You can get on a train, get over an illness, or get by on a limited income. The verb get appears in all three expressions, but each means something different.
Some expressions describe movement or progress. Others concern relationships, communication, and everyday problems. Even a familiar combination can change meaning when you add another word or move its object.
What Are Phrasal Verbs With Get?
Phrasal verbs with get are combinations of get and one or more particles or prepositions that form expressions with particular meanings.
For example:
The volunteers managed to get their message across despite the language barrier.
Here, get something across means communicate an idea so that others understand it.
Some expressions are inseparable, while others allow an object between get and the following particle. Adding a preposition can also change the meaning.
In English teaching, phrasal verb is often used broadly to include related prepositional and three-word expressions. This collection follows that convention.
The list contains 50 meanings and sentence patterns, including different uses of the same combination. They are not necessarily 50 separate dictionary headwords.
50 Phrasal Verbs With Get: Meanings and Examples
These expressions are arranged alphabetically by their main combination. Some appear more than once because their meanings or sentence patterns differ.
Each entry includes a short example showing how it is used.
Phrasal Verbs With Get: 1–10
| Phrasal verb or pattern | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| 1. Get about | Be able to move from place to place. My grandfather still gets about quite well despite his age. |
| 2. Get something across | Communicate an idea successfully. The teacher used a drawing to get the idea across. |
| 3. Get ahead | Make progress or become successful. Nora took an evening course to get ahead in her career. |
| 4. Get along with somebody | Have a friendly relationship with someone. Ben gets along with his new neighbours. |
| 5. Get around | Travel or move between places. It’s easy to get around the city by bicycle. |
| 6. Get around something | Find a way to avoid or overcome a restriction or difficulty. The organisers found a way to get around the space restrictions. |
| 7. Get around to something/doing something | Finally find time for something. I finally got around to fixing the loose cupboard door. |
| 8. Get at something | Suggest or imply something. I’m not sure what you’re getting at. |
| 9. Get away | Escape or leave for a short break. We hope to get away for a few days in December. |
| 10. Get away from somebody/something | Escape or move away from someone or something. The hikers hurried to get away from the approaching storm. |
Get about is particularly common in British English. Get around is used in both British and American English.
For avoiding restrictions, British English also commonly uses get round something.
Phrasal Verbs With Get: 11–20
| Phrasal verb or pattern | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| 11. Get away with something | Avoid punishment or negative consequences. The driver didn’t get away with ignoring the road closure. |
| 12. Get back | Return to a place. We got back from the beach before sunset. |
| 13. Get back at somebody | Take revenge on someone. He wanted to get back at his friend for the embarrassing prank. |
| 14. Get something back | Recover or receive something again. Maya finally got her deposit back. |
| 15. Get back into something | Resume an activity or interest after a break. After several years, Leo got back into swimming. |
| 16. Get back to somebody | Contact or reply to someone later. I’ll get back to you after checking the details. |
| 17. Get back to something/doing something | Return to an activity or subject. After lunch, we got back to discussing the travel plans. |
| 18. Get behind somebody/something | Support someone or something. The whole neighbourhood got behind the fundraising campaign. |
| 19. Get behind with something | Fall behind on work, payments, or responsibilities. Tessa got behind with her coursework after being ill. |
| 20. Get by | Manage despite having limited money or resources. The family managed to get by during a difficult winter. |
Get somebody back is another way to express revenge. It is closely related to get back at somebody, so it has not been counted as an additional meaning.
