Word.ws English Dictionary

goes through the motions

goes through the motions is the third-person singular simple present indicative of go through the motions.

Meaning of go through the motions

Verb

go through the motions (third-person singular simple present goes through the motions, present participle going through the motions, simple past went through the motions, past participle gone through the motions)

  1. (idiomatic) To do something in a mechanical, unreflective manner, especially as a matter of routine and without commitment or enthusiasm; to perform a task perfunctorily.
    • Aleck was a Christian from the cradle, and duty and the force of habit required her to go through the motions.1905, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in The $30,000 Bequest

Questions about goes through the motions

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

Words near goes through the motions in the dictionary

  1. goes through hell
  2. goes through hoops
  3. goes through the attitudes
  4. goes through the gears
  5. goes through the mill
  6. goes through the motions
  7. goes through the trouble
  8. goes through with
  9. goes to
  10. goes to bat
  11. goes to bed

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: goes through the motions (page history and authors); go through the motions (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.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “goes through the motions.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/goes_through_the_motions. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.