get hold of

present singular third person gets hold of · participle present getting hold of · past got hold of · UK participle past got hold of · US participle past gotten hold of · alternative get a hold of · alternative get ahold of · alternative get hold on · alternative get a hold on

1. transitiveTo obtain.

   Withnail: I want to stop and get hold of a child.

   1987, Withnail and I

   1 more example

   However, a Carlisle newspaper got hold of the story, and at the half-yearly meeting of the Caledonian Railway Company, held on March 17, 1863, a shareholder, Mr. Meiklem, questioned the Chairman, Lt.-Col. Salkeld, regarding a "Chase of Engines," described in the newspaper article. The Chairman admitted that the statements made in the article were perfectly true.

   1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, pages 54–55

2. transitiveTo pick up or grab.

   I: Now get hold of that map.

   1987, Withnail and I

3. transitiveTo contact (a person).

   Get hold of John and tell him the meeting's been canceled.

4. transitiveTo control or stabilize (oneself).

   Get hold of yourself!