▸ get down
1 PHRASAL VERB If something gets you down , it makes you unhappy. □ [V n P ] At times when my work gets me down, I like to fantasize about being a farmer.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get down , you lower your body until you are sitting, kneeling, or lying on the ground. □ [V P + on ] She got down on her hands and knees on the floor. □ [V P ] 'Get down!' she yelled. 'Somebody's shooting!'
3 PHRASAL VERB If you get something down , especially something that someone has just said, you write it down. □ [V n P ] The idea has been in my head for quite a while and now I am getting it down on paper. [Also V P n]
4 PHRASAL VERB If you get food or medicine down , you swallow it, especially with difficulty. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n P ] I bit into a hefty slab of bread and cheese. When I had got it down I started talking. [Also V P n]
▸ get down to PHRASAL VERB If you get down to something, especially something that requires a lot of attention, you begin doing it. □ [V P P n] With the election out of the way, the government can get down to business.
▸ get in
1 PHRASAL VERB If a political party or a politician gets in , they are elected. □ [V P ] I think he's genuinely Left wing - and will act as such if he gets in.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get something in , you manage to do it at a time when you are very busy doing other things. □ [V n P ] I plan to get a few lessons in.
3 PHRASAL VERB To get crops or the harvest in means to gather them from the land and take them to a particular place. □ [V n P ] We didn't get the harvest in until Christmas, there was so much snow.
4 PHRASAL VERB When a train, bus, or plane gets in , it arrives. □ [V P ] We would have come straight here, except our flight got in too late.
▸ get into
1 PHRASAL VERB If you get into a particular kind of work or activity, you manage to become involved in it. □ [V P n] He was eager to get into politics.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get into a school, college, or university, you are accepted there as a student. □ [V P n] I was working hard to get into Cambridge.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you ask what has got into someone, you mean that they are behaving very differently from the way they usually behave. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P n] What has got into you today? Why are you behaving like this?
▸ get off
1 PHRASAL VERB If someone who has broken a law or rule gets off , they are not punished, or are given only a very small punishment. □ [V P + with ] He is likely to get off with a small fine.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get off , you leave a place because it is time to leave. □ [V P ] At eight I said 'I'm getting off now.'
3 PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone to get off a piece of land or a property, you are telling them to leave, because they have no right to be there and you do not want them there. □ [V P n] I told you. Get off the farm.
4 PHRASAL VERB You can tell someone to get off when they are touching something and you do not want them to. □ [V P ] I kept telling him to get off. □ [V P n] 'Get off me!' I screamed.
▸ get on
1 PHRASAL VERB If you get on with someone, you like them and have a friendly relationship with them. □ The host fears the guests won't get on. □ [V P + with ] What are your neighbours like? Do you get on with them?
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get on with something, you continue doing it or start doing it. □ [V P + with ] Jane got on with her work. □ [V P ] Let's get on.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you say how someone is getting on , you are saying how much success they are having with what they are trying to do. □ [V P adv] Livy's getting on very well in Russian. She learns very quickly. □ [V P adv] When he came back to see me I asked how he had got on.
4 PHRASAL VERB If you try to get on , you try to be successful in your career. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V P ] Politics is seen as a man's world. It is very difficult for women to get on.
5 PHRASAL VERB [usu cont] If someone is getting on , they are getting old. [INFORMAL ] □ [V P ] I'm nearly 31 and that's getting on a bit for a footballer.
▸ get on to
1 PHRASAL VERB If you get on to a topic when you are speaking, you start talking about it. □ [V P P n] We got on to the subject of relationships.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get on to someone, you contact them in order to ask them to do something or to give them some information. [mainly BRIT ] □ [V P P n] I got on to him and explained some of the things I had been thinking of.
▸ get out
1 PHRASAL VERB If you get out , you leave a place because you want to escape from it, or because you are made to leave it. □ [V P + of ] They probably wanted to get out of the country. □ [V P ] I told him to leave and get out.
2 PHRASAL VERB If you get out , you go to places and meet people, usually in order to have a more enjoyable life. □ [V P ] Get out and enjoy yourself, make new friends.
3 PHRASAL VERB If you get out of an organization or a commitment, you withdraw from it. □ [V P + of ] I wanted to get out of the group, but they wouldn't let me. □ [V P + of ] Getting out of the contract would be no problem. [Also V P ]