get back at

verb

To retaliate against; to take revenge on.

“She put toothpaste in his shoes to get back at him for the frog he left in her refrigerator.”

Similar
get back onget one's own back ontake revengeretaliateavenge
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Meanings

verbget back at (third-person singular simple present gets back at, present participle getting back at, simple past got back at, past participle (UK) got back at or (US) gotten back at)

present singular third person gets back at · participle present getting back at · past got back at · UK participle past got back at · US participle past gotten back at

  1. idiomaticTo retaliate against; to take revenge on.

    She put toothpaste in his shoes to get back at him for the frog he left in her refrigerator.

    Synonyms: get back on, get one's own back on, take revenge, retaliate, avenge

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo retaliate against; to take revenge on.

Similar
get back onget one's own back ontake revengeretaliateavenge
Also see
avengeget one's own backrequitetar out

Translations

Finnish kostaa
  • kostaato retaliate
French se venger
  • se vengerto retaliate
German sich rächen
  • sich rächento retaliate
Italian vendicarsi
  • vendicarsito retaliate
Spanish vengarse, desquitarse
  • vengarseto retaliate
  • desquitarseto retaliate
Cite this entry
APA

get back at. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20back%20at

MLA

“get back at.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20back%20at. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “get back at,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/get%20back%20at.

Source: get back at on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.