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gotta
[got-uh]
Informal.
got to; have got to.
I can’t stay—I gotta get up early tomorrow.
got a; have got a.
Hey, man, gotta light?
gotta
/ ˈɡɒtə /
verb
got to
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Usage
See get.
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Word History and Origins
Origin of gotta1
First recorded in 1885–90 in spelling gotter, representing the r-less British pronunciation of the phrase (have) got to or (have) got a in continuous rapid speech
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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.
"That's what it comes down to -- just going out there executing those gotta have plays and we made plays tonight."
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“We gotta win this thing, man.’
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“She’s just a girl trying to get through life, and she’s gotta do what she needs to do,” Madigan says with a light chuckle.
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“You gotta bring yourself to anything that you are really delving into,” she says.
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“I really loved those players, But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
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When To Use
What does gotta mean?
Gotta is an informal shortening of the phrase got to, as in My ride is here, so I gotta go.A past tense form of the verb get, got is used informally to mean "must" or "have got." To is used to mark an infinitive verb, as in to run, to read, or to sing. Together, the informal got to means "have to" or "need to." In informal language, speakers will shorten got to to gotta. You can use it to mean "must" or "have to," as in I gotta get an A on the next test to pass the course.Gotta is also an informal shortening for got a, meaning "have." If you’re thirsty, you might ask your friends, Anybody gotta bottle of water? Some other similar shortenings include wanna ("want to," "want a"), gonna ("going to"), hafta ("have to"), lemme ("let me"), kinda ("kind of"), and dunno ("don’t know").Example: Well I gotta go soon, so why don’t I start packing up?
Gotta is an informal shortening of the phrase got to, as in My ride is here, so I gotta go.A past tense form of the verb get, got is used informally to mean "must" or "have got." To is used to mark an infinitive verb, as in to run, to read, or to sing. Together, the informal got to means "have to" or "need to." In informal language, speakers will shorten got to to gotta. You can use it to mean "must" or "have to," as in I gotta get an A on the next test to pass the course.Gotta is also an informal shortening for got a, meaning "have." If you’re thirsty, you might ask your friends, Anybody gotta bottle of water? Some other similar shortenings include wanna ("want to," "want a"), gonna ("going to"), hafta ("have to"), lemme ("let me"), kinda ("kind of"), and dunno ("don’t know").Example: Well I gotta go soon, so why don’t I start packing up?
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