Wiktionary
vb. 1 (context idiomatic English) To be adequate or helpful for a significant amount of time. 2 (context idiomatic English) To achieve considerable success.
WordNet
v. suffice or be adequate for a while or to a certain extent
Usage examples of "go a long way".
Creating some nice memories would go a long way to shedding the old.
A couple of dollars is not much, but it will go a long way to supporting the continuing effort to bring quality eBooks to our readers.
However, center-surround responses can go a long way toward explaining certain illusions.
If that conversation in the Prince Kuhio was actually recorded, that would go a long way toward a decent plea bargain for Collin.
And if you can get that foreman on the stand to testify about how hard it is to get the caps off the fuel tanks, that should go a long way toward convincing a judge, not to mention a jury.
If you can unravel the pattern, you can go a long way toward stopping the killer.
A few of these would go a long way toward sweetening Ringwall's sour temper when she gave her expense report.
If I am seen there, and have speech with some of the elders of the university it will go a long way toward showing them that it would be unjust to take my chair away from me.
If I make good it will go a long way for me - with all this talk of efficiency and economy down in Washington these days.
And yet she had brought him and his cell vital information, intelligence that would go a long way to stemming the tide of death among them.
The satchel of souls would go a long way toward healing his brides.