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gotta

American

[got-uh] / ˈgɒt ə /

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 British

/ ˈɡɒtə /

verb

got to

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

“It’s gotta be around 6 p.m. when the sun’s going down,” he says, which indeed is when he’ll play Sunday at this weekend’s Stagecoach festival in Indio.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

“They screwed up, basically, and when you screw up, you gotta be accountable,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

“I was like, dude, gotta be on the grind.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

But you've gotta be in the Premier League title race to win it, right?

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

You’ve gotta crouch sometimes, but it’s worth it.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023