Meaning & use
goes bananas
Last updated
“goes bananas” is a form of “go bananas”.
Meaning
verbintransitiveinformal
Becomes extremely angry, excited, or crazy about something.
Grammar: No object; often used with 'when' or 'about' to show the trigger: She goes bananas when she hears that song.
Patterns
- goes bananas over something
- goes bananas when ...
My dad goes bananas every time his team loses a match.
The crowd goes bananas when the singer appears on stage.
She goes bananas over chocolate cake.
Word forms
| base form | go bananas |
|---|---|
| past tense | went bananas |
| past participle | gone bananas |
| -ing form | going bananas |
Common combinations
- go bananas over
- He goes bananas over new gadgets.
- go bananas when
- The kids go bananas when it snows.
- absolutely go bananas
- She absolutely goes bananas if you touch her phone.
Synonyms and how they differ
- go crazy
- Similar meaning, but 'go crazy' can also mean to become mentally ill; 'go bananas' is usually just about strong emotion.
- go mad
- More common in British English; also can mean to become insane, which 'go bananas' rarely does.
Opposites
Word family
- bananas adjective
- Informal: crazy or very excited. 'The whole idea is bananas.'
Commonly confused: goes bananas or go banana?
goes bananas vs go banana
Not standard; the idiom always uses the plural 'bananas'.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The idiom is 'go bananas', always plural, and it can be followed by a 'when' clause. Option 1 uses the wrong singular form; option 2 adds an unnecessary 'to'; option 3 has incorrect grammar after 'at'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “goes bananas”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.