get it
Idioms-
See catch it .
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Understand something, as in He claims his plan is reasonable, but I'm not sure I get it . This synonym for catch on was popularized during the 1980s through a televised political debate in which presidential nominee Ronald Reagan told his opponent, You just don't get it, do you ? This particular phrase has since been repeated in numerous contexts where one is expressing exasperation at someone's failure to understand something. The phrase is also put in the past tense, got it , meaning “understood.” For example, We're leaving tomorrow.—OK, got it . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s] Also see get the message .
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.
“People would really get it because it’s happening at Coachella,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
“We think the offer is consistent with RBI’s strategy, but a further top-up might be needed to get it over the line,” analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods wrote in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Together this means that Chevron can extract its own Venezuelan oil, process it itself, and get it directly to the US consumer.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
“If I didn’t get it done I knew the next player would do the job. We have each other’s backs.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
It did not take long to gather my “things”: my hat and an undervest that was drying after a vain attempt to get it clean in the much-used basin water.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
