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Synonyms

get hold of

Idioms  

  1. Grasp, obtain; also, get in touch with. For example, If you can just get hold of one end, I'll get the other, or Jane had no luck getting hold of the book she needed, or I've phoned a dozen times but I can't seem to get hold of him. [c. 1300] Also see lay hold of.

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.

"Why can't it be the same for knives? This way kids won't be able to get hold of them and steal them."

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

"We cannot allow a private company, which may have commercial interests, to get hold of an entire archive collection," AfricaMuseum director Bart Ouvry told AFP.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Superman, the creation of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, was born in 1938’s “Action Comics #1,” and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to get hold of him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 7, 2026

When I couldn’t immediately get hold of Flores, I called the owner of Cafe de Leche, the Highland Park coffee shop he had delivered whistles to.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

"You're lucky he didn’t get hold of you, too."

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

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.