I. (|)ge]t, usu ]d.+V; (|)gi], widely regarded as substandard, is quite frequent in educated speech when the verb does not have heavy stress as when a heavily stressed syllable immediately follows verb
( got (|)gä] ; or archaic gat (|)ga] ; got (|)gä] ; or got·ten |gät ə n ; getting |ged.iŋ, -etiŋ ; gets (|)ge], (ˌ)gi])
Etymology: Middle English geten, getten, from Old Norse geta to get, beget, learn, name, speak; akin to Old English bi gietan to beget, Old High German pi gezzan to obtain, Gothic bi gitan to find, Latin pre hendere to seize, grasp, Greek chandanein to hold, contain, Albanian gjet to find, to get back; basic meaning: grasping, seizing
transitive verb
1.
a. : to gain possession of through one's own efforts
men are not born rich, and in getting wealth the man is generally sacrificed — R.W.Emerson
b. : to earn from one's business or employment
what they get by day they spend by night — Daniel Defoe
c. : to acquire or earn by or as if by labor or service
if I get your daughter's love, what dowry shall I have — Shakespeare
got an excellent reputation as an administrator
d. : to become the recipient or possessor of
gets a check from his uncle every Christmas
2.
a.
(1) : to obtain by way of advantage or superiority
get the better of their opponents
get the upper hand
got a good start and won the race
(2) : to receive by way of benefit or profit
is likely to get little for all his political activity
b.
(1) : to achieve as a result of military activity
having gotten the victory, pursued it to the utmost — Laurence Clarke
(2) : to gain possession of by military activity
and when the city Troy we shall have got — Thomas Hobbes
3.
a. : to obtain by or as if by concession or entreaty
got his father's consent to use the car
rapped vigorously on the door but could get no answer
b. : to come to have
get a good night's sleep
always gets his own way
walked up the hill to get a view of the town
got the idea that he could do what he wanted to
c. : to come down with (an illness) : catch
got measles from his brother
4.
a. : to cause to be provided or supplied : seek out and obtain
the officers got a search warrant
hoped to get dinner at the inn
b. : to obtain for oneself or for another
in the spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest — Alfred Tennyson
get him his hat
sent the boy to get help from the neighbors
c. obsolete : to obtain in marriage
I wonder why such a handsome … young gentleman as you do not get some rich widow — Jonathan Swift
d.
(1) : to obtain by hunting or fishing
went into the woods and got six squirrels in an hour
got several trout before breakfast
(2) : to obtain by harvesting : gather
got a good crop of wheat from the lower field
(3) : to obtain by mining
in proceeding to get the coal, the collier … works upon the face of the bed — Collieries & Coal Trade
5. : beget
get you the sons your fathers got, and God will save the queen — A.E.Housman
6. obsolete : to arrive at : reach
if the wind blows strong and you cannot get the harbor, you must anchor — Woodes Rogers
7.
a. : to succeed in bringing or conveying : cause to come or go
got his luggage through customs in a few minutes
got his car to the garage before the gas ran out
b. : to cause to move or be removed
get thee out from this land and return unto the land of thy kindred — Gen 31:13 (Authorized Version)
get the ladder away from the tree
get the cat out of the house
c. : to cause to be in a certain state, position, or condition
soon got the animal under control
got his feet wet
got the fender dented
will get himself into a jam if he's not careful
getting everything right that can by perseverance or expense be got right — Richard Mallett
d. : to make ready : prepare
promised to get breakfast by eight o'clock
8.
a. : to take hold of : seize
the dog got the thief by the leg
b. : to make a captive of
have got your fellow tribune and hale him up and down — Shakespeare
c. : to obtain the mastery of : overcome
such practices will surely get you in the end
d. : to have an emotional effect on : move , touch
you say that the music seemed to you very sad, that it got you — Olin Downes
e. : to be a source of bafflement to : puzzle
this problem really gets me
f. : to cause annoyance to : irritate
his conceit gets me
g. : to bring to retribution : take vengeance on ; specifically : kill
she had not brought it along for fun; she was out to get her rival — Cabell Phillips
9.
a. : to be subjected to : meet with
got a bad fall from the horse
got a severe wound in battle
expects to get the worst of the bargain
b. : to receive or suffer by way of punishment
gets a whipping at least once a week
got six months in jail
c. : to suffer a specified injury to
got his nose broken playing football
d. : to strike with force : hit
the blow got him in the mouth
10.
a. : to acquire by study or experience
get wisdom — Prov 4:5 (Revised Standard Version)
got a good education at the university
b. : to learn as a result of concentrated study
was told to get the poem by heart
gets his lessons faithfully
c. : to ascertain through calculation or experiment : find out by arithmetical or other processes
worked the problem and got 46 as the answer
d. : to learn by hearing
sorry, but I didn't get your name
e. : to apprehend the meaning of : comprehend , understand
the audience readily got the speaker's point
don't get me wrong
11. : to prevail on : persuade , induce
got the publisher to bring out a new deluxe edition
12.
