Word.ws English Dictionary

get

/ɡɪt/UK/ɡɛt/

get verb: to obtain; to acquire.

Verb

get (third-person singular simple present gets, present participle getting, simple past got or (Scotland, Northern England, archaic) gat, past participle got or (US, Canada, more recently UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) gotten or (Geordie) getten)

  1. (ditransitive, transitive) To obtain; to acquire.
    • I'm going to get a computer tomorrow from the discount store.
    • Lance is going to get Mary a ring.
    Antonyms:
    lose
  2. (transitive) To receive.
    • I got a computer from my parents for my birthday.
    • He got a severe reprimand for that.
    Synonyms:
    receive, be given, acquire, accept, attain, come by, cop, enlist, fang, gain
  3. (transitive) To have. See usage notes.
    • I've got a concert ticket for you.
    • "Yeah, and I got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you," was Peter's response to his wife.2012, James Hibbitts, Joe Roberts, The Secret of Graveyard Hill, Tate Publishing, →ISBN, page 74
  4. (transitive) To fetch, bring, take.
    • Can you get my bag from the living-room, please?
    • I need to get this to the office.
    Synonyms:
    bring, fetch, retrieve
  5. (copulative, rather informal) To become, or cause oneself to become (often with temporary states, past participle adjectives and comparatives).
    • Near-synonyms: become, turn, go, come, fall, grow, wax
    • I'm getting hungry; how about you?
    Synonyms:
    become, turn, go, come, fall, grow, wax
  6. (transitive) To cause to become; to bring about.
    • That song gets me so depressed every time I hear it.
    • I'll get this finished by lunchtime.
    Synonyms:
    cause to be, cause to become, make
  7. (transitive) To cause to do.
    • Somehow she got him to agree to it.
    • I can't get it to work.
    Synonyms:
    make
  8. (transitive) To cause to come or go or move.
    • I got him to his room.
    • Get thee behind me.1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Retro me, Sathana !”, in Ballads and Sonnets, →OCLC, page 252
  9. (intransitive, usually, such as into, over, or behind, get over) To adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards (a certain position, location, state).
    • The actors are getting into position.
    • When are we going to get to London?
    Synonyms:
    arrive at, reach, go, move
  10. (transitive) To cover (a certain distance) while travelling.
    • to get a mile
  11. (catenative, intransitive) (with full infinitive or gerund-participle) To begin (doing something or to do something).
    • We ought to get moving or we'll be late.
    • After lunch we got chatting.
  12. (transitive) To take or catch (a scheduled transportation service).
    • I normally get the 7:45 train.
    • I'll get the 9 a.m. [flight] to Boston.
    Synonyms:
    catch, take
Show 21 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc).
    • Can you get that call, please? I'm busy.
    Synonyms:
    answer
  2. (catenative, intransitive) (with full infinitive) To be able, be permitted, or have the opportunity (to do something desirable or ironically implied to be desirable).
    • I'm so jealous that you got to see them perform live!
    • The finders get to keep 80 percent of the treasure.
    Synonyms:
    be able to
  3. (informal, transitive) To understand. (compare get it)
    • Yeah, I get it, it's just not funny.
    • I don't get what you mean by "fun". This place sucks!
    Synonyms:
    dig, follow, make sense of, understand
  4. (informal, transitive) To be told; be the recipient of (a question, comparison, opinion, etc.).
    • "You look just like Helen Mirren." / "I get that a lot."
    • Do you mind? Excuse me / I saw you over there / Can I just tell you ¶ Although there are millions of / Cephalophores that wander through this world / You've got something extra going on / I think you probably know ¶ You probably get that a lot / I'll bet that people say that a lot to you, girl.2011, “You Probably Get That A Lot (Elegant Too Remix)”, in They Might Be Giants (music), Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
  5. (auxiliary, informal) Used with the past participle to form the dynamic passive voice of a dynamic verb. Compared with static passive with to be, this emphasizes the commencement of an action or entry into a state.
    • He got bitten by a dog.
    • Of particular importance is the bureaucratic organization of European judiciaries. The judiciary is a career. You start at the bottom and get assigned and promoted at the pleasure of your superiors.2003, Richard A. Posner, Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy, page 95
    Synonyms:
    to be
  6. (impersonal, informal) Used with a pronoun subject, usually you but sometimes one, to indicate that the object of the verb exists, can occur or is otherwise typical.
    • You get some very rude people here.
    • It was the kind of shop you used to get in most small towns.
  7. (transitive) To become ill with or catch (a disease).
    • I went on holiday and got malaria.
    • I don't have the strength to get up and take another shot / And my best friend, my doctor, won't even say what it is I've got.1965, “Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues”, in Highway 61 Revisited, performed by Bob Dylan
  8. (informal, transitive) To catch out, trick successfully.
    • He keeps calling pretending to be my boss—it gets me every time.
  9. (informal, transitive) To perplex, stump.
    • That question's really got me.
    Synonyms:
    confuse, perplex, stump
  10. (transitive) To find as an answer.
    • What did you get for question four?
    Synonyms:
    obtain
  11. (informal, transitive) To bring to reckoning; to catch (usually as a criminal); to effect retribution.
    • The cops finally got me.
    • I'm gonna get him for that.
    Synonyms:
    catch, nab, nobble
  12. (transitive) To hear completely; catch.
    • Sorry, I didn't get that. Could you repeat it?
    Synonyms:
    catch, hear
  13. (transitive) To getter.
    • I put the getter into the container to get the gases.
    Synonyms:
    getter
  14. (archaic) To beget (of a father).
    • I had rather to adopt a child than get it.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    • Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself / Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published...
  15. (archaic) To learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; sometimes with out.
    • to get a lesson; to get out one's Greek lesson
    • it being harder with him to get one sermon by heart, than to pen twenty1662, John Fell, The life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond, page 96
  16. (imperative, informal) Used with a personal pronoun to indicate that someone is being pretentious or grandiose.
    • Get her with her new hairdo.
    • Brother, get her! Draped on a bedspread made from three kinds of fur!1966, Dorothy Fields, “If My Friends Could See Me Now”
  17. (imperative, informal, intransitive) To go, to leave; to scram.
    • Get, now — get! — before I call an officer and lay a charge against ye.1991, Theodore Dreiser, T. D. Nostwich, Newspaper Days, University of Pennsylvania Press, →ISBN, page 663
    • I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't no flashlight and I wasn't too curious, just then, to find out what would happen if he did more than wave it at me, so I got. I went back about twenty feet or so and watched.1952, Fredric Brown, Mack Reynolds, Me and Flapjack and the Martians
  18. (euphemistic) To kill.
    • They’re coming to get you, Barbara.
    • He got Dancer and Prancer with an old German Luger
      And he slashed up Dasher just like Freddy Krueger1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day
    Synonyms:
    assault, beat, beat up
  19. (intransitive, obsolete) To make acquisitions; to gain; to profit.
    • We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  20. (transitive) To measure.
    • Did you get her temperature?
  21. (transitive) To cause someone to laugh.
    • It gets me every time!

