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Synonyms

get after

Idioms  

  1. Urge or scold someone about doing something. For example, Dad should get after Billy to mow the lawn, or Mary got after Jane for forgetting her house key. Also see keep after.

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.

Was it better than the reset I get after a massage in the San Gabriel Valley or a hike in the Angeles National Forest?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Moderna needs all the help it can get after a brutal few years.

From Barron's • Feb. 13, 2026

"To continue to keep CNN strong in the future," the executive argued, "we better get after our audiences where they currently are."

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

The Giants can get after the passer and have enough to pick up back-to-back wins.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2025

He keeps back cuz the swamp turtles we know have more than enough snap to get after a dog.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

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.