get in


to cause to be in one's possession or succeed in having available for one's use or enjoyment; obtain; acquire: to get a good price after bargaining; to get oil by drilling; to get information.
to go after, take hold of, and bring (something) for one's own or for another's purposes; fetch: Would you get the milk from the refrigerator for me?
to cause or cause to become, to do, to move, etc., as specified; effect: to get one's hair cut; to get a person drunk; to get a fire to burn; to get a dog out of a room.
to communicate or establish communication with over a distance; reach: You can always get me by telephone.
to acquire a mental grasp or command of; learn: to get a lesson.
to capture; seize: Get him before he escapes!
to prevail on; influence or persuade: We'll get him to go with us.
to prepare; make ready: to get dinner.
(especially of animals) to beget.
Informal. to affect emotionally: Her pleas got me.
Informal. to kill.
Informal. to take vengeance on: I'll get you yet!
to catch or be afflicted with; come down with or suffer from: He got malaria while living in the tropics. She gets butterflies before every performance.
Informal. to puzzle; irritate; annoy: Their silly remarks get me.
Informal. to understand; comprehend: I don't get the joke. This report may be crystal-clear to a scientist, but I don't get it.
to become or to cause oneself to become as specified; reach a certain condition: to get angry; to get sick.
to bear, endure, or survive (usually followed by through or over ): Can he get through another bad winter?
to earn money; gain.
Informal. to leave promptly; scram: He told us to get.
to start or enter upon the action of (followed by a present participle expressing action): to get moving; Get rolling.
an offspring or the total of the offspring, especially of a male animal: the get of a stallion.
British Slang.
a child born out of wedlock.
Verb phrases
get about,
to move about; be active: He gets about with difficulty since his illness.
to become known; spread: It was supposed to be a secret, but somehow it got about.
Also, get around.
get across,
to make or become understandable; communicate: to get a lesson across to students.
to be convincing about; impress upon others: The fire chief got across forcefully the fact that turning in a false alarm is a serious offense.
get ahead of,
to surpass; outdo: He refused to let anyone get ahead of him in business.
get along,
to go away; leave.
get around,
to circumvent; outwit.
to ingratiate oneself with (someone) through flattery or cajolery.
to travel from place to place; circulate: I don't get around much anymore.
get at,
to reach; touch: to stretch in order to get at a top shelf.
to suggest, hint at, or imply; intimate: What are you getting at?
to discover; determine: to get at the root of a problem.
Informal. to influence by surreptitious or illegal means; bribe: The gangsters couldn't get at the mayor.
get away,
to escape; flee: He tried to get away, but the crowd was too dense.
to start out; leave: The racehorses got away from the starting gate.
get by,
get down,
to bring or come down; descend: The kitten climbed the tree, but then couldn't get down again.
to concentrate; attend: to get down to the matter at hand.
to depress; discourage; fatigue: Nothing gets me down so much as a rainy day.
to relax and enjoy oneself completely; be uninhibited in one's enjoyment: getting down with a bunch of old friends.
get in,
to go into a place; enter: He forgot his key and couldn't get in.
to arrive; come: They both got in on the same train.
get off,
to escape the consequences of or punishment for one's actions.
to begin a journey; leave: He got off on the noon flight.
to tell (a joke); express (an opinion): The comedian got off a couple of good ones.
Informal. to have the effrontery: Where does he get off telling me how to behave?
Slang: Vulgar. to experience orgasm.
get on/along,
to make progress; proceed; advance.
to have sufficient means to manage, survive, or fare.
to be on good terms; agree: She simply can't get on with her brothers.
to advance in age: He is getting on in years.
get out,
to leave (often followed by of ): Get out of here! We had to get out of the bus at San Antonio.
to withdraw or retire (often followed by of ): He decided to get out of the dry goods business.
to produce or complete: Let's get this work out!
get over,
to recover from: to get over an illness.
get through,
to succeed, as in meeting, reaching, or contacting by telephone (usually followed by to ): I tried to call you last night, but I couldn't get through.
to complete; finish: How he ever got through college is a mystery.
get to,
to get in touch or into communication with; contact: It was too late by the time he got to the authorities.
Informal. to make an impression on; affect: This music really gets to you.
get back,
to come back; return: When will you get back?
to recover; regain: He got back his investment with interest.
get even. even1 ( def 26 ).
get going,
to begin; act: They wanted to get going on the construction of the house.
to increase one's speed; make haste: If we don't get going, we'll never arrive in time.
get it, Informal.
get it off, Slang: Vulgar. to experience orgasm.
get it on,
Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.
get off on, Slang. to become enthusiastic about or excited by: After years of indifference, she's getting off on baseball.
get round. get around.
get the lead out. lead2 ( def 15 ).
get there, to reach one's goal; succeed: He wanted to be a millionaire but he died before he got there.
get together,
to accumulate; gather: to get together a portfolio of 20 stocks.
to congregate; meet: The alumnae chapter gets together twice a year.
to come to an accord; agree: They simply couldn't get together on matters of policy.
get up,
to sit up or stand; arise.
to rise from bed.
to ascend or mount.
to prepare; arrange; organize: to get up an exhibit.
to draw upon; marshal; rouse: to get up one's courage.
to acquire a knowledge of.
has/have got,
to possess or own; have: She's got a new car. Have you got the tickets?
must (followed by an infinitive): He's got to get to a doctor right away.
to suffer from: Have you got a cold?


