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- DictionaryGet/ɡet/
verb
- 1. come to have or hold (something); receive: "I got the impression that she wasn't happy" 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
- ▪ tend to meet with or find in a specified place or situation: "it was nothing like the winters we get in Florida"
- ▪ travel by or catch (a bus, train, or other form of transport): "I'll get a taxi and be home in an hour" Similar travel by/on/injourney by/on/intakecatchusemake use ofutilize
- ▪ obtain (a figure or answer) as a result of calculation.
- ▪ respond to a ring of (a telephone or doorbell) or the knock on (a door): "I'll get it!"
- ▪ said as an invitation to notice or look at someone, especially to criticize or ridicule them: informal "get her!"
- 3. enter or reach a specified state or condition; become: "it's getting late" Similar becomegrowturngocome to beget to beliterary:wax
- ▪ used with past participle to form the passive mood: "the cat got groomed"
- ▪ 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: "Sophie got Beth to make a fire" Similar persuadeinduceprevail oninfluencetalk aroundwheedle intotalk intocajole intoinveigle intowin overbring aroundsway
- ▪ have the opportunity to do: "he got to try out a few of these 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: "I got to the airport" 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 make progress: "my honesty often gets me into trouble" 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"
- ▪ go away. informal US
- 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 killed or appropriately punished or rewarded: informal "I'll get mine, you get yours, we'll all get wealthy" Similar receivebe sentbe in receipt ofaccept delivery ofbe givenOpposite send
- ▪ annoy or amuse (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): "“What's a ‘flowery boundary tree’?” “You got me.”" 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 ontolatch ontomake head or tail offigure outget the pictureget the messagetwigsuss outsuss
- 8. acquire (knowledge) by study; learn: archaic "knowledge which is gotten at school"
noun
- 1. an animal's offspring: dated "he passes this on to his get"
- 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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