a. : to come into or be in possession of — used in the past participle with the auxiliary have for emphasis
he has got ten dollars
b. : to have as an obligation or necessity — used in the past participle with the auxiliary have
they've got to go to a funeral
you've got to eat more meat
13. : to succeed in finding
wondered what he could get to scold her about — William Black
14.
a. : to establish communication with
tried all afternoon to get them on the telephone
b. : to receive by radio or on television
can get five stations since his new aerial was installed
15. chiefly Britain : to hold out for : stay
only a wonder of a horse can get those four miles and a half of ditches and fences — London Daily Chronicle
16. : to cause (an opposing player) to be put out : retire
the shortstop's throw got the runner at first base
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to bring oneself : succeed in coming or going
hopes to get to New York for the holidays
got safely across the street
get into the car
the car got through the mud
b. : to come in the course of a journey
planned to get to the city before dark
they got home sooner than they had expected
c. : to come in reaching a desired end or in attaining a state toward which progress has been made
finally got to sleep after midnight
d. : to come into existence : appear
dust got all over the books while we were away
2.
a. : to acquire wealth or property
whilst he was secretary … he had gotten vastly — John Evelyn
getting and spending we lay waste our powers — William Wordsworth
b. obsolete : to derive profit : gain
gamesters are wont to … get by using false dice — William Penn
3.
a. : to have an opportunity : be able : contrive , manage — used with following infinitive
he never got to go to college — Edmund Wilson
was lucky to get to see the new play
b. : to come to be — used with following present participle
they got talking about old times and sat up half the night
4. : to succeed in becoming : make oneself : become
how to get clear of all the debts I owe — Shakespeare
get well soon
gets acquainted with the best people
— often used as a passive auxiliary
got caught in the rain
got married last week
behind every story there is another story that often never gets told — Regina S. Jacobsen
5. : to go away at once : leave immediately
he presented a cocked revolver and told them to get — Graceville (Minn.) Transcript
Synonyms:
obtain , procure , secure , acquire , gain , win : get is very general in its meaning and simple and familiar in its use. obtain is likewise rather general. It may suggest that the thing sought has been long desired or that it has come into possession only after the expenditure of considerable effort or the lapse of considerable time
the satisfaction obtained by the sentiment of communion with others, of the breaking down of barriers — John Dewey
in western New York where her early education was obtained — H.W.H.Knott
procure is likely to suggest planning and contriving over a period of time and the use of unspecified or questionable means
the Duma laid claim to full power … and on March 15 procured the abdication of the frightened and despondent Nicholas II — F.A.Ogg & Harold Zink
some gifted spirit on our side procured (probably by larceny) a length of mine fuse — H.G.Wells
secure may suggest safe lasting possession or control
the large income and fortune which a prospering business secures for him is of his own making — J.A.Hobson
almost absolute safety against infection could be secured by the simple precaution of using safe, potable water — V.G.Heiser
acquire may suggest devious acquisition
the destruction of that ship by a Confederate cruiser, although it had acquired a British registry in order to avoid capture — H.W.H.Knott
It may also indicate continued, sustained, or cumulative acquisition
the habit of any virtue, moral or intellectual, cannot be assumed at once, but must be acquired by practice — C.H.Grandgent
gain often implies competition in acquiring something of value
if a London merchant, however, can buy at Canton for half an ounce of silver a commodity which he can afterwards sell at London for an ounce, he gains a hundred percent — Adam Smith
few men are placed in such fortunate circumstances as to be able to gain office — F.S.Oliver
win may suggest favorable qualities leading naturally to the acquisition of something desired despite competition or obstacles
the errors of his time were connected with his labors to remedy them and win a firmer knowledge than dialectic could supply — H.O.Taylor
Mrs. Woolf's fiction is too negligent of the requirements of the common reader to win a wide following — F.B.Millett
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- get after
- get ahead
- get anywhere
- get around
- get at
- get behind
- get down on
- get even
- get even with
- get home
- get into
- get it
- get nowhere
- get on
- get one's goat
- get one's hand in
- get one's hooks on
- get out from under
- get over
- get religion
- get somewhere
- get the hook
- get there
- get through
- get to
- get together
- get up
- get wind of
- get with
II. ˈget, usu -ed.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from geten, getten, v.
1. now dialect England : something that is gained ; especially : earnings
2.
a. : something that is begotten:
(1) : offspring
tries to make a hash of the lives of his innumerable get — John McCarten
(2) : the entire progeny of a male animal
a stallion's get
— compare produce
(3) Scotland : child ; specifically : bastard
b. : lineage
a colt of champion get
3. : a return of a shot in a game (as tennis) that usually scores for an opponent
III. noun
also gett “
( plural gittin )
Etymology: Hebrew gēṭ
1. Jewish law : a document of release from obligation ; specifically : bill of divorce
2. Jewish law : a religious divorce
IV. verb
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- get a life
- get it on
- get it together
- get it up
- get one's act together
- get one's back up
- get one's rocks off
- get on the stick
- get real