go by
"go-by" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“go by” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To pass or go past without much interaction.
Corpus desk
Index EN-go-by · go by · English
go by · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "G" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | go by |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “go by” in English
Rare enough to double-check
go by is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for go by, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is go by, spelled G-O- -B-Y.
Definition
- 1To pass or go past without much interaction.
- 2To be called, to use as a name.
- 3To suggest or request that other people use a specific set of gender pronouns when referring to the subject.
- 4To follow; to assume as true for the purposes of making a decision, taking an action, etc.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how go by appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I like to sit and watch the world go by. The rest of the day went by quickly.
His full name is Ernest Tinkleton, but he goes by Ernie.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.