get on

British  

verb

1. Also (when preposition): get onto.  to board or cause or help to board (a bus, train, etc)

2. (tr) to dress in (clothes as specified)

3. (intr) to grow late or (of time) to elapse

   it's getting on and I must go

4. (intr) (of a person) to grow old

5. to approach (a time, age, amount, etc)

   she is getting on for seventy

6. (intr) to make progress, manage, or fare

   how did you get on in your exam?

7. to establish a friendly relationship

   he gets on well with other people

8. to continue to do

   get on with your homework!

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interjection

1. I don't believe you!

get on Idioms  

1. Also, get upon . Climb on, mount. For example, They say one should get back on a horse as soon as one's fallen off . [Early 1600s]

2. See get along , def. 1.

3. See get along , def. 2.

4. See get along , def. 4. Also see along in years .

5. , etc. Prosper or succeed, as in Her inheritance has helped her get on in society , or Dad asked if Bill was getting on in the company . [Early 1800s]

6. get on with it . Move ahead, pursue one's work. For example, We've spent enough time talking about it; now let's get on with it . [Early 1800s]

7. get on for . Advance toward an age, amount, time, and so on. For example, It's getting on for noon, so we'd better eat lunch . This usage is often put in the participial form, getting on for . [Mid-1800]

8. See turn on , def. 3. Also see the subsequent entries beginning with get on .

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Example Sentences

And for a judge eager to expand this nation’s use of capital punishment, there is no time like the present to get on with that task.

From Slate • Jul. 1, 2026

We can now get on with the exciting job of using the amazing new data to learn more about how impacts shape planets below the surface, which is really hard to do on other planets.

From Science Daily • Jun. 30, 2026

“People will hold up signs saying ‘FTD’ and they’ll get on the JumboTron.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026

Unless they get on board, the U.S. nuclear renaissance will remain an aspiration.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

If I’d known that, I would have made just one big raft after all, because Selkie sometimes slipped down the middle and I had to hold the rafts together for her to get on again.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

• do
• get along