get
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To receive something, or to go and bring something back
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gehtIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɛt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive or ditransitive
To obtain; to acquire.
Go or come after and bring or take back
“Get me those books over there, please.”
Come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)
Receive a specified treatment (abstract)
intransitivecatenative
(with full infinitive) To be able, be permitted, or have the opportunity (to do something desirable or ironically implied to be desirable).
(transitive, in a perfect construction, with present-tense meaning) To have. See usage notes.
noun
informal
Something gotten, something gained or won; an acquisition.
Lineage.
A member of the Getae.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (transitive or ditransitive) To obtain; to acquire.
Used this way, get is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use get
- “Get me those books over there, please.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.