get

GET/ɡɛt/

Formsgets, getting, got

39 meanings of get

Practice

1
obtainverbtransitive
To buy, find, or be given something so you have it.
I need to get a new phone this week.
I want to get a new pair of running shoes this weekend.
UsageSay get me a coffee, or get a coffee for me.
Similarobtain, acquire, buy, purchase
Note
2
becomeverbintransitive
To become a certain way, like hungry, cold, or old.
It's starting to get dark.
Put on a jacket, or you'll get cold at the game tonight.
Similargrow
3
verbintransitive
To reach or move toward a place or state, or to travel a certain distance.
What time will we get to London?
The train was late, so we didn't get home until midnight.
UsageSay get to school, but get home.
Similarreach, arrive, come
Note
4
receiveverbtransitive
To receive something, such as a gift, a message, a comment, or a punishment.
Did you get my email?
I got a nice card from my teacher at the end of the year.
UsageUse from to name the sender: I got a letter from Jo.
Similarreceive
5
verbcolloquialauxiliary
Used with words like bitten or hurt to say something happened to someone.
Be careful or you'll get hurt.
Wear gloves in the garden so your hands don't get scratched.
UsageCommon for sudden or bad things: get hurt, get caught.
6
cause to beverbtransitive
To make someone or something become a certain way.
Can you get the room ready by six?
Waiting an hour in the rain got us all wet and cold.
UsagePut the thing before the describing word: get the floor clean, get your hands warm.
7
cause to actverbtransitive
To make or persuade someone or something to do something.
I can't get the printer to work.
She got him to agree in the end.
UsageSay get someone to do something.
Similarpersuade, convince, induce, coax
8
verbtransitive
Used in 'have got' to mean have or own.
I've got a little sister and a big dog.
She's got two brothers.
UsageUsually short: I've got, she's got. In questions: Have you got a pen?
Similarhave, possess
Note
9
start doingverbcatenativeintransitive
To start doing something, as in get moving or get talking.
We should get moving or we'll be late.
After dinner we got talking about old times.
UsageSay let's get going: let's start.
Similarstart (entry), begin
10
verbtransitive
To bring or take someone or something to a place, or to go and bring it back.
We need to get the children out of the water.
After the party, we got him home safely in a taxi.
Similarbring, take, fetch, move
11
be allowedverbcatenativeintransitive
To have the chance to do something, often something nice.
Did you get to see the concert?
I get to clean the toilets today. Great.
UsageI get to go means I can go; I've got to go means I must.
12
understandverbcolloquialtransitive
To understand something, such as a joke or an idea.
I don't get the joke.
She gets me, she really does.
UsageI don't get it means I don't understand.
Similarunderstand, follow, see, grasp

