get after
get after verb: to move into action in pursuit of something.
Verb
get after (third-person singular simple present gets after, present participle getting after, simple past got after, past participle (UK) got after or (US) gotten after)
- To move into action in pursuit of something.
- He's wasting time at university not getting after his degree.
- If you want to win, you've got to get after it.
- To move into action in attempt to catch or defeat another.
- These murders are an indication of a swing to the right in this country, and also of the economic situation. Americans get after minorities during economic hard times: Blacks, Jews, Catholics. It's our turn because we've been the most vocal lately.1980 August 16, Fran Koski, “Fourth Gay Man Murdered Here”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 5, page 6
- The defensive line needs to get after the quarterback.
- To attempt to convince another to move into action.
- Parents get after their children to do homework for the best.
Forms of get after
| third-person singular present | gets after |
|---|---|
| present participle | getting after |
| past | got after |
| past participle UK | got after |
| past participle US | gotten after |
Questions about get after
- What does get after mean?
- Get after means to move into action in pursuit of something.
- What part of speech is get after?
- Get after is a verb.
- What is the past tense of get after?
- The past tense of get after is got after.
Words near get after in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: get after (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:
Cite this entry: “get after.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/get_after. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.