go wrong

verb

"go-wrong" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“go wrong” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To worsen; to fail or go amiss; to have a bad outcome.

Corpus desk

Index EN-go-wrong · go wrong · English

go wrong · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 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.

Key facts for go wrong
PropertyValue
Headwordgo wrong
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “go wrong” in English

go wrongfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

go wrong is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for go wrong, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is go wrong, spelled G-O- -W-R-O-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    To worsen; to fail or go amiss; to have a bad outcome.
  2. 2
    To malfunction.
  3. 3
    To become wicked or depraved.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how go wrong appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Everything seems to be going very badly wrong today.
  2. If you want good weather, you can't go wrong with Spain.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "go wrong"?
"go wrong" is spelled G-O- -W-R-O-N-G.
What does "go wrong" mean?
As a verb, "go wrong" means: To worsen; to fail or go amiss; to have a bad outcome.
What language does "go wrong" come from?
"go wrong" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list