The Magical Verb 'Get'

GET ACROSS

• Move from one side to the other; cross: "It's impossible to get across with all checkpoints closed."
• Successfully explain a thought or feeling: "How can I get this across to the students?"

GET AHEAD

• Progress: "If this project goes well, it could really help me to get ahead at work."

GET AHEAD OF

• Move in front of: "I got ahead of her in line."

GET AFTER

• Move into action in pursuit of something: "He's wasting time at university not getting after his degree."
• Move into action to catch or defeat another: "Do you think the girl's going to ask you out? Get after her!"
• Attempt to convince another: "Parents get after their children to do homework."

GET ALONG

• Interact or coexist well: "I wish the kids would get along better."
• Survive, do well enough: "She didn't have a lot of money, but she had enough to get along."

GET ALONG WITH

• Have a good relationship with someone: "I hope I will get along with everyone."
• Deal with, handle: "How are you getting along with your schoolwork?"

GET AROUND

• Move to the other side of an obstruction: "It might be a while before we can get around from this traffic jam."
• Come around something: "Cross at the rocks when you get around the bend."
• Avoid or bypass an obstacle: "Tax consultants look for ways to get around the law."
• Circumvent a chore: "My brother always gets around cleaning his room himself."
• Transport oneself: "Granny uses a wheelchair to get around."

GET AROUND TO

• Eventually begin or return to some procrastinated task: "Some day I'll get around to organizing this mess."

GET AT

• Manage to gain access to: "I have a lot of money in my trust fund. I just can't get at it."
• Understand or ascertain by investigation: "We need to get at the root cause of all this."
• Mean, signify: "I don't understand. What are you getting at?"
• Attack verbally or physically: "My cat was badly injured after the neighbour's dog got at her."
• Contact someone: "I've got some things to do for about an hour. After that, get at me."

GET ABOUT

• Be mobile, physically active: "I can't get about so much I've broken my leg."
• Become widely known: "If this story gets about then I'm finished."
• Visit a variety of different places: "That's the tenth party Peter's been to this month. He certainly gets about."

GET AWAY

• Move away from: "Get away from me!"
• Avoid capture, escape: "I almost caught the critter, but it got away from me."
• Take a break: "Next weekend we're hoping to get away to the seaside."
• Start moving, depart: "The train got away exactly on time."
• Slip from one's control: "I can't cope any more. Things are getting away from me."

GET AWAY FROM

• Start talking about something not relevant: "I think we're getting away from the point."

GET AWAY WITH

• Escape punishment for: "Our teacher's so strict, he'd never let us get away with anything in class."

GET BACK

• Return to where one came from: "When I get back from holiday, I expect the house to be tidy."
• Retrieve: "I lent her my guitar over the Christmas holidays, and will get it back when the term starts."
• Do something to hurt or harm someone who has hurt you: "I'll get you back for this!"

GET BACK AT

• Retaliate against; take revenge: "She put toothpaste in his shoes to get back at him."

GET BACK TO

• Return to: "I'll get back to work as soon as I've finished this game."
• Return contact with: "I'll get back to you when I have an answer."

GET BEHIND

• Support: "She claims the publishers never really got behind her new book."

GET BEHIND WITH

• Be late paying installments: "If they get behind with mortgage payments, they might lose their home."

GET BY

• Subsist; succeed, survive, or manage at minimal level: "Do you think they can get by on only one salary?"

GET DOWN

• Bring or come down; descend: "The kitten climbed the tree, but then couldn't get down again."
• Concentrate, attend: "To get down to the matter at hand."
• Depress, discourage: "Nothing gets me down so much as a rainy day."
• Swallow: "The pill was so large that he couldn't get it down."
• Relax and enjoy: "Getting down with a bunch of old friends."
• Duck or take cover: "With bullets flying, all I could do was get down and pray."
• Leave the table after dining: "Mummy, can I get down?"
• Record in writing: "Quick, here's a pen, get this down will you, before I forget."

GET DOWN ON

• Criticise: "Jane's always getting down on the kids."

GET DOWN TO

• Start working seriously: "After lunch we got down to discussing the issue of pay."

GET IN

• Enter a place: "If you want to get in, you'll need the gate code and a key."
• Secure membership: "All of our students who applied to university got in."
• Be elected: "Do the early results say our candidate will get in?"

GET IN WITH

• Become involved or associated with: "I'm very worried about her, she's got in with the wrong crowd."

