get on
Britishverb
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Also (when preposition): get onto. to board or cause or help to board (a bus, train, etc)
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(tr) to dress in (clothes as specified)
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(intr) to grow late or (of time) to elapse
it's getting on and I must go
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(intr) (of a person) to grow old
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to approach (a time, age, amount, etc)
she is getting on for seventy
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(intr) to make progress, manage, or fare
how did you get on in your exam?
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to establish a friendly relationship
he gets on well with other people
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to continue to do
get on with your homework!
interjection
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Also, get upon . Climb on, mount. For example, They say one should get back on a horse as soon as one's fallen off . [Early 1600s]
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See get along , def. 1.
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See get along , def. 2.
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See get along , def. 4. Also see along in years .
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, etc. Prosper or succeed, as in Her inheritance has helped her get on in society , or Dad asked if Bill was getting on in the company . [Early 1800s]
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get on with it . Move ahead, pursue one's work. For example, We've spent enough time talking about it; now let's get on with it . [Early 1800s]
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get on for . Advance toward an age, amount, time, and so on. For example, It's getting on for noon, so we'd better eat lunch . This usage is often put in the participial form, getting on for . [Mid-1800]
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See turn on , def. 3. Also see the subsequent entries beginning with get on .
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.
Mary K. and I got on the sled and covered ourselves with one of the caribou skins.
From Literature
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She would teach all of the young women how to cook and gave everyone a place to stay until they got on their feet.
From Los Angeles Times
"There's no real ideological or cultural reason why China would get on with Iran," Prof Brown says.
From BBC
"That's why we need the law changed to make things safer for children getting on and off school buses, and I can't understand why it is taking so long to get progress going."
From BBC
"I know Nygren gives up certain parts of the game, but what he does do is he gets into the box and gets on the end of things," Allan said.
From BBC
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.