Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

goto

/ˈɡoʊ.tu/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.07 in modern English

Syllables: go-to
IPA: /ˈɡoʊ.tu/

5

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any construct which produces an unstructured jump in the flow of execution.

verb

To reach (a point in a program) by means of a GOTO instruction.

noun

Alternative letter-case form of GOTO.

name

A surname from Japanese.

Example Sentences

"The setjmp/longjmp facility in C is essentially a GOTO."
"If we were GOTOed from 310 we GOTO 320."
"You can create loops by telling the computer to GOTO an earlier line."
"Cross reference programs show program structure by displaying line numbers that are GOTOed or GOSUBed to from other lines in the program, and listing the line numbers in which different variables appear."
"There is no way of falling into or GOTOing a procedure. The procedure can only be invoked by name as a subroutine."
"She and her hosts could not understand one another until Hopper remembered some COBOL commands. "MOVE," she said, pointing to herself. "GOTO Osaka Hotel." The Japanese immediately understood and delivered her to her lodging."

Etymology

From go to, a keyword for this purpose in many programming languages.

Origin

Source language: Japanese

Word Breakdown

Root: 後藤

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɡoʊ.tu/
British English: /ˈɡəʊ.tuː/

Inflected Forms

GOTOs (plural) GOTOs (present, singular) GOTOing (participle, present) GOTOed (participle, past) GOTOed (past)

Phrases

GOTO-less

Questions

How do you pronounce goto?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡoʊ.tu/.
What does goto mean?: Any construct which produces an unstructured jump in the flow of execution.
Where does goto come from?: It is traced to Japanese.

How to pronounce goto

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “goto”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡoʊ.tu/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “goto”.
Repeat and practice — Say “goto” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.