GOOD (best, better)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does good mean? 

• GOOD (noun)
  The noun GOOD has 4 senses:

1. benefit

2. moral excellence or admirableness

3. that which is pleasing or valuable or useful

4. articles of commerce

  Familiarity information: GOOD used as a noun is uncommon.

• GOOD (adjective)
  The adjective GOOD has 21 senses:

1. having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

2. having the normally expected amount

3. morally admirable

4. deserving of esteem and respect

5. promoting or enhancing well-being

6. agreeable or pleasing

7. of moral excellence

8. having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude

9. thorough

10. with or in a close or intimate relationship

11. financially safe

12. most suitable or right for a particular purpose

13. resulting favorably

14. exerting force or influence

15. capable of pleasing

16. appealing to the mind

17. in excellent physical condition

18. tending to promote physical well-being; beneficial to health

19. not forged

20. not left to spoil

21. generally admired

  Familiarity information: GOOD used as an adjective is very familiar.

• GOOD (adverb)
  The adverb GOOD has 2 senses:

1. (often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard ('good' is a nonstandard dialectal variant for 'well')

2. completely and absolutely ('good' is sometimes used informally for 'thoroughly')

  Familiarity information: GOOD used as an adverb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GOOD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Benefit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

what's the good of worrying?

Hypernyms ("good" is a kind of...):

advantage; vantage (the quality of having a superior or more favorable position)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "good"):

common good; commonweal (the good of a community)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Moral excellence or admirableness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

good; goodness

Context example:

there is much good to be found in people

Hypernyms ("good" is a kind of...):

morality (concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong; right or good conduct)

Attribute:

good (morally admirable)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "good"):

kindness (the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic)

summum bonum (the supreme good in which all moral values are included or from which they are derived)

saintliness (the quality of resembling a saint)

virtue (a particular moral excellence)

moral excellence; virtue; virtuousness (the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong)

benignancy; benignity; graciousness (the quality of being kind and gentle)

beneficence (the quality of being kind or helpful or generous)

Antonym:

evil (the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice)

Sense 3

Meaning:

That which is pleasing or valuable or useful

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

good; goodness

Context example:

among the highest goods of all are happiness and self-realization

Hypernyms ("good" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "good"):

worthiness (the quality or state of having merit or value)

desirability; desirableness (the quality of being worthy of desiring)

benefit; welfare (something that aids or promotes well-being)

better (something superior in quality or condition or effect)

better (the superior one of two alternatives)

optimum (most favorable conditions or greatest degree or amount possible under given circumstances)

soundness; wisdom; wiseness (the quality of being prudent and sensible)

Antonym:

bad (that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Articles of commerce

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

commodity; good; trade good

Hypernyms ("good" is a kind of...):

artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "good"):

consumer goods (goods (as food or clothing) intended for direct use or consumption)

basic; staple ((usually in the plural) a necessary commodity for which demand is constant)

salvage (property or goods saved from damage or destruction)

worldly good; worldly possession (a commodity or good associated with the earthly, rather than the spiritual, existence of human beings)

sporting goods (sports equipment sold as a commodity)

shopping (the commodities purchased from stores)

middling (any commodity of intermediate quality or size (especially when coarse particles of ground wheat are mixed with bran))

merchandise; product; ware (commodities offered for sale)

import; importation (commodities (goods or services) bought from a foreign country)

future (bulk commodities bought or sold at an agreed price for delivery at a specified future date)

fungible (a commodity that is freely interchangeable with another in satisfying an obligation)

fancy goods (goods that are chiefly ornamental)

export; exportation (commodities (goods or services) sold to a foreign country)

entrant (a commodity that enters competition with established merchandise)

drygoods; soft goods (textiles or clothing and related merchandise)

• GOOD (adjective)

Declension: comparative and superlative

Sense 1

Meaning:

Having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

Context example:

a good dress for the office

Similar:

bang-up; bully; corking; cracking; dandy; great; groovy; keen; neat; nifty; not bad; old; peachy; slap-up; smashing; swell (very good)

good enough (adequately good for the circumstances)

goodish (moderately good of its kind)

hot (very good; often used in the negative)

redeeming (compensating for some fault or defect)

acceptable; decent; satisfactory (meeting requirements)

solid (characterized by good substantial quality)

superb (surpassingly good)

well-behaved; well behaved ((usually of children) someone who behaves in a manner that the speaker believes is correct)

Also:

best ((superlative of 'good') having the most positive qualities)

respectable (characterized by socially or conventionally acceptable morals)

obedient (dutifully complying with the commands or instructions of those in authority)

good (morally admirable)

favorable; favourable (encouraging or approving or pleasing)

better ((comparative of 'good') superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another)

Attribute:

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Antonym:

bad (having undesirable or negative qualities)

Derivation:

goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Having the normally expected amount

Synonyms:

full; good

Context example:

a good mile from here

Similar:

ample (more than enough in size or scope or capacity)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Morally admirable

Similar:

white (benevolent; without malicious intent)

redeeming; redemptive; saving (bringing about salvation or redemption from sin)

angelic; angelical; beatific; sainted; saintlike; saintly (marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint)

goody-goody (affectedly or smugly good or self-righteous)