Phrasal Verbs With Get: 21–30
| Phrasal verb or pattern | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| 21. Get by on something | Manage using a particular amount of money or resources. During college, Aaron got by on a small weekly budget. |
| 22. Get somebody down | Make someone unhappy or discouraged. The constant rain was starting to get everyone down. |
| 23. Get something down | Record information in writing. I got the address down before the call ended. |
| 24. Get down to something/doing something | Begin giving serious attention to a task. The children got down to finishing their science project. |
| 25. Get in | Enter a place or vehicle. The taxi stopped, and we got in. |
| 26. Get in on something | Become involved in an activity or opportunity. Several neighbours wanted to get in on the community garden project. |
| 27. Get something in | Submit or deliver something before a deadline. Please get your application in by Friday. |
| 28. Get into something | Become interested in an activity or subject. Daniel got into photography during his university years. |
| 29. Get off | Leave a bus, train, plane, or similar form of transport. We got off the train at the next station. |
| 30. Get on | Board a bus, train, plane, or similar form of transport. The passengers got on the ferry before the rain started. |
Get by on something identifies the resources someone manages with. It is a more specific pattern of get by, not a separate unrelated expression.
Phrasal Verbs With Get: 31–40
| Phrasal verb or pattern | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| 31. Get on | Make progress or manage in a situation. How did you get on at your first driving lesson? |
| 32. Get on with something | Continue an activity. After the interruption, the builders got on with their work. |
| 33. Get on with somebody | Have a good relationship with someone, especially in British English. Grace gets on well with her cousins. |
| 34. Get onto somebody | Contact someone, often about a problem or request. I’ll get onto the plumber about the leaking tap. |
| 35. Get out | Leave or escape from somewhere. Everyone got out safely when the alarm sounded. |
| 36. Get out of something | Avoid a duty, obligation, or unwanted activity. Sam tried to get out of cleaning the garage. |
| 37. Get over something | Recover from an illness, disappointment, or difficult experience. It took Julia several weeks to get over the flu. |
| 38. Get something over with | Finish something unpleasant so it is no longer a concern. I wanted to get the appointment over with before my holiday. |
| 39. Get through something | Complete or survive something difficult. The family got through the winter without any major problems. |
| 40. Get through to somebody | Successfully contact someone or make them understand. I couldn’t get through to the doctor’s office all morning. |
Get onto somebody, meaning contact someone about a problem or request, is particularly common in British English. In American English, contact or get in touch with may be more familiar in the same situation.
Phrasal Verbs With Get: 41–50
| Phrasal verb or pattern | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| 41. Get through with something | Finish a task or activity, particularly in American English. When I get through with this book, I’ll lend it to you. |
| 42. Get together | Meet or gather socially. The cousins get together every summer. |
| 43. Get back together | Resume a relationship after separating. After a few months apart, the couple got back together. |
| 44. Get up | Leave bed or rise to a standing position. I usually get up before seven. |
| 45. Get up to something | Do something, often something unexpected or mischievous. The children were unusually quiet, so I wondered what they were getting up to. |
| 46. Get somebody off | Help someone avoid a legal conviction or punishment. The lawyer managed to get her client off the charge. |
| 47. Get something out | Remove or extract something. The dentist managed to get the damaged tooth out. |
| 48. Get something out of somebody | Obtain information or a response from someone. We couldn’t get a straight answer out of him. |
| 49. Get somebody through something | Help someone survive or manage a difficult experience. Her friends helped get her through a difficult year. |
| 50. Get to somebody | Upset, annoy, or emotionally affect someone. The repeated delays were beginning to get to Marcus. |
Get back together is a common extension of get together. Its meaning is included here because it is useful in everyday English, not because it represents an entirely unrelated phrasal verb.
Get In, Get On, Get Off, and Get Out: Which Should You Use?
English commonly uses different expressions for entering and leaving different kinds of transport.
For cars and taxis, get in, get into, get out, and get out of are natural choices.
Rachel got into the taxi outside the station.
Ben got out of the car beside the supermarket.
For buses, trains, planes, ferries, and bicycles, we generally use get on and get off.
We got on the train at Central Station.
The children got off the bus near their school.
| Entering or boarding | Leaving |
|---|---|
| Get in/into a car | Get out of a car |
| Get in/into a taxi | Get out of a taxi |
| Get on a bus | Get off a bus |
| Get on a train | Get off a train |
| Get on a bicycle | Get off a bicycle |
These are conventional usage patterns, not rules based entirely on the physical size of a vehicle.