GET INTO

• Move into an object: "She got into the car."
• Reach into an object: "The small child got into everything."
• Become involved in: "My sister has got into flower arranging recently."
• Enter an unfavourable state: "How did we get into such a mess?"
• Make behave uncharacteristically: "I don't know what's gotten into that child."

GET IT

• Be punished or scolded: "You're going to get it if you don't stop teasing me!"

GET IT ON

• Have sex; engage in a fight; hurry up.

GET IT OVER WITH

• Do or finish, especially something unpleasant: "He didn't want to go to the doctor, but he decided it would be better just to get it over with."

GET OFF

• Move from being on top of: "Get off your chair and help me."
• Move something from being on top: "Could you get the book off the top shelf?"
• Disembark: "You get off the train at the third stop."
• Stop doing something: "This is where you get off ordering me about!"
• Stop using equipment: "Can you get off the phone, please?"
• Complete a shift: "If I can get off early tomorrow, I'll give you a ride home."
• Escape with mild consequences: "The vandal got off easy, with only a fine."
• Fall asleep: "If I wake up during the night, I cannot get off again."
• Behave presumptuously: "Where do you get off talking to me like that?"

GET ON

• Board or mount: "Please get on the bus as quickly as possible."
• Be successful: "She's getting on very well at school."
• Progress with: "It's time to get on with improving quality."
• Become late: "Time is getting on."
• Become old: "My parents are visibly getting on a bit these days."
• Have a good relationship: "I wish you and I could learn to get on."
• Commence: "The dishes need washing. Get on it!"

GET ON TO

• Contact someone: "That pipe is leaking again. I'll get on to the plumber in the morning."
• Progress to, start working on: "I haven't got time to work on this report today; I'll get on to it tomorrow."

GET ON FOR

• Be near a time: "It was getting on for noon."

GET ON WITH

• Proceed with, continue: "I have to get on with my spring cleaning."
• Have a good relationship: "Peter did not get on with his mother-in-law."

GET OUT

• Leave or escape: "In case of fire, get out by the nearest exit."
• Help someone leave: "We must get the children out first."
• Leave a vehicle: "I'll get out at the end of the road and walk from there."
• Become known: "Somehow the secret got out."
• Spend free time out of the house: "You work too hard. You should get out more."
• Publish something: "The organisation has just gotten their newsletter out."
• Clean stains: "This detergent will get most household stains out."

GET OVER

• Overcome: "I'm trying to get over my fear of flying."
• Recover from: "I'm having problems getting over a bad cold."
• Forget and move on: "She was in love with me for 10 years, and still hasn't got over it."
• Successfully communicate: "In our lectures we need to get over the importance of online safety."

GET OVER WITH

• Do quickly without procrastination: "I hate getting shots, but it's best just to get it over with."

GET RID OF

• Dispose of, remove, abolish: "I want to get rid of your influence over my life!"

GET STUCK INTO

• Dedicate large effort: "He's really getting stuck into his new job as chief executive."
• Start eating: "Dinner's ready! Quick, get stuck into it!"
• Criticise someone: "Why are you getting stuck into me all of the sudden?"

GET THROUGH

• Overcome, endure: "Military training was hard, but I got through it."
• Complete, finish: "She got through her book this morning!"
• Be made successfully: "The call wouldn't get through no matter how many times I tried."

GET THROUGH TO

• Make someone understand: "I feel I'm not getting through to some of the kids in my class."
• Reach a stage in a competition: "She got through to the final round of interviews."

GET TO

• Reach, arrive at: "I'll call you when I get to the railway station."
• Have an opportunity to: "How come he gets to be hall monitor? No fair!"
• Affect adversely, upset: "This job's really getting to me."

GET TOGETHER

• Meet socially: "Lily got the girls together and told them about Anna's accident."

GET UP

• Move upwards, ascend: "I'm having difficulty getting up the stairs."
• Rise from bed: "I didn't get up until midday."
• Move to standing position: "Get up off the couch and clean this mess!"
• Materialise, grow stronger: "As dusk fell a storm got up."
• Bring together, amass: "The general got up a large body of men."
• Criticise: "He got up me about the mess I made in the kitchen."
• Dress extravagantly: "She was all got up in the most ridiculous frilly dress."

GET UP TO

• Do something you shouldn't: "Recently he's been getting up to all sorts of mischief."

GET USED

• Become accustomed: "I'm getting used to this climate."

GET WITH

• Align oneself with: "We have to get with the times or we'll be left behind."