Meanings
get1
present singular third person gets · participle present getting · past got · Northern England Scotland archaic past gat · participle past got · Australia Canada Ireland New Zealand UK US error unknown tag participle past recently gotten · Geordie participle past getten · first person past singular got · archaic first person past singular gat · archaic present second person singular gettest · past second person singular got · archaic past second person singular gottest · archaic past second person singular gattest · present singular third person gets · archaic present singular third person getteth · past singular third person got
- transitiveTo receive.
He got a severe reprimand for that.
2 more examples
I got a computer from my parents for my birthday.
Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 175Synonyms: receive, be given, acquire, accept, attain, come by, cop, enlist
- transitiveTo have. See usage notes.
I've got a concert ticket for you.
1 more example
"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 - transitiveTo fetch, bring, take.
I need to get this to the office.
3 more examples
Can you get my bag from the living-room, please?
Get thee out from this land.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 31:13He[…]got himself[…]to the strong town of Mega.
1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 634 - copulativerather informalTo become, or cause oneself to become (often with temporary states, past participle adjectives and comparatives).
I'm going out to get drunk.
4 more examples
Near-synonyms: become, turn, go, come, fall, grow, wax
I'm getting hungry; how about you?
November 1, 1833, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Table Talk His chariot wheels get hot by driving fast.
Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 175 - transitiveTo cause to become; to bring about.
I can't get these boots off.
4 more examples
That song gets me so depressed every time I hear it.
I'll get this finished by lunchtime.
I can’t get my hands warm.
Then there came a reg'lar terror of a sou'wester same as you don't get one summer in a thousand, and blowed the shanty flat and ripped about half of the weir poles out of the sand. We spent consider'ble money getting 'em reset, and then a swordfish got into the pound and tore the nets all to slathers, right in the middle of the squiteague season.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 6Synonyms: cause to be, cause to become, make
- transitiveTo cause to do.
I can't get it to work.
5 more examples
Somehow she got him to agree to it.
I can't get it working.
I can’t get my kids to go to bed early.
Get him to say his prayers.
c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 268Anstruther laughed good-naturedly. “[…] I shall take out half a dozen intelligent maistries from our Press and get them to give our villagers instruction when they begin work and when they are in the fields.”
1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 5, in Pulling the StringsSynonyms: make
- transitiveTo cause to come or go or move.
I got him to his room.
1 more example
Get thee behind me.
1881, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “Retro me, Sathana !”, in Ballads and Sonnets, →OCLC, page 252 - intransitiveusuallysuch as into; over; or behind; get over; such as into; over; or behind; get overTo adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards (a certain position, location, state).
We got behind the wall.
3 more examples
The actors are getting into position.
When are we going to get to London?
I'm getting into a muddle.
- transitiveTo cover (a certain distance) while travelling.
to get a mile
- catenativeintransitive(with full infinitive or gerund-participle) To begin (doing something or to do something).
After lunch we got chatting.
2 more examples
We ought to get moving or we'll be late.
I'm getting to like him better now.
Synonyms: begin, commence, start, begin, commence, go, inchoate, initiate
- catenativeintransitive(with full infinitive) To be able, be permitted, or have the opportunity (to do something desirable or ironically implied to be desirable).
Great. I get to clean the toilets today.
2 more examples
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
- informaltransitiveTo understand. (compare get it)
Yeah, I get it, it's just not funny.
2 more examples
I don't get what you mean by "fun". This place sucks!
I mentioned that I was feeling sad, so she mailed me a box of chocolates. She gets me.
Synonyms: dig, follow, make sense of, understand
- informaltransitiveTo be told; be the recipient of (a question, comparison, opinion, etc.).
"You look just like Helen Mirren." / "I get that a lot."
1 more example
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 - auxiliaryinformalUsed 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.
1 more example
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 95Synonyms: to be
- impersonalinformalUsed 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.
4 more examples
It was the kind of shop you used to get in most small towns.
He thinks that proper to northern man is the cellular composition, you know, the kind of thing one gets in Celtic ornamentation, for example, which a subject that interests him greatly.
1964, Lawrence Alloway, “Cobra Group with Lawrence Alloway, 1964”, in Guggenheim Museum Archives Reel-to-Reel collectionYou get non-binary people – you get people who don't identify as a man or a woman.
2021, 25:30 from the start, in No More Jockeys, season 4, episode 13, spoken by Mark WatsonIt was a terrible place to live. You get places like that. It is just the way it is.
