# for good
## English
### Etymology

From for + good (“of an action: complete, thorough, utter”, adjective).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /fə ˈɡʊd/
* (General American) IPA: /fəɹ ˈɡʊd/
** Audio (Mid-Atlantic US):(file)
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -ʊd

### Prepositional phrase

for good
* (idiomatic) In a way that is conclusive and final.
    Synonyms: definitively, forever, for good and all, once and for all, permanently; see also Thesaurus:finally
    Hyponym: for keeps
    A bad haircut is no fun, but at least you’re not stuck with it for good, only until it grows out.
** 1711 July 16 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Jonathan Swift, “[Dr. Swift’s Journal to Stella.] Letter XXVI.”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume XV, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1801, →OCLC, page 85:This day I left Chelsea for good (that's a genteel phrase) and am got into Suffolk street.
** 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LIII. Mr. Belford, to Robert Lovelace, Esq.”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume VII, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC, page 200:[S]he was dozing in the elbovv-chair, having refuſed to lie dovvn, ſaying, She ſhould ſoon, ſhe hoped, lie dovvn for good.
** 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Israel Hands”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part V (My Sea Adventure), page 207:Well, now, I'm no scholar, and you're a lad as can read and figure; and, to put it straight, do you take it as a dead man is dead for good, or do he come alive again?
** 1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, chapter XXXII, in Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 540:What I want is to get out of this fix, for good—so I can go to sleep at night without worrying over what's going to happen to me tomorrow, and next month, and next year.
** 1971 March 19, Leonard Cohen (lyrics and music), “Famous Blue Raincoat”, in Songs of Love and Hate, New York, N.Y.: Columbia Records, →OCLC; lyrics republished in Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, 1993, →ISBN, page 153:Yes, and thanks for the trouble you took from her eyes. I thought it was there for good so I never tried.
** 1995, Gary Barlow (lyrics and music), “Back for Good”, in Nobody Else, performed by Take That:Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it / I just want you back for good
** 2019, Maaza Mengiste, The Shadow King, New York, N.Y.: W[illiam] W[arder] Norton & Company, →ISBN, book 3:He […] unbuttons the bottom of his jacket so the rumors can be dispelled for good: he no longer wears his double belts.

#### See also

* for better or worse

### Further reading

* “for good, phrase” under “good, adj., n., adv., and int.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2023.
* “for good”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present, reproduced from Christine Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2003, →ISBN.