gotta
American-
got to; have got to.
I can’t stay—I gotta get up early tomorrow.
-
got a; have got a.
Hey, man, gotta light?
verb
Usage
See get.
Etymology
Origin of gotta
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
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.
“You’ve gotta really ask yourself, ‘OK, does that really make sense?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Now she urges her neighbors to head to the polls on November 3: "We've gotta let our voice be heard."
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
We gotta get all of ’em out of here!”
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Then Charlie died, and we were like, ‘OK, we just gotta send it.’”
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
“Good. I’ve got a seven-thirty meeting I gotta be in. See you in a bit.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