2023 October 27, Laine Priestley, Mary Williams, “Boarding house destroyed by fire”, in Star News - transitiveTo become ill with or catch (a disease).
I went on holiday and got malaria.
1 more example
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 DylanSynonyms: catch, come down with
- archaicTo 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 Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 3142 more examples
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 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4Walter had said, dear God, Thomas, it was St fucking Felicity if I'm not mistaken, and her face was to the wall for sure the night I got you.
2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 310 - imperativeinformalUsed with a personal pronoun to indicate that someone is being pretentious or grandiose.
Get her with her new hairdo.
2 more examples
Brother, get her! Draped on a bedspread made from three kinds of fur!
1966, Dorothy Fields, “If My Friends Could See Me Now”Money's pouring in somewhere, because Churchgate's got lovely new stone setts, and a cultural quarter (ooh, get her) is promised.
2007, Tom Dyckhoff, Let's move to ..., The Guardian - imperativeinformalintransitiveTo go, to leave; to scram.
'Go on, get. You look a state. We can't let Leo see you like that.'
2010, Sarah Webb, The Loving Kind, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN4 more examples
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 663I 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 MartiansNow go on, get! Get! Get! (she chases Joanne out the door with the hammer.)
2012, Paul Zindel, Ladies at the Alamo, Graymalkin Media, →ISBN"[…] and then I'll switch over to the police band to know when the bacon's getting ready to stick its nose in. When I tell you to get, you get, understand?" Calamity asks as she retapes the earbud into her ear.
2016, April Daniels, Dreadnought, Diversion Books, →ISBNSynonyms: get out, go, leave, scram, abscond, absquatulate, amscray, beat a retreat
- intransitiveobsoleteTo 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] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 112
- datedOffspring, especially illegitimate.
‘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, Bantam, published 2011, page 7552 more examples
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 71You 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 - hobbiesA difficult return or block of a shot.
- informalSomething 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 - InternetA message or post on an online platform, particularly imageboards, with a unique identifier deemed special or rare, usually due to patterns in the ID.
get2
get3
plural gets · plural gittim · plural gitten · alternative gett · alternative ghet
Get4
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo obtain; to acquire.
verbTo receive.
verbTo become, or cause oneself to become (often with temporary states, past participle adjectives and comparatives).
verbTo cause to become; to bring about.
verbTo cause to do.
verbTo adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards (a certain position, location, state).
verb(with full infinitive or gerund-participle) To begin (doing something or to do something).
verbTo respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc).
verb(with full infinitive) To be able, be permitted, or have the opportunity (to do something desirable or ironically implied to be desirable).
verbTo understand. (compare get it)
verbUsed 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.
verbTo become ill with or catch (a disease).
verbTo catch out, trick successfully.
verbTo find as an answer.
verbTo bring to reckoning; to catch (usually as a criminal); to effect retribution.
verbTo getter.
verbTo go, to leave; to scram.
nounSynonym of git (“contemptible person”).
More synonyms by meaning
verbcome into the possession of something concrete or abstract
verbgo or come after and bring or take back
verbcause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
verbsucceed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase
verbcome to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
verbbe stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
get · verb, noun
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰe(n)d-
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰed-eti
- Proto-Germanic*getaną
- Old Norsegeta
- Middle Englishgeten
- Englishget
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”).
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →get · noun
- Sumerian𒁍
- Sumerian𒁍𒁕
- Akkadian𒁍𒁕der.?
- Hebrewגֵּט (gēṭ)
- Englishget
From Hebrew גֵּט (gēṭ).
