get past

verb

To continue around a blockage; to get around (something); to surpass something that is in the way.

“He was an intelligent mathematician, and very few mistakes got past him in his works.”

Similar
reach past
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Meanings

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

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

  1. To continue around a blockage; to get around (something); to surpass something that is in the way.
  2. To cause something to get around a blockage; to cause to get around or surpass something that is in the way.
  3. figurativelyTo pass by unnoticed by someone who would have the power to halt or correct it.

    He was an intelligent mathematician, and very few mistakes got past him in his works.

  4. broadlyfigurativelyTo get through a difficult time; to overcome a source of grief.

    Synonyms: reach past

  5. broadlyfigurativelyTo cause someone to overcome a source of grief or get through a difficult time.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo get through a difficult time; to overcome a source of grief.

Similar
reach past
Also see
put byreach past

Translations

Spanish pasar desapercibido
  • pasar desapercibidoto pass by unnoticed by someone who would have the power to halt or correct it
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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