Also:

good (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified)

moral (concerned with principles of right and wrong or conforming to standards of behavior and character based on those principles)

right (in conformance with justice or law or morality)

righteous (characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of morality or justice)

virtuous (morally excellent)

worthy (having worth or merit or value; being honorable or admirable)

Attribute:

good; goodness (moral excellence or admirableness)

Antonym:

evil (morally bad or wrong)

Derivation:

goodness (moral excellence or admirableness)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Deserving of esteem and respect

Synonyms:

estimable; good; honorable; respectable

Context example:

ruined the family's good name

Similar:

reputable (having a good reputation)

Derivation:

goodness (moral excellence or admirableness)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Promoting or enhancing well-being

Synonyms:

beneficial; good

Context example:

the experience was good for her

Similar:

advantageous; favorable; favourable (giving an advantage)

Derivation:

goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Agreeable or pleasing

Context example:

good manners

Similar:

nice (pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Of moral excellence

Synonyms:

good; just; upright

Context example:

an upright and respectable man

Similar:

righteous (characterized by or proceeding from accepted standards of morality or justice)

Derivation:

goodness (moral excellence or admirableness)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude

Synonyms:

adept; expert; good; practiced; proficient; skilful; skillful

Context example:

the effect was achieved by skillful retouching

Similar:

skilled (having or showing or requiring special skill)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Thorough

Context example:

gave the house a good cleaning

Similar:

complete (having every necessary or normal part or component or step)

Sense 10

Meaning:

With or in a close or intimate relationship

Synonyms:

dear; good; near

Context example:

my sisters and brothers are near and dear

Similar:

close (close in relevance or relationship)

Sense 11

Meaning:

Financially safe

Synonyms:

dependable; good; safe; secure

Context example:

a secure investment

Similar:

sound (financially secure and safe)

Sense 12

Meaning:

Most suitable or right for a particular purpose

Synonyms:

good; right; ripe

Context example:

the time is ripe for great sociological changes

Similar:

opportune (suitable or at a time that is suitable or advantageous especially for a particular purpose)

Derivation:

goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Sense 13

Meaning:

Resulting favorably

Synonyms:

good; well

Context example:

all's well that ends well

Similar:

fortunate (having unexpected good fortune)

Sense 14

Meaning:

Exerting force or influence

Synonyms:

effective; good; in effect; in force

Context example:

the law is already in effect (or in force)

Similar:

operative (being in force or having or exerting force)

Sense 15

Meaning:

Capable of pleasing

Context example:

good looks

Similar:

pleasing (giving pleasure and satisfaction)

Sense 16

Meaning:

Appealing to the mind

Synonyms:

good; serious

Context example:

a serious book

Similar:

intellectual (appealing to or using the intellect)

Derivation:

goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Sense 17

Meaning:

In excellent physical condition

Synonyms:

good; sound

Context example:

a sound mind in a sound body

Similar:

healthy (having or indicating good health in body or mind; free from infirmity or disease)

Sense 18

Meaning:

Tending to promote physical well-being; beneficial to health

Synonyms:

good; salutary

Context example:

the salutary influence of pure air

Similar:

healthful (conducive to good health of body or mind)

Derivation:

goodness (that which is pleasing or valuable or useful)

Sense 19

Meaning:

Not forged

Synonyms:

good; honest

Context example:

a good dollar bill

Similar:

echt; genuine (not fake or counterfeit)

Sense 20

Meaning:

Not left to spoil

Synonyms:

good; unspoiled; unspoilt

Context example:

the meat is still good

Similar:

fresh (recently made, produced, or harvested)

Sense 21

Meaning:

Generally admired

Context example:

good taste

Similar:

discriminating (showing or indicating careful judgment and discernment especially in matters of taste)

• GOOD (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard ('good' is a nonstandard dialectal variant for 'well')

Synonyms:

good; well

Context example:

the baby can walk pretty good

Domain usage:

combining form (a bound form used only in compounds)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Completely and absolutely ('good' is sometimes used informally for 'thoroughly')

Synonyms:

good; soundly; thoroughly

Context example:

we beat him good

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 Context examples 

If that be the case, said the ass, we had better change our quarters, for our lodging is not the best in the world!

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Be a good dog and all ’ll go well and the goose hang high. Be a bad dog, and I’ll whale the stuffin’ outa you. Understand?

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

He was but a poor man himself, said Peggotty, but as good as gold and as true as steel—those were her similes.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The new molten air batteries, by contrast, offer the best of both worlds: a combination of high storage capacity and reversibility.

(New, high-energy rechargeable batteries, NSF)

A hexagonal pattern with a very large surface area, which mimicked the hexagonal organization of a liver lobule, trapped the toxins best.

(3-D gel-nanoparticle device detoxifies blood, NIH)

It’s one of the only good skeletons of one of these ocean reptiles from the middle part of the Jurassic Period.

(Sea Monster Swam Oceans 170 Million Years Ago, Voanews)

The film camera is initially intended to be used by researchers who literally want to gain better insight into many of the extremely rapid processes that occur in nature.

(World's Fastest Film Camera, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The combined data resulted in a better, deeper and more complete image of the system.

(Yellowstone magma discovery, NSF)

The discovery could help scientists better understand how brown dwarfs generate magnetic fields.

(Powerful Auroras Found at Brown Dwarf, NASA)

There is reason that all things are as they are, and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)