Word.ws English Dictionary

getting under someone's skin

getting under someone's skin is the present participle and gerund of get under someone's skin.

Meaning of get under someone's skin

Verb

get under someone's skin (third-person singular simple present gets under someone's skin, present participle getting under someone's skin, simple past got under someone's skin, past participle (UK) got under someone's skin or (US) gotten under someone's skin)

  1. (idiomatic) To irritate someone.
    • [T]his Bolshevist stuff gets under my skin. I've got a home and a family here. I started in to work when I was thirteen, and all I've got I've made and saved right here.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, chapter 15, in A Poor Wise Man
  2. (idiomatic) To make a memorable impression or have a strong effect on someone; to impact someone's feelings, especially when such an effect is not expected or wanted.
    • Some TV shows get under your skin with lovable characters or subtle writing.2003 July 28, James Poniewozik, “Body Shop”, in TIME, archived from the original on 30 Jan 2012

Questions about getting under someone's skin

What is getting under someone's skin the present participle and gerund of?
Getting under someone's skin is the present participle and gerund of get under someone's skin.

Words near getting under someone's skin in the dictionary

  1. getting to the point
  2. getting together
  3. getting turned around
  4. getting under it
  5. getting under one's goat
  6. getting under someone's skin
  7. getting underneath someone's skin
  8. getting up
  9. getting up early
  10. getting up in
  11. getting up in someone's face

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: getting under someone's skin (page history and authors); get under someone's skin (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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