get going
Idioms-
See get a move on .
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get something going . Start something, get something into full swing. For example, Once we get production going we'll have no more problems . This usage also appears in when the going gets tough, the tough get going , meaning that difficulties spur on capable individuals; the first tough here means “difficult,” whereas the second means “strong-minded, resolute.” For example, That problem won't stop Tom; when the going gets tough, the tough get going . Also see swing into action .
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Make someone talkative or active, as in Once he got her going on her grandchildren, there was no stopping her . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]
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.
As the cars prepared to get going again, Leclerc crashed at the same place in the same way even before the race had restarted.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
The elders knew: There is nothing like the vibe in New York City when the Knicks get going.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
Finally, things get going with a funeral — I won’t say whose, only that the death makes a fitting twist for an industry already getting the axe.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
All the same, it’s time to get going.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
“I know you won’t. Sell the furs and come straight back to camp. There’s a storm brewing, and I want to get going before it breaks.”
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
