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- Dictionaryget/ɡɛt/
verb
- 1. come to have (something); receive: "I got a letter from him the other day" Similar acquireobtaincome bycome to havecome into possession ofreceivegainearnwincome intocome in fortake possession oftake receipt ofbe givenbuypurchaseprocurepossess oneself ofsecuregathercollectpick upappropriateamassbuild uphooknetlandachieveattaininformal:get one's hands onget one's mitts onget hold ofgrabbagscoreswingnabcollarcopreceivebe sentbe in receipt ofaccept delivery ofbe givenOpposite givesend
- ▪ experience, suffer, or be afflicted with (something bad): "I got a sudden pain in my left eye" Similar experiencesufferbe afflicted withundergosustainfeelhave
- ▪ receive as a punishment or penalty: "I'll get the sack if things go wrong"
- ▪ contract (a disease or ailment): "I might be getting the flu" Similar succumb todevelopgo/come down withsicken forfall victim tobe struck down withbe stricken withbe afflicted by/withbe smitten by/withbecome infected with/bycatchcontractbecome ill/sick withfall ill/sick withbe taken ill withshow symptoms ofgo down withinformal:take ill withtake sick with
- 2. succeed in attaining, achieving, or experiencing; obtain: "I need all the sleep I can get" Similar acquireobtaincome bycome to havecome into possession ofreceivegainearnwincome intocome in fortake possession oftake receipt ofbe givenbuypurchaseprocurepossess oneself ofsecuregathercollectpick upappropriateamassbuild uphooknetlandachieveattaininformal:get one's hands onget one's mitts onget hold ofgrabbagscoreswingnabcollarcopOpposite give
- ▪ move in order to pick up or bring (something); fetch: "get another chair" Similar fetchcollectgo forcall forpick upbringcarrydeliverconveyferrytransportescortconductleadusherOpposite takeleave
- ▪ prepare (a meal): "Celia went to the kitchen to start getting their dinner" Similar prepareget readycookmakeput togetherassemblemusterdish upconcoctinformal:fixrustle upknock up
- ▪ tend to meet with or find in a specified place or situation: "for someone used to the tiny creatures we get in England it was something of a shock"
- ▪ travel by or catch (a bus, train, or other form of transport): "I got a taxi across to Baker Street" Similar travel by/on/injourney by/on/intakecatchusemake use ofutilize
- ▪ obtain (a figure or answer) as a result of calculation.
- ▪ make contact with, especially by phone: "you can get me at home if you need me" Similar contactget in touch withcommunicate withmake contact withreachbe in communication withphonecallradiospeak totalk toget on toring upinformal:get hold of
- ▪ respond to a ring of (a telephone or doorbell): "I'll get the door!"
- ▪ used to draw attention to someone whom one regards as pretentious or vain: informal "get her!"
- 3. reach or cause to reach a specified state or condition: "he'd got thinner" Similar becomegrowturngocome to beget to beliterary:wax
- ▪ used with past participle to form the passive mood: "the cat got drowned"
- ▪ cause to be treated in a specified way: "get the form signed by a doctor" Similar contrivearrangefind a wayengineer a waymanagesucceed inorganizeinformal:work itfix itarchaic:compass
- ▪ induce or prevail upon (someone) to do something: "they got her to sign the consent form" Similar persuadeinduceprevail oninfluencetalk roundwheedle intotalk intocajole intoinveigle intowin overbring aroundsway
- ▪ have the opportunity to do: "he got to try out a few of these nice new cars" Similar contrivearrangefind a wayengineer a waymanagesucceed inorganizeinformal:work itfix itarchaic:compass
- ▪ begin to be or do something, especially gradually or by chance: "we got talking one evening"
- 4. come, go, or make progress eventually or with some difficulty: "Nigel got home very late" Similar arrivereachcomemake itturn upappearput in an appearancemake an appearancecome on the scenecome upapproachenterpresent oneselfbe alongcome alongmaterializeinformal:show upshowroll inroll upblow inshow one's face
- ▪ move or come into a specified position, situation, or state: "she got into the car" Similar becomegrowturngocome to beget to beliterary:wax
- ▪ succeed in making (someone or something) come, go, or move somewhere: "she had to get them away from the rocks" Similar contrivearrangefind a wayengineer a waymanagesucceed inorganizeinformal:work itfix itarchaic:compass
- ▪ reach a specified point or stage: informal North American "it's getting so I can't even think"
- 5. see have
- 6. catch or apprehend (someone): "the police have got him" Similar apprehendcatcharrestcaptureseizetaketake prisonertake captivetake into custodydetainput in jailthrow in jailput behind barsimprisonincarcerateinformal:collargrabnabnailrun inbustpick uppull inhaul indofeel someone's collarpinchnick
- ▪ strike or wound (someone) with a blow or missile: "you got me in the eye!"
