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

See Examples For:

get down

Firefighters climbed stairs and ran toward mortal danger, while a cascade of people tried as hard as they could to get down.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

He also says it’s good to get down to the proverbial factory floor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The court heard she had called into the garden for Cookie to get down and Jones had approached her.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

“Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty,” Kingsley told him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

My mom had to get down and explain everything, that she always liked Daniel cause he was in the Bible, and that people couldn’t say Khosrou.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• disembark
• get off