Word.ws English Dictionary

getting the picture

getting the picture is the present participle and gerund of get the picture.

Meaning of get the picture

Verb

get the picture (third-person singular simple present gets the picture, present participle getting the picture, simple past got the picture, past participle (UK) got the picture or (US) gotten the picture)

  1. (informal) To understand or comprehend a situation; to interpret things correctly.
    • I hung a "no solicitors" sign by my door. One of these days, I hope they'll get the picture and quit ringing the bell.

Questions about getting the picture

What is getting the picture the present participle and gerund of?
Getting the picture is the present participle and gerund of get the picture.

Words near getting the picture in the dictionary

  1. getting the last laugh
  2. getting the lead out
  3. getting the memo
  4. getting the nod
  5. getting the noggin joggin'
  6. getting the picture
  7. getting the point
  8. getting the push
  9. getting the runaround
  10. getting the sack
  11. getting the show on the road

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: getting the picture (page history and authors); get the picture (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.

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