get going
Idioms-
See get a move on .
-
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 .
-
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.
Late last year, he launched a so-called "affordability tour" in Pennsylvania but it has failed to get going in earnest.
From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026
Raring to get going, his 18 dogs are hard to hold back.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026
"I feel like I'm more of a diesel engine sometimes where I need to get going first, then at some point I'll start playing good tennis. I have to play a preparation tournament."
From Barron's • Jan. 3, 2026
“We can lower interest rates a lot, and in so doing get 30-year fixed-rate mortgages so they’re affordable, so we can get the housing market to get going again,” he said in October.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
We get going on yet more walking without any more words or smiling.
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.
