get down

British  

verb

1. (intr; also preposition) to dismount or descend

2. (tr; also preposition) to bring down

   we could not get the wardrobe down the stairs

3. (tr) to write down

4. (tr) to make depressed

   your nagging gets me down

5. (tr) to swallow

   he couldn't get the meal down

6. to attend seriously (to); concentrate (on) (esp in the phrases get down to business or brass tacks )

7. informal (intr) to enjoy oneself uninhibitedly, esp by dancing

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get down Idioms  

1. Descend; bring down; also, swallow. For example, He's getting down from the ladder , or Can you get the cat down from the tree? or I can't seem to get this pill down . [Late 1500s]

2. get down to . Give one's attention to, as in Let's get down to work , or It's time we got down to business . [Late 1800s] For the most important variants, see under get down to brass tacks .

3. get down on . See down on .

4. get someone down . Discourage or depress someone. For example, Don't let Mary's troubles get you down , or Day after day of rain really gets me down . [c. 1930]

5. Describe in writing, as in Can you get down all he's saying?

6. Lose one's inhibitions, enjoy oneself fully. For example, At our reunion we got down with all our old friends . Slang

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Example Sentences

When the stock bottomed at a nearly two-year low that Nov. 3, the RSI was only able to get down to 34.95.

From MarketWatch

Lahyani got down from his chair as ball boys looked to prevent it toppling over.

From BBC

Before we get down to business, I have a confession to make: I wrote two whole paragraphs of the story you’re reading right now, calling the film “Reminders of Him” by the wrong name.

From Salon

“It always gets down to the details,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Before I knew it, he had gotten down from the table and was juggling with two large pine-cones he’d found on the windowsill.

From Literature

Related Words

• disembark
• get off