Loading..

Loading...

American Dictionary of the English Language

Dictionary Search

Get


GET, verb transitive preterit tense got. [gat, obsolete ] participle passive got, gotten.

1. To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of, by almost any means. We get favor by kindness; we get wealth by industry and economy; we get land by purchase; we get praise by good conduct; and we get blame by doing injustice. The merchant should get a profit on his goods; the laborer should get a due reward for his labor; most men get what they can for their goods or for their services. get differs from acquire, as it does not always express permanence of possession, which is the appropriate sense of acquire. We get a book or a loaf of bread by borrowing, we do not acquire it; but we get or acquire an estate.

2. To have.

Thou hast got the face of a man.

This is a most common, but gross abuse of this word. We constantly hear it said, I have got no corn, I have got no money, she has got a fair complexion, when the person means only, I have no corn, I have no money, she has a fair complexion.

3. To beget; to procreate; to generate.

4. To learn; as, to get a lesson.

5. To prevail on; to induce; to persuade.

Though the king could not get him to engage in a life of business. [This is not elegant.]

6. To procure to be. We could not get the work done. [Not elegant.]

To get off, to put off; to take or pull off; as, to get off a garment: also, to remove; as, to get off a ship from shoals.

To sell; to dispose of; as, to get off goods.

To get on, to put on; to draw or pull on; as, to get on a coat; to get on boots.

To get in, to collect and shelter; to bring under cover; as, to get in corn.

To get out, to draw forth; as, to get out a secret.

To draw out; to disengage.

To get the day, to win; to conquer; to gain the victory.

To get together, to collect; to amass.

To get over, to surmount; to conquer; to pass without being obstructed; as, to get over difficulties: also, to recover; as, to get over sickness.

To get above, to surmount; to surpass.

To get up, to prepare and introduce upon the stage; to bring forward.

With a pronoun following, it signifies to betake; to remove; to go; as, get you to bed; get thee out of the land. But this mode of expression can hardly be deemed elegant.

GET, verb intransitive To arrive at any place or state; followed by some modifying word, and sometimes implying difficulty or labor; as,

To get away or away from, to depart; to quit; to leave; or to disengage one's self from.

To get among, to arrive in the midst of; to become one of a number.

To get before, to arrive in front, or more forward.

To get behind, to fall in the rear; to lag.

To get back, to arrive at the place from which one departed; to return.

To get clear, to disengage one's self; to be released, as from confinement, obligation or burden; also, to be freed from danger or embarrassment.

To get down, to descend; to come from an elevation.

To get home, to arrive at one's dwelling.

To get in or into, to arrive within an inclosure, or a mixed body; to pass in; to insinuate one's self.

To get loose or free, to disengage one's self; to be released from confinement.

To get off, to escape; to depart; to get clear; also, to alight; to descend from.

To get out, to depart from an inclosed place or from confinement; to escape; to free one's self from embarrassment.

To get along, to proceed; to advance.

To get rid of, to disengage one's self from; also, to shift off; to remove.

To get together, to meet; to assemble; to convene.

To get up, to arise; to rise from a bed or a seat; also, to ascend; to climb.

To get through, to pass through and reach a point beyond any thing; also, to finish; to accomplish.

To get quit of, to get rid of; to shift off, or to disengage one's self from.

To get forward, to proceed; to advance; also, to prosper; to advance in wealth.

To get near, to approach within a small distance.

To get ahead, to advance; to prosper.

To get on, to proceed; to advance.

To get a mile or other distance, to pass over it in traveling.

To get at, to reach; to make way to.

To get asleep, to fall asleep.

To get drunk, to become intoxicated.

To get between, to arrive between.

To get to, to reach; to arrive.