What does "gone" mean?
past participle of go
Gone
/ɡɒn/ adj, contraction, prep, verb, slang
adj, contraction, prep, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: past participle of go
- Grammar: gone is listed as adj, contraction, prep, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ablated, absconded, absent, absent.
- Useful contrasts: upcoming days, some remain, arriving.
- Usage evidence: Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone.
How to use "gone"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gone" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gone" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gone" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gone" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gone" is acting as adj, contraction, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ablated" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gone", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 past participle of go form-of, participle, past
Adjective
- 1 Away, having left.
"Are they gone already?"
- 2 No longer existing, having passed.
"The days of my youth are gone."
- 3 Used up.
"I'm afraid all the coffee is gone."
- 4 Broken, failed.
"The bulb is gone. Can you put a new one in?"
- 5 Dead.
"Dust, that a breath could blow aside, yet that was once, like ourselves, animate with hope, passion, and sorrow, is below; around are the vain memorials of human grief and human pride; yet all alike dedicated to the gone."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Doomed, done for.
"Have you seen the company's revenue? It's through the floor. They're gone."
- 7 Not fully aware of one's surroundings, often through intoxication or mental decline. colloquial
"Don't bother trying to understand what Grandma says; she's gone."
- 8 Infatuated; in love (+ on, for, in). slang
"I am, of course, ‘gone’ for you."
- 9 Excellent, wonderful; crazy. US, dated, informal
"It was a group of real gone cats."
- 10 Ago (used post-positionally). archaic
"Six nights gone, your brother fell upon my uncle Stafford, encamped with his host at a village called Oxcross not three days ride from Casterly Rock."
- 11 Weak; faint; feeling a sense of goneness. US
- 12 Of an arrow: wide of the mark.
- 13 Used with a duration to indicate for how long a process has been developing, an action has been performed or a state has persisted; especially, pregnant.
"She’s three months gone"
Adjective
- 1 dead wordnet
- 2 used up or no longer available wordnet
- 3 destroyed or killed wordnet
- 4 stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol) wordnet
- 5 well in the past; former wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted wordnet
Preposition
- 1 Past, after, later than (a time). British, informal
"You'd better hurry up, it's gone four o'clock."
Contraction
- 1 Alternative spelling of gon /gon': clipping of gonna or going to. alt-of, alternative, contraction
"Take or be taken. Get yours or get got. It was the code of the streets and I'd lived by it. The way things was looking, I was prolly gone die by it too."
Antonyms
Example
"Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gone"?
Common synonyms include: ablated, absconded, absent, absent, ago, all gone.
How do you use "gone" in a sentence?
Mathematics is the part of science you could continue to do if you woke up tomorrow and discovered the universe was gone.
How do you pronounce "gone"?
Pronounced /ɡɒn/.
Etymology
From Middle English gon, igon, gan, ȝegan, from Old English gān, ġegān, from Proto-Germanic *gānaz (“gone”), past participle of *gāną (“to go”). Cognate with West Germanic Scots gane (“gone”), West Frisian gien (“gone”), Low German gahn (“gone”), and Dutch gegaan (“gone”).