go a long way toward

1. Have considerable effect or influence on. For example, This argument goes a long way toward proving the scientists are wrong, or, as Eudora Welty put it in The Ponder Heart (1954): “It went a long way toward making him touchy about what Uncle Daniel had gone and done.” This idiom, then put as go a great way toward, was first recorded in 1697.

Example Sentences

Such a move would go a long way toward improving civic willingness to fulfill this historic duty.

From Slate

If he can do that, and former Gov. Roy Cooper—whose entry into North Carolina’s Senate contest was another recruiting “win” for Dems—can hold on to his own early lead, it would go a long way toward helping secure control of the chamber.

From Slate

A history lesson on how we got to this point will go a long way toward achieving this and recovering the osmosis that has long made our diverse scientific ecosystem a gold standard to the rest of the world.

From Slate

The verdict will go a long way toward shaping the dynamic in 2028.

From Los Angeles Times

With top-ranking Democrats in Washington exuding mediocrity if not hackery, more and more progressive organizers are taking matters into their own creative hands, mindful that vocal reframing of public discourse can go a long way toward transforming public consciousness and the electoral terrain.

From Salon