get to

See also: getto, Getto, gettó, gettò, and gettō

English

Verb

get to (third-person singular simple present gets to, present participle getting to, simple past got to, past participle (UK) got to or (US) gotten to)

For senses involving 'get to' followed by a verb infinitive, see under get.

1. (transitive) To reach or arrive at (a physical or abstract destination, or state of doing a certain activity).

   I’ll call you when I get to the railway station.

   Will you please stop waffling and get to the point!

   Eventually we got to talking about my pay rise.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter II, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.

2. (of someone or something that is or has been missing) To go to or be located at (a particular place).

   Where has Jane got to? She was here just a moment ago.

   So that's where my keys got to! I've been looking all over for them.

3. (transitive, informal) To be allowed to.

   You won't get to have any dessert until you finish your vegetables.

   • 1999, Saul Stahl, American Mathematical Society, A Gentle Introduction to Game Theory, page 144:

     The winner of a confrontation gets to mate

   • 2016, David Hassan, Shakya Mitra, editors, The Olympic Games: Meeting New Global Challenges:

     Tolzmann argues that it is not necessarily the most perceived 'global' city that actually gets to host the Games.

4. (transitive) To affect adversely; to upset or annoy.

   This job’s really getting to me. I don’t know how much longer I’ll last.

5. (transitive) To attack, intimidate or kill; to corrupt or bribe.

   He’s refusing to testify. I think the Mob got to him.

6. (transitive) To begin (something); to get around to doing (something).

   He got to his chores in the afternoon.

Translations

to upset or annoy

German: zu schaffen machen Polish: pójść w pięty (pl) pf Portuguese: aborrecer (pt) Russian: достава́ть (ru) n (dostavátʹ), раздража́ть (ru) n (razdražátʹ)

See also

• get at
• gotta = have got to (variant of have to)