More words from Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek δέχομαι, κτάομαι
- δέχομαι (dékhomai)to receive
- κτάομαι (ktáomai)to obtain
- τυγχάνω (tunkhánō)to obtain
- λαμβάνω (lambánō)to obtain
- αἱρέω (hairéō)to obtain
Arabic اِسْتَقْبَلَ, أَصْبَحَ
- اِسْتَقْبَلَ (istaqbala)to receive
- أَصْبَحَ (ʔaṣbaḥa)to become
- اِسْتَلَمَ (istalama)to obtain
Bengali পাওয়া, পাওয়া
- পাওয়া (paōẇa)to receive
- পাওয়া (paōẇa)to obtain
Bulgarian получа́вам, полу́ча
- получа́вам (polučávam)to receive
- полу́ча (polúča)to receive
- донасям (donasjam)to fetch
- ставам (stavam)to become
- правя (pravja)to cause to become
- пристигам (pristigam)to arrive at
- хващам (hvaštam)to take, catch (transportation)
- схващам (shvaštam)colloquial: to understand
- получавам (polučavam)to find as an answer
- доби́вам (dobívam)to obtain
Catalan rebre, buscar
- rebreto receive
- buscarto fetch
- convertir-se ento become
- esdevenirto become
- convertir-seto become
- fer convertir-se ento cause to become
- fer esdevenirto cause to become
- arribarto arrive at
- copsarcolloquial: to understand
- clissarcolloquial: to understand
- aconseguirto obtain
- obtenirto obtain
Chinese Mandarin 收到, 接到
- 收到 (shōudào)to receive
- 接到 (jiēdào)to receive
- 取 (qǔ)to fetch
- 成 (chéng)to become
- 成為 /成为 (chéngwéi)to become
- 到達 /到达 (dàodá)to arrive at
- 获得 (huòdé)to obtain
- 得到 (dédào)to obtain
- 取 (qǔ)to obtain
- 拿 (ná)to obtain
Czech dostávat, dostat
- dostávatto receive
- dostatto obtain
Danish få, modtage
- fåto receive
- modtageto receive
- bliveto become
- forståcolloquial: to understand
- få fat ito obtain
Dutch krijgen, verkrijgen
- krijgento receive
- verkrijgento receive
- halento fetch
- wordento become
- makento cause to become
- doento cause to do
- latento cause to do
- aankomento arrive at
- nemento take, catch (transportation)
- begrijpencolloquial: to understand
- verstaancolloquial: to understand
- snappencolloquial: to understand
Esperanto ricevi, iĝi
- ricevito receive
- iĝito become
- fariĝito become
- prenito obtain
- havigito obtain
- akirito obtain
Finnish saada, vastaanottaa
- saadato receive
- vastaanottaato receive
- hakeato fetch
- noutaato fetch
- tullato become
- saadato cause to become
- saadato cause to do
- saapuato arrive at
- asettuato adopt, assume (a position)
- ottaato take, catch (transportation)
- vastata puhelimeento respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc)
- ottaa puheluto respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc)
French recevoir, ramener
- recevoirto receive
- ramenerto fetch
- chercherto fetch
- devenirto become
- faire devenirto cause to become
- atteindreto arrive at
- arriverto arrive at
- captercolloquial: to understand
- pigercolloquial: to understand
- obtenirto obtain
- êtrecolloquial: to be
German bekommen, kriegen
- bekommento receive
- kriegento receive
- mitbringento fetch
- holento fetch
- werdento become
- kriegento cause to become
- machento cause to become
- bringento cause to do
- kriegento cause to do
- ankommento arrive at
- erreichento arrive at
- eintreffento arrive at
Greek παίρνω
- παίρνω (paírno)to receive
Hindi पाना
- पाना (pānā)to obtain
Hungarian szerez, kap
- szerezto receive
- kapto receive
- leszto become
- szerezto obtain
- gétamember of the Getae
Icelandic sækja, fá
- sækjato fetch
- fáto obtain
Irish faigh, faigh
- faighto receive
- faighto obtain
Italian ricevere, trasportare
- ricevereto receive
- trasportareto fetch
- divenireto become
- diventareto become
- far diventareto cause to become
- mettereto adopt, assume (a position)
- ottenereto obtain
- prendereto obtain
- esserecolloquial: to be
Japanese 受け取る, 貰う
- 受け取る (uketoru)to receive
- 貰う (morau)to receive
- 得る (eru)to receive
- 受ける (ukeru)to receive
- 持ち帰る (mochikaeru)to fetch
- 成る (naru)to become
- 〜になる (... ni naru)to become
- 〜となる (... to naru)to become
- するto cause to become
- 至らせる (itaraseru)to cause to become
- 至る (itaru)to arrive at
- 達する (tassuru)to arrive at
Korean 받다, 가져오다
- 받다 (batda)to receive
- 가져오다 (gajeooda)to fetch
- 되다 (doeda)to become
- 도착하다 (dochakhada)to arrive at
- 이르다 (ireuda)to arrive at
- 도달하다 (dodalhada)to arrive at