Noun (1)

get (plural gets)

  1. (dated) Offspring, especially illegitimate.
    • At the time when I am making these observations, one of his colts is the first favourite for the Derby; and it will be recollected, that a filly of his get won the Oaks in 1808.1810, Thomas Hornby Morland, The genealogy of the English race horse, page 71
    • You must admit that the bastard get of Paul Atreides would be no more than juicy morsels for those two [tigers].1976, Frank Herbert, Children of Dune
  2. Lineage.
  3. A difficult return or block of a shot.
  4. (informal) Something gotten, something gained or won; an acquisition.
    • I had reconnected with the lust of my life while landing a big get for the magazine.2008, Karen Yampolsky, Falling Out of Fashion, page 73
  5. (Internet) A message or post on an online platform, particularly imageboards, with a unique identifier deemed special or rare, usually due to patterns in the ID.

Noun (2)

get (plural gets)

  1. (Ireland, UK, regional) Synonym of git (“contemptible person”).
    • Kylie: Oi, Bono! You lazy get! Have you finished my song yet?1990 January 13, David Quantick, Steven Wells, “Is It Rock Art Or Is It Nart?”, in New Musical Express
    Synonyms:
    git

Noun (3)

get (plural gets or gittim or gitten)

  1. (Judaism) A Jewish writ of divorce.
    • In Israel, rabbinic courts can imprison men until they acquiesce and grant gets to their wives.2013, Dan Cohn-Sherbok, George D. Chryssides, Dawoud El-Alami, Love, Sex and Marriage, page 143

Noun (4) capitalized: Get

Get (plural Gets)

