The verb "get"

Question

Maomao asked about the meaning of the verb get.

Answer

Good question! Get is one of the 10 most common verbs in English, so it's important. However, like other high-frequency verbs, such as be, have, do, say, and go, the verb get has many different meanings, which makes it hard to understand and use correctly.

The most common meaning of get is “to obtain.” There are several variations of this meaning. Get can mean "to obtain" in the sense of:

"to receive or be given" as in this sentence:

• He got a new bicycle for his birthday.

"to obtain through effort or chance," as in this sentence:

• She hasn't been able to get a job.

"to earn or gain" as in:

• How much does he get a week?

"to buy or pay for," as in:

• He got himself a new car a great price

Get also has meanings that are not related to obtain. For example, it can mean "to arrive," as in:

• He got home last night.

And it can mean "to bring," as in:

• We have to get him to the hospital immediately.

For a complete list of the meanings of get, as well as common idioms with get (such as, "Don't get me wrong"), look up get on Merriam-Webster's Learner’s Dictionary online.