Word.ws English Dictionary

goes both ways

goes both ways is the third-person singular simple present indicative of go both ways.

Meaning of go both ways

Verb

go both ways (third-person singular simple present goes both ways, present participle going both ways, simple past went both ways, past participle gone both ways)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see go, both, ways.
    • [...] people generally went by the railroad; that is, decidedly more than went on the dirt road. Witness had seen men go both ways.1907, The Southwestern Reporter, page 571
  2. (informal) To be, or be in, a mutual or reciprocal relationship or obligation.
    • empathy goes both ways
  3. (informal) To be bisexual.
    • I have a straight bitch in the telly going both ways.2004, “How We Do”, in Jayceon Taylor, Mike Elizondo, Curtis J. Jackson, Andre R. Young (lyrics), Andre R. Young and Mike Elizondo (music), The Documentary, performed by The Game (featuring 50 Cent)...
  4. (especially, informal) To be versatile, able to act as either a top or a bottom.
    • When Mark sought my supervision, I taught him the terms top and bottom and explained that gay men usually self-identify as either one or the other. Some men go both ways—calling themselves "versatile"—[…]2011, Joe Kort, Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 180

Questions about goes both ways

What is goes both ways the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Goes both ways is the third-person singular simple present indicative of go both ways.

Words near goes both ways in the dictionary

  1. goes between
  2. goes beyond
  3. goes beyond the pale
  4. goes big or goes home
  5. goes bonkers
  6. goes both ways
  7. goes brrr
  8. goes bush
  9. goes bust
  10. goes by
  11. goes by the board

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: goes both ways (page history and authors); go both ways (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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