ɡet v. & n. --v. (getting;
past got; past
part. got or US (and in comb.) gotten) 1 tr.
come into the possession of;
receive or
earn (get a job; got ø200 a
week; got
first prize). 2 tr. fetch,
obtain,
procure,
purchase (get my
book for me; got a
new car). 3 tr. go to
reach or
catch (a
bus,
train, etc.). 4 tr.
prepare (a meal etc.). 5 intr. & tr. reach or
cause to reach a
certain state or
condition;
become or cause to become (get
rich; get one's
feet wet; get to be
famous; got
them ready; got
him into
trouble;
cannot get the key into the lock). 6 tr. obtain as a
result of
calculation. 7 tr.
contract (a
disease etc.). 8 tr.
establish or be in
communication with via telephone or
radio; receive (a radio signal). 9 tr.
experience or
suffer;
have inflicted on
one; receive as one's
lot or
penalty (got
four years in prison). 10 a tr.
succeed in bringing, placing, etc. (get it
round the
corner; get it on to the
agenda;
flattery will get
you nowhere). b intr. & tr. succeed or cause to succeed in
coming or
going (will get you
there somehow; got
absolutely nowhere). 11 tr. (prec. by have) a
possess (have
not got a penny). b (foll. by to + infin.) be bound or obliged (have got to see you). 12 tr. (foll. by to + infin.)
induce;
prevail upon (got them to
help me). 13 tr. colloq.
understand (a
person or an argument) (have you got that?; I get
your point; do you get me?). 14 tr. colloq.
inflict punishment or
retribution on,
esp. in retaliation (I'll get you for that). 15 tr. colloq. a
annoy. b
move; affect emotionally. c
attract,
obsess. d
amuse. 16 tr. (foll. by to + infin.)
develop an
inclination as specified (am getting to like it). 17 intr. (foll. by
verbal noun)
begin (get going). 18 tr. (esp. in past or perfect) catch in an
argument; corner,
puzzle. 19 tr. establish (an
idea etc.) in one's
mind. 20 intr. sl. be
off; go
away. 21 tr.
archaic beget. 22 tr. archaic
learn;
acquire (knowledge) by
study. --n. 1 a an
act of begetting (of animals). b an
offspring (of animals). 2 sl. a fool or
idiot. øget
about (or around) 1
travel extensively or fast; go
from place to place. 2
manage to
walk, move about, etc. (esp.
after illness). 3 (of news) be circulated, esp. orally. get
across 1 manage to
communicate (an idea etc.). 2 (of an idea etc.) be communicated successfully. 3 colloq. annoy,
irritate. get
along (or on) 1 (foll. by
together, with) live harmoniously,
accord. 2 be off! nonsense! get at 1 reach; get hold of. 2 colloq.
imply (what are you getting at?). get away 1
escape. 2 (as imper.) colloq. expressing disbelief or scepticism. 3 (foll. by with) escape
blame or punishment for. get
back at colloq.
retaliate against. get by colloq. 1
just manage, even with
difficulty. 2 be
acceptable. get down 1 alight,
descend (from a
vehicle,
ladder, etc.). 2
record in
writing. get a person down
depress or
deject him or
her. get down to begin
working on or discussing. get even (often foll. by with) 1
achieve revenge; act in retaliation. 2
equalize the
score. get
his (or
hers etc.) sl. be killed. get hold of 1
grasp (physically). 2 grasp (intellectually); understand. 3
make contact with (a person). 4 acquire. get in 1
enter. 2 be elected. get into become interested or involved
in. get it sl. be punished or in trouble. get it into one's
head (foll. by
that + clause) firmly
believe or
maintain;
realize. get off 1 colloq. be acquitted; escape with
little or no punishment. 2
start. 3 alight; alight from (a bus etc.). 4 go, or cause to go, to
sleep. 5 (foll. by with, together)
Brit. colloq.
form an
amorous or
sexual relationship, esp. abruptly or quickly. get a person off colloq. cause a person to be acquitted. get on 1 make
progress; manage. 2 enter (a bus etc.). 3 = get along 1. get on to colloq. 1 make contact with. 2 understand; become
aware of. get
out 1 leave or escape. 2 manage to go
outdoors. 3 alight from a vehicle. 4
transpire; become
known. 5 succeed in uttering, publishing, etc. 6
solve or
finish (a puzzle etc.). 7 Cricket be dismissed. get-out n. a
means of avoiding
something. get a person out 1 help a person to leave or escape. 2 Cricket
dismiss (a batsman). get out of 1
avoid or escape (a
duty etc.). 2
abandon (a habit) gradually. get a
thing out of manage to obtain it from (a person) esp. with difficulty. get
outside (or outside of) sl.
eat or
drink. get
over 1
recover from (an
illness,
upset, etc.). 2
overcome (a difficulty). 3 manage to communicate (an idea etc.). get a thing over (or over with)
complete (a
tedious task) promptly. get one's
own back colloq. have one's revenge. get-rich-quick adj. designed to make a lot of
money fast. get
rid of see RID. get round (US around) 1 successfully
coax or
cajole (a person) esp. to
secure a
favour. 2
evade (a
law etc.). get round to deal with (a
task etc.) in
due course. get
somewhere make progress; be initially
successful. get there colloq. 1 succeed. 2 understand
what is
meant. get
through 1 pass or
assist in
passing (an
examination, an
ordeal, etc.). 2 finish or
use up (esp. resources). 3 make contact by telephone. 4 (foll. by to) succeed in
making (a person)
listen or understand. get a thing through cause it to overcome obstacles, difficulties, etc. get to 1 reach. 2 = get down
to. get together
gather,
assemble. get-together n. colloq. a
social gathering. get up 1
rise or cause to rise from
sitting etc., or from
bed after sleeping or an illness. 2
ascend or mount, e.g. on
horseback. 3 (of
fire, wind, or the sea) begin to be
strong or agitated. 4 prepare or
organize. 5
enhance or
refine one's
knowledge of (a subject). 6
work up (a
feeling, e.g. anger). 7
produce or
stimulate (get up
steam; get up speed). 8 (often refl.)
dress or
arrange elaborately; make
presentable; arrange the
appearance of. 9 (foll. by to) colloq.
indulge or be involved in (always getting up to mischief). get-up n. colloq. a
style or
arrangement of dress etc., esp. an
elaborate one. get-up-and-go colloq.
energy,
vim,
enthusiasm. get the wind up see
WIND(1). get with
child archaic make
pregnant. have got it
bad (or badly) sl. be obsessed or
affected emotionally. øøgettable adj. [ME f. ON geta obtain, beget,
guess, corresp. to OE gietan (recorded
only in compounds), f. Gmc]