.com, al, 10 Aug. 2022 Faison, chef and owner of the Big Heart Hospitality group (and four-time Beard best chef nominee including 2022), thought the series would utilize tired tropes with a ruggedly good-looking protagonist (e.g. Carmy). Peggy Hernandez, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2022 Suspending any potential anti-circumvention tariffs on solar panels for two years will empower the U.S. solar industry to continue developing and sustaining hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs, while still upholding trade law. Energy Innovation: Policy And Technology, Forbes, 8 June 2022 But over the past few decades, as the number of college graduates has soared, the supply of good-paying jobs has declined. Joel Kotkin, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022 Still, the lack of good-paying jobs had weighed on Lee Cole, who grew up just outside of Mayfield. Nick Roll, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Feb. 2022 The coal economy withered away and took the good-paying jobs with it. Dylan Lovan, ajc, 2 Aug. 2022 See More
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