Definition of: get

(get) v. got or Archaic gat, got or U.S. got·ten, get·ting v.t.
1. To come into possession of; obtain.
2. To go and bring back or obtain: to get one's hat.
3. To cause to come, go, move, etc.: to get baggage through customs.
4. To take; carry away: Get your things out of this house.
5. To prepare; make ready: to get breakfast.
6. To cause to be; bring to a state or condition: to get the work done.
7. To find out; ascertain by calculation, experiment, etc.: To get the range of a gun.
8. To obtain as a result: Divide two into six and you will get three.
9. To receive as a reward, punishment, evaluation, etc.: to get ten years in jail for robbery.
10. To obtain, receive, or earn (something desired or needed): to get permission.
11. To receive as a salary, gift, etc.: What did you get for Christmas?
12. To learn by memorizing: to get a lesson by heart.
13. To become sick with; contract: to get malaria.
14. To board; catch, as a train.
15. To beget: said chiefly of animals.
16. U.S. Colloq. To come to an understanding of; comprehend: I get the idea.
17. Colloq. To possess, or to have as a characteristic: with have or has: He has got quite a temper. See note under GOT.
18. To square accounts with: I'll get you yet.
19. Colloq. To be obliged or forced to do: with have or has: I have got to go home. See note under GOT.
20. Colloq. To strike; hit: That shot got him in the arm.
21. Slang To puzzle; baffle; also, to cause irritation or pleasure to: His impudence gets me.
22. Archaic Betake: Get thee behind me.
—v.i.
23. To arrive: When does the train get there?
24. To come or go: Get in here!
25. To board; enter: to get on a train or into a car.
26. To become: arrive at a condition or state: to get drunk; to get stuck in the mud.
27. To acquire profits or property.
28. Colloq. To find time, means, or opportunity: to get to go.
—to get about
1. To become known.
2. To move about.
—to get across
1. To make or be convincing or clear, as to an audience.
2. To be successful, as in projecting one's personality, entertaining, etc.
—to get ahead To succeed; prosper.
—to get along
1. To leave; go.
2. To be successful or fairly successful, as in business.
3. To be friendly; harmonize.
4. To proceed.
5. To grow old or older.
—to get around
1. To become known.
2. To move about.
3. To avoid; circumvent.
4. To flatter, cajole, etc., so as to obtain the favor of.
—to get at
1. To reach; arrive at: to get at the truth.
2. To intend; mean: I don't see what you're getting at.
3. To apply oneself to: to get at a problem.
4. Colloq. To bribe; corrupt.
—to get away
1. To escape.
2. To leave; go.
3. To start.
—to get away with Slang To do (something) without discovery, criticism, or punishment.
—to get back at Slang To revenge oneself on.
—to get by
1. To pass: This got by the censor.
2. Colloq. To manage to survive.
—to get in
1. To arrive.
2. To interject effectively, as a remark or the last word.
—to get off
1. To descend from; dismount.
2. To leave; depart.
3. To be relieved, as of duty.
4. To be released without punishment; escape penalty.
5. To utter: to get off a joke.
—to get on
1. To mount, as a horse.
2. To get along.
—to get out
1. To depart.
2. To escape.
3. To become known, as a secret.
4. To publish; issue.
—to get over
1. To recover from, as illness or surprise.
2. To get across.
—to get together
1. To collect, as facts or goods.
2. To meet; assemble.
3. Colloq. To come to an agreement.
—to get up
1. To rise, as from sleep.
2. To prepare and arrange; devise.
3. Colloq. To dress up; bedeck, as with finery.
4. To acquire or work up knowledge of: to get up German for an examination.
5. To climb; ascend.
—noun
1. The act of begetting, or that which is begotten; breed; progeny: the get of the stallion.
2. In tennis, handball, etc., the retrieval of a shot apparently beyond reach. [<ON geta]
—get′ta·ble adjective Synonyms (verb): achieve, acquire, attain, earn, gain, obtain, procure, receive, secure, win. Get is a most comprehensive word. A person gets whatever he comes to possess or experience, with or without endeavor, expectation, or desire; he gets a bargain, a blow, a fall, a fever; he gains what he comes to by effort or striving; the swimmer gains the shore; a man acquires by continuous and ordinarily by slow process; as, One acquires a foreign language. A person is sometimes said to gain and often to acquire what has not been an object of direct endeavor; in the pursuits of trade, he incidentally gains some knowledge of foreign countries; he acquires by association with others a correct or incorrect accent; he acquires a bronzed complexion by exposure to a tropical sun; in such use, what he gains is viewed as desirable, what he acquires as slowly and gradually resulting. A person earns what he gives an equivalent of labor for, but he may not get it. On the other hand, he may get what he has not earned; the temptation to all dishonesty is the desire to get a living or a fortune without earning it. Compare ATTAIN, GAIN¹, LEARN, MAKE, OBTAIN, PURCHASE, REACH. Antonyms: see synonyms for ABANDON.