get down
Britishverb
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(intr; also preposition) to dismount or descend
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(tr; also preposition) to bring down
we could not get the wardrobe down the stairs
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(tr) to write down
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(tr) to make depressed
your nagging gets me down
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(tr) to swallow
he couldn't get the meal down
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to attend seriously (to); concentrate (on) (esp in the phrases get down to business or brass tacks )
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informal (intr) to enjoy oneself uninhibitedly, esp by dancing
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Descend; bring down; also, swallow. For example, He's getting down from the ladder , or Can you get the cat down from the tree? or I can't seem to get this pill down . [Late 1500s]
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get down to . Give one's attention to, as in Let's get down to work , or It's time we got down to business . [Late 1800s] For the most important variants, see under get down to brass tacks .
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get down on . See down on .
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get someone down . Discourage or depress someone. For example, Don't let Mary's troubles get you down , or Day after day of rain really gets me down . [c. 1930]
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Describe in writing, as in Can you get down all he's saying?
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Lose one's inhibitions, enjoy oneself fully. For example, At our reunion we got down with all our old friends . Slang
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.
After warm handshakes and a warning about Taiwan from Xi Jinping on Thursday, the Chinese president and Trump were due to get down to brass tacks on Friday with discussions on trade, geopolitics and AI.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
She called me to say, “I don’t know if this is the end of the road or not, but can you get down here and figure out how to get me home?”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
She says the group are excited as she feels "Northerners get down, for sure".
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
“Music’s like water. It’s going to get down the creek into the river into the ocean. It’s going to find its audience.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
There was no way, now, to get down to the kitchen and wash.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions 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.