gettable, getable, adjective



The pronunciation [git] for get has existed since the 16th century. The same change is exhibited in [kin] for can and [yit] for yet. The pronunciation [git] is not regional and occurs in all parts of the country. It is most common as an unstressed syllable: Let's get going! [lets git-goh-ing]. In educated speech the pronunciation [git] in stressed syllables is rare and sometimes criticized. When get is an imperative meaning “leave immediately,” the pronunciation is usually facetious: Now get! [nou git]. Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
get (ɡɛt)
vb (often foll by to) (foll by to) , esp (US) gets, getting, got, got, gotten
1.  to come into possession of; receive or earn
2.  to bring or fetch
3.  to contract or be affected by: he got a chill at the picnic
4.  to capture or seize: the police finally got him
5.  (also intr) to become or cause to become or act as specified: to get a window open; get one's hair cut; get wet
6.  (intr; foll by a preposition or adverbial particle) to succeed in going, coming, leaving, etc: get off the bus
7.  (takes an infinitive) to manage or contrive: how did you get to be captain?
8.  to make ready or prepare: to get a meal
9.  to hear, notice, or understand: I didn't get your meaning
10.  informal (US), (Canadian) to learn or master by study
11.  to come (to) or arrive (at): we got home safely; to get to London
12.  to catch or enter: to get a train
13.  to induce or persuade: get him to leave at once
14.  to reach by calculation: add 2 and 2 and you will get 4
15.  to receive (a broadcast signal)
16.  to communicate with (a person or place), as by telephone
17.  informal to have an emotional effect (on): that music really gets me
18.  informal to annoy or irritate: her high voice gets me
19.  informal to bring a person into a difficult position from which he or she cannot escape
20.  informal to puzzle; baffle
21.  informal to hit: the blow got him in the back
22.  informal to be revenged on, esp by killing
23.  slang (US)
24.  informal to have the better of: your extravagant habits will get you in the end
25.  informal (intr; foll by present participle) to begin: get moving
26.  informal ( used as a command ) go! leave now!
27.  archaic to beget or conceive
28.  get even with See even
29.  informal get it, get it in the neck to be reprimanded or punished severely
30.  slang get with it to allow oneself to respond to new ideas, styles, etc
31.  archaic get with child to make pregnant
32.  rare the act of begetting
33.  rare something begotten; offspring
34.  slang (Brit) a variant of git
35.  informal (in tennis, squash, etc) a successful return of a shot that was difficult to reach
[Old English gietan; related to Old Norse geta to get, learn, Old High German bigezzan to obtain]

abbreviation for
Greenwich Electronic Time

get in
1.  (intr) to enter a car, train, etc
2.  (intr) to arrive, esp at one's home or place of work: I got in at midnight
3.  (tr) to bring in or inside: get the milk in
4.  (tr) to insert or slip in: he got his suggestion in before anyone else
5.  (tr) to gather or collect (crops, debts, etc)
6.  (tr) to ask (a person, esp a specialist) to give a service: shall I get the doctor in?
7.  to be elected or cause to be elected: he got in by 400 votes
8.  (tr) to succeed in doing (something), esp during a specified period: I doubt if I can get this task in today
9.  (intr) to obtain a place at university, college, etc
10.  (foll by on) to join or cause to join (an activity or organization)
11.  get in with to be or cause to be on friendly terms with (a person)
12.  (preposition) See get into
13.  theatre the process of moving into a theatre the scenery, props, and costumes for a production

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

c.1200, from O.N. geta "to obtain, reach" (p.t. gatum, pp. getenn), from P.Gmc. *getan (cf. O.E. begietan "to beget," O.Swed. gissa "to guess," lit. "to try to get"), from PIE base *ghe(n)d- "seize" (cf. Gk. khandanein "to hold, contain," Lith. godetis "be eager," second element in L. prehendere "to
grasp, seize," Welsh gannu "to hold, contain," O.C.S. gadati "to guess, suppose"). Meaning "to seize mentally, grasp" is from 1892. O.E., as well as Du. and Fris., had the root only in compounds (cf. beget, forget). Vestiges of O.E. cognate *gietan remain obliquely in pp. gotten and original pt. gat. The word and phrases built on it take up 29 columns in the OED 2nd edition. Slang get over "recover, rebound" is from 1687. Getaway "escape" is from 1852. Get-up "equipment or costume" is from 1847. Get-rich-quick (adj.) is from 1902. Get wind of "become acquainted with" is from 1840, from earlier to get wind "to get out, become known" (1722).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

get in

  1. Enter a place, as in We managed to get in just before the doors closed. [First half of 1500s]

  2. Arrive, as in We got in late last night. [Early 1600s]

  3. Be elected to office or become accepted, as in a club. For example, Marge asked the club if she could get in. The variant get into takes an object, as in Things changed after he got into office. [Late 1500s]

  4. Succeed in including, delivering, or finishing something, as in Can you get in that last paragraph? or I hope you'll get it in on time. Also see get in with.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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