get across
Britishverb
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to cross or cause or help to cross
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(adverb) to be or cause to be readily understood
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informal (intr, preposition) to annoy
her constant interference really got across him
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Also, get it across . Make understandable or clear, as in I tried to get my point across , or He'll have to get it across to the others . [Late 1800s]
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Also, come across . Be convincing, impress on others, as in How can I get across to the students? or The headmaster's announcement comes across as a criticism of the faculty . [c. 1920] Also see put across .
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.
“That is one of the tenets Dick tried to get across: Always put stores first.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
At times they were slow to get across, allowing Pedro Porro to play accurate long balls down the line.
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
“You try to get across it’s not about where you get drafted,” Snead said Thursday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
“It could actually be somewhat helpful, because they’re trying to get across ‘the bar is higher’ without saying, ‘We’re not going to do something that we might very well wind up wanting to do.’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
It had taken her too long to get across that stupid glass bridge.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
