gotta
American-
got to; have got to.
I can’t stay—I gotta get up early tomorrow.
-
got a; have got a.
Hey, man, gotta light?
verb
Usage
See get.
Etymology
Origin of gotta
First recorded in 1885–90 in spelling gotter, representing the r-less British pronunciation of the phrase (have) got to or (have) got a in continuous rapid speech
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“We gotta get one by one. We have a big week coming up too. So I think today’s game was great. We needed it.”
From Los Angeles Times
“I mean,” forward Tyler Bilodeau said, “he’s intense. Coach Cronin has no off days, he is who he is every single day. You gotta respect that.”
From Los Angeles Times
“I carry a lot of regret. It weighs even heavier that I’ve gotta explain this to the board tomorrow.”
From Slate
“He just wasn’t making pitches early and we have to get him to four innings. ... We gotta build up, all the while being good, too, right? We had to take him out of the game the other day, and so when you’re getting down the road, you can’t afford to not have him build up.”
From Los Angeles Times
“But the whole thing was a risk. We gotta alter our tour dates and sacrifice other opportunities to make this happen.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