- 시작하다 (sijakhada)to begin
- 타다 (tada)to take, catch (transportation)
- 알아듣다 (aradeutda)colloquial: to understand
- 입다 (ipda)to don
- 쓰다 (sseuda)to don
- 벗다 (beotda)to doff
Latin recipio, petō
- recipioto receive
- petōto fetch
- fioto become
- ruoto become
- ago fierito cause to become
- potiorto obtain
- impetroto obtain
- nanciscorto obtain
- assequorto obtain
- consequorto obtain
- sumcolloquial: to be
Latvian saņemt, iegūt
- saņemtto receive
- iegūtto receive
- dabūtto receive
- atnestto fetch
- atvestto fetch
- kļūtto become
- tiktto become
- dabūtto obtain
- iegūtto obtain
Norwegian få, motta
- fåto receive
- mottato receive
- blito become
- forståcolloquial: to understand
- fattecolloquial: to understand
- få tak ito obtain
- oppnåto obtain
- blicolloquial: to be
Persian گرفتن, بدست آوردن
- گرفتن (gereftan)to receive
- بدست آوردن (bedast âvordan)to obtain
- گرفتن (gereftan)to obtain
Polish dostawać, dostać
- dostawaćto receive
- dostaćto receive
- otrzymywaćto receive
- otrzymaćto receive
- staćto become
- stawaćto become
- zostaćto become
- zostawaćto become
- namówićto cause to do
- namawiaćto cause to do
- załapaćcolloquial: to understand
- łapaćcolloquial: to understand
Portuguese receber, ganhar
- receberto receive
- ganharto receive
- pegarto fetch
- buscarto fetch
- tornar-seto become
- ficarto become
- deixarto cause to become
- fazer tornar-seto cause to become
- fazerto cause to do
- chegar em/ato arrive at
- ficarto adopt, assume (a position)
- começar ato begin
Romanian primi, primi
- primito receive
- primito obtain
- obțineto obtain
Russian получа́ть, получи́ть
- получа́ть (polučátʹ)to receive
- получи́ть (polučítʹ)to receive
- приноси́ть (prinosítʹ)to fetch
- принести́ (prinestí)to fetch
- станови́ться (stanovítʹsja)to become
- стать (statʹ)to become
- де́латься (délatʹsja)to become
- сде́латься (sdélatʹsja)to become
- добира́ться (dobirátʹsja)to arrive at
- добра́ться (dobrátʹsja)to arrive at
- прибыва́ть (pribyvátʹ)to arrive at
- прибы́ть (pribýtʹ)to arrive at
Scottish Gaelic faigh, fàs
- faighto receive
- fàsto become
- tuigcolloquial: to understand
- faighto obtain
- bicolloquial: to be
Slovak dostávať, dostať
- dostávaťto receive
- dostaťto receive
- priniesťto fetch
- dostaťto obtain
Spanish tocarle, competerle
- tocarleto receive
- competerleto receive
- corresponderleto receive
- ponerseto become
- dárseleto become
- diñárseleto become
- pegárseleto become
- quedarto become
- hacer volverseto cause to become
- volverto cause to become
- ponerto cause to become
- hacer queto cause to do
Swahili wahi, pata
- wahito receive
- patato receive
- wahito become
- patato become
- wahicolloquial: to understand
- patacolloquial: to understand
- wahito obtain
- patato obtain
- wahicolloquial: to be
- patacolloquial: to be
Swedish få, ta emot
- fåto receive
- ta emotto receive
- emottagato receive
- mottagato receive
- mottato receive
- erhållato receive
- hämtato fetch
- blito become
- fåto cause to become
- görato cause to become
- fåto cause to do
- nåto arrive at
Tagalog matanggap, kunin
- matanggapto receive
- kuninto fetch
- magingto become
- dumatingto arrive at
- sumagotto respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc)
- maintindihancolloquial: to understand
- makuhato obtain
Tamil பெறு, கிடை
- பெறு (peṟu)to obtain
- கிடை (kiṭai)to obtain
Thai ได้รับ, รับ
- ได้รับ (dâai ráp)to receive
- รับ (ráp)to receive
Turkish almak, olmak
- almakto receive
- olmakto become
- anlamakcolloquial: to understand
- elde etmekto obtain
- ele geçirmekto obtain
Ukrainian отри́мувати, оде́ржувати
- отри́мувати (otrýmuvaty)to receive
- оде́ржувати (odéržuvaty)to receive
- дістава́ти (distaváty)to obtain
- діста́ти (distáty)to obtain
Vietnamese nhận được, nhận
- nhận đượcto receive
- nhậnto receive
- đượcto obtain
- lấyto obtain
Welsh cael
- caelto obtain
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with get
Anagrams
Cite this entry
get. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get
“get.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get.
Source: get on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.