  1. A member of the Getae.

get meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

get in Hindi

to obtain
पाना pānā

get in Tamil

to obtain
பெறு peṟu, கிடை kiṭai

get in Marathi

to obtain
मिळवणे miḷavṇe

get in Urdu

to get
پانا pānā
More languagesFewer languages
get in Bengali
পাওয়া paōẇa
get in Telugu
పొందు pondu
get in Malayalam
കിട്ടുക kiṭṭuka
get in Kannada
ತಡೆ, ತೆಗೆ, ಪಡೆ, ಹೊಂದು
get in Punjabi
لینا laiṇā, ਕਰਾਉਣਾ karāuṇā, ਖੁਲ੍ਹਵਾਉਣਾ khulhvāuṇā, ਚਬਾਉਣਾ cabāuṇā
get in Odia
ପାଇବା pāibā
get in Sanskrit
लभते labhate
get in Assamese
পোৱা püa
get in Nepali
पाउनु pāunu
get in Pashto
شول šwël
get in Tagalog
makuha, matanggap, kunin, maging
get in Arabic
اِسْتَلَمَ istalama, اِسْتَقْبَلَ istaqbala, أَصْبَحَ ʔaṣbaḥa
get in Persian
بدست آوردن bedast âvordan, گرفتن gereftan
get in Thai
ได้รับ dâai ráp, รับ ráp
get in Vietnamese
được, lấy, nhận được, nhận
get in Myanmar
ခံ hkam

Examples of get in a sentence

  • I'm going out to get drunk.
  • I can't get these boots off.
  • I can’t get my hands warm.
  • I can't get it working.
  • I can’t get my kids to go to bed early.
  • I'm getting into a muddle.

All 40 example sentences with get

Synonyms of get

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of get

Forms of get

Verb
third-person singular presentgets
present participlegetting
pastgot
past participlegot
past participle Australia Canada Ireland New Zealand UK US error-unknown-tag recentlygotten
past participle Geordiegetten
past participlegotten
alternative formgit
past Northern England Scotland (archaic)gat
first-person singular past (archaic)gat
second-person singular present (archaic)gettest
second-person singular past (archaic)gottest
second-person singular past (archaic)gattest
third-person singular present (archaic)getteth
past participle (dialectal)getten
Noun
pluralgets

Past tense of get: got

Plural of get: gets

Origin of get

From Middle English geten, from Old Norse geta, from Proto-Germanic *getaną (“to find; to acquire, attain, get, hold, receive”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to find; to hold; to seize; to take”). Cognates Cognate with Yola get (“to get”), Danish gide (“to care, like”), Faroese gita (“to be able”), Icelandic geta (“to be able; to beget, father; to achieve, obtain, to guess; to mention”), Norwegian Nynorsk gjeta, gjete (“to guess; to mention”), Scanian gida (“to have the energy to, to feel up for”), gæda (“to guess”), Swedish gita, gitta (“to be able, to bring oneself to, to care”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bigitan, “to discover, find”); also Latin edera, hedera (“ivy”), praeda (“booty, pillage, plunder; prey; gain, profit”), prehendō, prēndō (“to grab, grasp, seize; to attain, reach”), Ancient Greek χανδάνω (khandánō, “to comprise, contain, hold”), Albanian gjej (“to find”).

Variant of git.

From Hebrew גֵּט (gēṭ).

Words formed from get

Phrases with get

156 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with get

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about get

What does get mean?
Get means to obtain; to acquire.
What is get in Hindi?
Get in Hindi is पाना (pānā). See Get meaning in Hindi.
How do you use get in a sentence?
I'm going out to get drunk.
What part of speech is get?
Get can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce get?
Get is pronounced /ɡɛt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of get?
The past tense of get is got.

Words near get in the dictionary

  1. gesuip
  2. gesundheit
  3. Gesves
  4. geswarp
  5. geswarps
  6. get
  7. get 'em stories
  8. get 'em story
  9. get 'er done
  10. get a charge from
  11. get a charge out of

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: get (page history and authors); Get (page history and authors); پانا (Urdu) (page history and authors); കിട്ടുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); get (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); لینا (Punjabi) (page history and authors); ପାଇବା (Odia) (page history and authors); पाउनु (Nepali) (page history and authors); شول (Pashto) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-get.ogg.

Cite this entry: “get.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/get. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.