- ▪ punish, injure, or kill (someone), especially as retribution: informal "I'll get you for this!" Similar take revenge onbe revenged onexact/wreak revenge onget one's revenge onavenge oneself ontake vengeance onget even withsettle a/the score withpay backpay outretaliate on/againstget back attake reprisals againstexact retribution ongive someone their just desertsgive someone a dose/taste of their own medicinegive/return like for likegive tit for tattake an eye for an eye (and a tooth for a tooth)informal:give someone their comeuppanceget one's own back on
- ▪ be punished, injured, or killed: informal "wait until dad comes home, then you'll get it!"
- ▪ be appropriately punished or rewarded: informal "I'll get mine, you'll get yours, we'll all get wealthy" Similar receivebe sentbe in receipt ofaccept delivery ofbe givenOpposite send
- ▪ annoy (someone) greatly: informal "cleaning the same things all the time, that's what gets me" Similar annoyirritateexasperateangerirkvexinflameput outnettleneedleprovokeincenseinfuriatemaddenrub up the wrong waytry someone's patiencemake someone's blood boilruffle someone's feathersmake someone's hackles riseget someone's hackles uprattle someone's cageinformal:aggravatepeevemiffrileget tohack offget someone's back upget on someone's nervesget under someone's skinget someone's goatget someone's dander upget in someone's hairbe a thorn in someone's fleshdrive maddrive crazydrive nutsmake someone see redwind upnarkget acrossget someone's wickgive someone the humpget up someone's nosetee offtick offeatburn upvulgar slang:piss offget on someone's tits
- ▪ baffle (someone): "she had got me there: I could not answer" Similar bafflenonplusperplexpuzzlebewildermystifybemuseconfuseconfounddisconcertthrowset someone thinkinginformal:flummoxdiscombobulatefazestumpbeatfoxmake someone scratch their headfloorfogarchaic:wildergravelmazecause to be at a standpose
- 7. understand (an argument or the person making it): informal "What do you mean? I don't get it" Similar hearrecognizediscerndistinguishmake outpick outperceivefollowkeep up withtake inunderstandcomprehendgraspseetake infathomfollowpuzzle outwork outperceiveapprehendget to the bottom ofunraveldecipherinformal:get the drift ofcatch on tolatch on tomake head or tail offigure outget the pictureget the messagetwigsuss outsuss
- 8. acquire (knowledge) by study; learn: archaic "that knowledge which is gotten at school"
noun
- 1. an animal's offspring. dated
- 2. a person whom the speaker dislikes or despises. informal, dialect British
Word Origin Middle English: from Old Norse geta ‘obtain, beget, guess’; related to Old Englishgietan (in begietan ‘beget’, forgietan ‘forget’), from an Indo-European root shared by Latin praeda ‘booty, prey’, praehendere ‘get hold of, seize’, and Greek khandanein ‘hold, contain, be able’.
Derivatives
- 1. gettable adjective
Scrabble Points: 4
G
2E
1T
1
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