gotta

[got-uh]

Informal.

1. got to; have got to.

   I can’t stay—I gotta get up early tomorrow.

2. got a; have got a.

   Hey, man, gotta light?

gotta

/ ˈɡɒtə /

verb

1. got to

Usage

See get.

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

Example Sentences

“He’s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone. I’m counting on it. We’re all counting on it.”

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Keaton starred in Meyers’s “Baby Boom,” the “Father of the Bride” movies and “Something’s Gotta Give,” in which she plays a successful divorced playwright living in a beachfront Hamptons home.

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Keaton was nominated for three further Oscars - all in the best actress category - for her work in Something's Gotta Give, Marvin's Room and Reds.

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I really just got to a place where I gotta be okay with me.

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“You have to focus on public safety. But then you need to bring taxes down so that people can invest. We’ve gotta lower the business tax rate from 11.5% down to 5%.”

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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?