get someone's back up

verb

To annoy or anger someone.

“That joke really got my boss's back up.”

Similar
annoy and Thesaurus:enrage
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

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

present singular third person gets someone's back up · participle present getting someone's back up · past got someone's back up · UK participle past got someone's back up · US participle past gotten someone's back up

  1. idiomaticTo annoy or anger someone.

    That joke really got my boss's back up.

    1 more example

    Telling someone that her child can and should be doing better and not offering some solutions immediately gets my back up.

    1970, James N. Casavis, Principal's Guidelines for Action in Parent Conferences, →ISBN, page 121

    Synonyms: annoy and Thesaurus:enrage

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo annoy or anger someone.

Similar
annoy and Thesaurus:enrage
Also see
annoyput someone's back upwind up
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: get someone's back up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.