Less common meanings

13
take (a bus)verbtransitive
To travel on a bus, train, or plane that leaves at a set time.
I usually get the 7:45 train.
We can get a bus from the airport.
Similarcatch, take
14
catch (illness)verbtransitive
To catch an illness, such as a cold or the flu.
I hope I don't get a cold before the trip.
He got malaria on holiday.
UsageSay get a cold, get the flu, get chickenpox.
Similarcatch, contract, develop
15
mustverb
Used in 'have got to' or 'got to' to say that you must do something or feel you need to.
I've got to finish my homework before dinner.
You have got to try this pizza!
UsageOften short: I've got to go. For the past, say had to.
Note
16
answer (phone)verbtransitive
To answer the phone or the door when it rings.
The phone is ringing. Can you get it, please?
Stay where you are, and I'll get the phone.
UsageSay I'll get it when the phone rings.
Similaranswer
17
verbtransitive
To find a number or answer when you work something out.
If you add up all the numbers in this column, you should get fifty.
I got twelve, but the book says fourteen.
Similarobtain, find, reach, calculate
18
leave nowverbcolloquialintransitiveimperative
To go away at once, usually as a rude order.
Go on, get! You look a state.
He waved the stick at me, so I got.
Similarscram, go (entry), leave
Note
19
hear fullyverbtransitive
To hear all of what someone said.
Sorry, I didn't get your name. Could you say it again?
The music was so loud I didn't get a word he said.
UsageI didn't get that can mean I didn't hear you.
Similarcatch, hear, understand
Note
20
botherverbcolloquialtransitive
To make someone feel something strongly, often by annoying them, making them sad, or making them tired.
It really gets me when people talk during a movie.
That loud ticking clock would get anyone after a while.
UsageSay it really gets me when something annoys you.
Similarannoy, bother, irritate
21
prankverbcolloquialtransitive
To trick someone so that they believe something false.
I believed my sister when she said school was closed. She got me!
You can't get me twice with the same joke.
UsageYou got me means you tricked me.
Similarfool, trick, catch
22
puzzleverbcolloquialtransitive
To confuse someone with a question they cannot answer.
That last question really got me.
Riddles like that always get me.
UsageYou've got me means I don't know.
Similarstump, puzzle, baffle, beat, floor
23
verbcolloquialtransitive
To catch or punish someone, often for something they did.
The police will get him in the end.
I'll get you for that!
UsageI'll get you back means I'll pay you back for that.
Similarcatch, nab, nail
24
verbcolloquialtransitive
Used with you to say that something exists or often happens somewhere.
In the summer, you get long lines at every ride in the park.
You get a lot of rain in this valley.
Similarfind, see
Note
25
make laughverbtransitive
To make someone laugh, as a good joke does every time.
That joke gets me every time.
Grandpa's old knock-knock joke will get me every time.
Similarkill, amuse
Note
26
verbcolloquialtransitive
Of a hit, a thrown thing, or a shot, to strike someone, often on a certain part of the body.
Watch out, or that ball will get you in the face!
The snowball got me right on the nose.
Similarhit, catch, strike
Oppositemiss
27
killverbeuphemistictransitive
To kill someone, said in a soft or indirect way.
In the war, he knew any bullet could get him.
The sniper got two of them before dawn.
Similarkill, murder, eliminate
Note
28
big catchnouncolloquialcountable
Something you have won or managed to get, like a big prize.
Signing her was a big get for the magazine.
That interview is quite a get.
UsageSay a big get for a prize that is hard to win.
Similarcoup, catch, score, acquisition
Note
29
nouncountable
In tennis, a return of a ball that was very hard to reach.
What a get! Nobody thought she would reach that ball.
He made three great gets in one rally.
Similarsave, return, retrieve
Note
30
Jewish divorcenouncountable
A paper that ends a marriage under Jewish religious law.
After a long wait, her husband finally agreed to give her a get.
The couple met with a rabbi to arrange the get.
UsageA husband gives his wife a get.
Note
31
nasty personnoundialectalIrelandUKcountable
A rude word for a person you do not like or respect.
Give me back my phone, you cheeky get!
That get from next door has parked in front of our gate again.
UsageSaid as you lazy get.
Similargit
Note
32
noun
The family line that a person or animal comes from.
33
verb
To clean the gas out of a vacuum tube with a special material.
34
verbarchaic
To become the father of a child.
I had rather to adopt a child than get it.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”
35
verbarchaic
To learn something so well that you remember it.
it being harder with him to get one sermon by heart, than to pen twenty
1662, John Fell, The life of the most learned
36
verbcolloquial
Said as in "get her!" to tease someone for acting too fancy.
37
verbobsolete
To earn or win things for yourself.
We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get.
1591, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”
38
verb
To find a number by measuring something.
39
noundated
A child, often one whose parents were not married.
‘You were a high lord's get. Don't tell me Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell never killed a man.’
1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

More uses

have got tomust, or need to, as in I've got to go

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of get apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–29

From an Old Norse word geta, meaning to get or gain. It came into English through Middle English geten.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Get derives from Old Norse geta, meaning get or gain. en.wiktionary.org
The Old Norse word entered English through Middle English geten. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 31

From Middle English get, meaning a child, especially one born outside marriage. The insult git is a later form of the same word.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The insult derives from Middle English get, meaning a child, especially one born outside marriage. en.wiktionary.org
Git is a later form of get. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 30

From the Hebrew word gēṭ.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

The English noun get, meaning a Jewish writ of divorce, comes from Hebrew gēṭ. en.wiktionary.org