You can also say get in the car. It is common in everyday English, alongside get into the car.
How Get Changes Meaning With Its Sentence Pattern
Some combinations change meaning when an object or another preposition is added. A few examples show why it helps to notice the complete pattern rather than just the first two words.
Get Back and Get Something Back
Get back means return.
We got back before dinner.
When it means recover something, the expression takes an object:
Maya got her deposit back.
With a personal pronoun, the pronoun goes between get and back:
Maya got it back.
The same pronoun position applies to separable patterns such as get something down and get something across.
For the full grammar of object placement, see separable and inseparable phrasal verbs.
Get Through and Its Related Patterns
Get through something can mean complete or survive a difficult experience.
The students got through their final exams without any major problems.
Get through to somebody means successfully make contact or make someone understand or listen.
I finally got through to the customer-service department.
Get somebody through something means help a person manage a difficult experience.
Her neighbours helped get Nina through the difficult months after the flood.
Another related construction is get something through to somebody.
We finally got the message through to everyone.
Here, the message is what is communicated. Everyone identifies the people receiving it.
The patterns are similar in appearance, but they express different relationships between the people, actions, and information involved.
Get Down and Get Down To
Get somebody down means make someone unhappy or discouraged.
The lack of progress was beginning to get Oliver down.
Get something down can mean record information in writing.
She got the recipe down while her grandmother explained it.
Get down to something means begin concentrating seriously on a task.
After breakfast, they got down to preparing the garden for winter.
When a verb follows get down to, it takes the -ing form because to is a preposition here.
The same applies to get around to doing something:
We finally got around to painting the spare bedroom.
Longer expressions such as get away with and get around to are covered in more detail in three-word phrasal verbs.
Commonly Confused Phrasal Verbs With Get
Some expressions describe related situations but are not interchangeable.
Get Over vs. Get Something Over With
Get over something means recover from an illness, disappointment, or difficult experience.
It took Ethan several weeks to get over the flu.
Get something over with means finish something unpleasant or unwanted.
Emma wanted to get the dental appointment over with.
The first describes recovery. The second describes completing an experience so it is no longer ahead of you.
Get Out Of vs. Get Away With
Get out of something can mean avoid an obligation or responsibility.
Daniel tried to get out of attending the compulsory workshop.
Get away with something means avoid punishment or consequences for an action.
The cyclist didn’t get away with ignoring the traffic signs.
The difference is between avoiding something you are expected to do and avoiding the consequences of something you have done.
Get Along With vs. Get On With
These expressions can both describe a friendly relationship.
Ella gets along with her new classmates.
Ella gets on well with her new classmates.
Get on with somebody is particularly common in British English. Get along with somebody is widely used in American English and is also familiar in British English.
However, get on with something has another meaning: continue an activity.
Once the guests had left, the family got on with clearing the table.
The relationship meaning refers to people. The continuation meaning refers to an activity or task.
Related Get Expressions Worth Knowing
A few common expressions with get are often taught alongside phrasal verbs, although their grammatical structures differ.
| Expression | Meaning and example |
|---|---|
| Get rid of | Remove or dispose of something. We need to get rid of the broken chairs. |
| Get used to | Become accustomed to something. Oliver is getting used to his new work schedule. |
| Get involved in | Begin participating in an activity. Maya got involved in a local environmental project. |
Get rid of is treated as a multi-word expression and may be included among phrasal verbs in teaching resources.
Get used to contains used in the sense of accustomed. A following verb takes the -ing form because to is a preposition:
She is getting used to working from home.
Get involved in combines get with involved and a following preposition. It is useful vocabulary, but it does not have the same structure as an ordinary verb-and-particle phrasal verb.
The First English Grade Editorial creates simple English grammar, vocabulary, and language guides for students, beginners, and everyday learners.