From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishgo to some/great/any lengths (to do something)go to some/great/any lengths (to do something)TRY TO DO OR GET somethingDETERMINEDto try very hard or to do whatever is necessary to achieve something that is important to you He went to great lengths to keep their name out of the papers. Bella would go to any lengths to fulfil her ambition. → length
Examples from the Corpus
go to some/great/any lengths (to do something)• Yet Phillips climbed the wall anyway, went to great lengths to hurt his ex-girlfriend.• Both want to steal the show and they are going to great lengths to do it.• Furthermore, bats go to great lengths to avoid confrontations with people.• George Bush went to great lengths to keep out of his way on the campaign trail.• The Medieval church went to some lengths to specify the roles of particular stones in religious imagery.• Who knows whether Oppenheimer went to any lengths to find anyone who had anything good to say about Stewart.• When uninterrupted by unforeseen or unrecognized obstacles, parents will go to great lengths to provide these advantages for their children.• Dealers, sometimes surreptitiously encouraged by their firms, would go to great lengths to extract information from employees of rival firms. 