What does "get" mean?
Offspring, especially illegitimate.
Get
/ɡɛt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Offspring, especially illegitimate.
- Grammar: get is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: acquire, bring, cause, fetch.
- Useful contrasts: discard, dissuade, forfeit.
- Usage evidence: The police will get you to find the bullets.
How to use "get"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "get" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "get" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "get" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "get" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "get" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acquire" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "get", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Offspring, especially illegitimate. dated
"At the time when I am making these observations, one of his colts is the first favourite for the Derby; and it will be recollected, that a filly of his get won the Oaks in 1808."
- 2 Synonym of git (“contemptible person”). Ireland, UK, regional
"Kylie: Oi, Bono! You lazy get! Have you finished my song yet?"
- 3 A Jewish writ of divorce. Judaism
"In Israel, rabbinic courts can imprison men until they acquiesce and grant gets to their wives."
- 4 A member of the Getae.
- 5 a return on a shot that seemed impossible to reach and would normally have resulted in a point for the opponent wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Lineage.
- 7 A difficult return or block of a shot.
- 8 Something gotten, something gained or won; an acquisition. informal
"I had reconnected with the lust of my life while landing a big get for the magazine."
- 9 A message or post on an online platform, particularly imageboards, with a unique identifier deemed special or rare, usually due to patterns in the ID. Internet
Verb
- 1 To obtain; to acquire. ditransitive, transitive
"I'm going to get a computer tomorrow from the discount store."
- 2 make (offspring) by reproduction wordnet
- 3 To receive. transitive
"I got a computer from my parents for my birthday."
- 4 undergo (as of injuries and illnesses) wordnet
- 5 To have. See usage notes. transitive
"I've got a concert ticket for you."
Show 64 more definitions
- 6 be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness wordnet
- 7 To fetch, bring, take. transitive
"Can you get my bag from the living-room, please?"
- 8 come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes) wordnet
- 9 To become, or cause oneself to become (often with temporary states, past participle adjectives and comparatives). copulative
"Near-synonyms: become, turn, go, come, fall, grow, wax"
- 10 give certain properties to something wordnet
- 11 To cause to become; to bring about. transitive
"That song gets me so depressed every time I hear it."
- 12 cause to move; cause to be in a certain position or condition wordnet
- 13 To cause to do. transitive
"Somehow she got him to agree to it."
- 14 enter or assume a certain state or condition wordnet
- 15 To cause to come or go or move. transitive
"I got him to his room."
- 16 take the first step or steps in carrying out an action wordnet
- 17 To adopt, assume, arrive at, or progress towards (a certain position, location, state). intransitive, usually
"The actors are getting into position."
- 18 receive a specified treatment (abstract) wordnet
- 19 To cover (a certain distance) while travelling. transitive
"to get a mile"
- 20 grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of wordnet
- 21 (with full infinitive or gerund-participle) To begin (doing something or to do something). catenative, intransitive
"We ought to get moving or we'll be late."
- 22 be a mystery or bewildering to wordnet
- 23 To take or catch (a scheduled transportation service). transitive
"I normally get the 7:45 train."
- 24 reach by calculation wordnet
- 25 To respond to (a telephone call, a doorbell, etc). transitive
"Can you get that call, please? I'm busy."
- 26 cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner wordnet
- 27 (with full infinitive) To be able, be permitted, or have the opportunity (to do something desirable or ironically implied to be desirable). catenative, intransitive
"I'm so jealous that you got to see them perform live!"
- 28 move into a desired direction of discourse wordnet
- 29 To understand. (compare get it) informal, transitive
"Yeah, I get it, it's just not funny."
- 30 communicate with a place or person; establish communication with, as if by telephone wordnet
- 31 To be told; be the recipient of (a question, comparison, opinion, etc.). informal, transitive
""You look just like Helen Mirren." / "I get that a lot.""
- 32 take vengeance on or get even wordnet
- 33 Used with the past participle to form the dynamic passive voice of a dynamic verb. Compared with static passive with to be, this emphasizes the commencement of an action or entry into a state. auxiliary, informal
"He got bitten by a dog."
- 34 succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase wordnet
- 35 Used with a pronoun subject, usually you but sometimes one, to indicate that the object of the verb exists, can occur or is otherwise typical. impersonal, informal
"You get some very rude people here."
- 36 reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot wordnet
- 37 To become ill with or catch (a disease). transitive
"I went on holiday and got malaria."
- 38 go or come after and bring or take back wordnet
- 39 To catch out, trick successfully. informal, transitive
"He keeps calling pretending to be my boss—it gets me every time."
- 40 attract and fix wordnet
- 41 To perplex, stump. informal, transitive
"That question's really got me."
- 42 overcome or destroy wordnet
- 43 To find as an answer. transitive
"What did you get for question four?"
- 44 earn or achieve a base by being walked by the pitcher wordnet
- 45 To bring to reckoning; to catch (usually as a criminal); to effect retribution. informal, transitive
"The cops finally got me."
- 46 apprehend and reproduce accurately wordnet
- 47 To hear completely; catch. transitive
"Sorry, I didn't get that. Could you repeat it?"
- 48 evoke an emotional response wordnet
- 49 To getter. transitive
"I put the getter into the container to get the gases."
- 50 irritate wordnet
- 51 To beget (of a father). archaic
"I had rather to adopt a child than get it."
- 52 reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress wordnet
- 53 To learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; sometimes with out. archaic
"to get a lesson; to get out one's Greek lesson"
- 54 reach and board wordnet
- 55 Used with a personal pronoun to indicate that someone is being pretentious or grandiose. imperative, informal
"Get her with her new hairdo."
- 56 leave immediately; used usually in the imperative form wordnet
- 57 To go, to leave; to scram. imperative, informal, intransitive
"Get, now — get! — before I call an officer and lay a charge against ye."
- 58 go through (mental or physical states or experiences) wordnet
- 59 To kill. euphemistic
"They’re coming to get you, Barbara."
- 60 receive as a retribution or punishment wordnet
- 61 To make acquisitions; to gain; to profit. intransitive, obsolete
"We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get."
- 62 suffer from the receipt of wordnet
- 63 To measure. transitive
"Did you get her temperature?"
- 64 perceive by hearing wordnet
- 65 To cause someone to laugh. transitive
"It gets me every time!"
- 66 purchase wordnet
- 67 come into the possession of something concrete or abstract wordnet
- 68 achieve a point or goal wordnet
- 69 acquire as a result of some effort or action wordnet
Example
"The police will get you to find the bullets."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "get"?
Common synonyms include: acquire, bring, cause, fetch, induce, obtain.
How do you use "get" in a sentence?
The police will get you to find the bullets.
How do you pronounce "get"?
Pronounced /ɡɛt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English geten, from Old Norse geta, from Proto-Germanic *getaną. Cognate with Old English ġietan (whence also English yet), Old Saxon getan (“to get, to gain sth.”), Old High German pigezzan (“to uphold”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bigitan, “to find, discover”)), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to seize”).
Etymology 2
Variant of git.
Etymology 3
From Hebrew גֵּט (gēṭ).