Dictionary: letter G
search page: Lists
+ | only common verbs here | any verb with many examples ingang up on [gang up on someone] work as a group to attack or criticize someone.
- They all ganged up on him.
get about/around/round 1 (insep) go to different places; travel.
- He gets around a lot.
- She's getting old; she doesn't get around as much as she used to.
- The Underground is the best way to get around in London.
2 (insep) (news, rumours, gossip, word) become well known; spread.
- The word got around that she was having an affair.
- The rumour got around that he was a drug dealer.
- Gossip soon gets around in a small neighbourhood.
3 (insep) (law, rule, problem) avoid or escape the effects of something, such as a rule, without breaking it.
- It's very difficult to get arond the tax laws.
- They managed to get around the problem in the end.
get along get on with
- The baby is getting along nicely with her older brother.
get around to (insep) finally manage to do something.
- It was a great idea but it still took me 3 years to get around to doing it.
- I need a deadline or I simply won't get around to doing it.
get away (insep) leave; escape; have a holiday.
- They got away in a stolen car.
- It's nice to get away at Easter.
- The boy tried to catch to the butterfly but it got away.
get away with [get away with something] (insep) not be punished for something wrong you have done.
- She won't get away with an offensive remark like that.
- You won't get away with this.
- How did you manage to get away with cheating on your wife?
- She got away with a fine.
get back 1 (insep) return. come back
- They didn't get back home until 3 o'clock in the morning.
- I'll tell her when she gets back.
2 [get something back] recover something. take back
- You shouldn't lend books; you never get them back.
- He's started to exercise. He needs to get his strength back.
get by 1 (insep) manage to do something.
- When you're a student you have to learn to get by with very little money.
- My English is just good enough to get by.
- He doesn't do very well in his exams; he just gets by.
2 (insep) go past.
- They moved aside to let the ambulance get by.
- There were so many people that I couldn't get by.
get in [get in, get in/into something] (insep) enter a place.
- Get into the car. We're leaving.
- It wasn't until I got into the shop that I realised I hadn't got enough money on me.
get into [get into something] (insep) (mess, trouble, debt, muddle) become involved in a difficult situation, often without intending to.
- Don't use your credit card too much or you'll get into debt.
- He got into trouble with the police because he forgot to pay for his shopping.
get off [get off something] (insep) (bus, train, plane, horse) leave a vehicle or a place. jump off get on
- Just as we got off the bus, it started to rain.
- Please do not get off the ride until it has come to a complete stop.
get on, get on with 1 [get on, get on with something] (work) (insep) make progress in something.
- How are you getting on with your studies?
- After a few problems at first, he's getting on well at his new school.
- He wasn't an easy man to get on with.
2 continue doing something. get along, go on
- The best thing to do is get on with your job to the best of your ability.
3 [get on something] (insep) (bus, train, plane, horse) enter or ride a vehicle. get off
- The bus was full. We couldn't get on.
- As usual I got on the train and travelled all the way to Kings Cross.
4 (with) [get on with someone] (insep) (neighbours, relatives, friends) have a friendly relationship with someone. get along fall out
- Do you get on with your neighbours?
- How do you get on with your boss?
5 (insep) become old.
- I'm getting on a bit now, but I've still got all me faculties.
get out 1 leave a place or go outside.
- A security guard told him to get out.
- We had to get out of there as quickly as we could.
2 stop being a secret.
- If word gets out, it could ruin her career.
- When word got out that a huge diamond field had been found, speculation fever mounted.
get through 1 (insep) manage to contact someone. be through, come through, put through
- I couldn't get through to them on the phone. I spent over two hours trying so I emailed them the next day.
2 pass [get through, get through something] (insep) (exam, test, finals) manage to pass. scrape through, sail through
- We're sure that you will get through your exam.
3 use [get through something] (insep) (cigarettes, beer, money) use something or spend it.
- While we watched the match we got through two large bottles of coke and packet of crisps.
- He gets through about thirty cigarettes a day.
- The average Brit gets through three cups of tea each day, which is 40 per cent of everything he drinks.
get through to [get throgh to someone] (insep) manage to make someone understand something.
- I had never worked with this age group before and I didn't know how I would handle them or if I would be able to get through to them.
give away [give something away] give something to someone for free.
- He gave away all his money.
- I had a lot of books I didn't want to keep so I gave them away to a friend.
give in 1 (insep) [+ to] admit that you are defeated or cannot do something; yield.
- He's very stubborn. He won't give in no matter how much you try to persuade him.
- The president finally gave in to mounting pro-democracy pressure by announcing the end of the one party state.
- The government gave in to pressure from the industry.
2 (insep) [+ to] (temptation, urge) stop avoiding something that you really want.
- Don't give in to temptation.
- Sometimes I give in to the urge to eat a whole packet of biscuits.
give off [give off something] (insep) (heat, energy, light, odour, signal, smell, smoke) emit or discharge something.
- The body gives off heat to the surrounding air.
- Residents say the waste water plant is giving off a foul smell.
give out [give something out] (leaflet, food, money, information) distribute something. hand out
- Give out the questionnaires and ask students to complete them.
- If your staff spends valuable time giving out information, post that data on the web, and refer your customers to it.
give up [give something up] (chocolate, fatty foods, smoking, hope, job) stop doing or having something; stop attempting to do it.
- My doctor tried to persuade me to give smoking up.
- He gave up his job three years ago and started traveling around the world.
- If you want to lose weight you'll have to give up eating sweets.
glam up [glam up, glam yourself up] dress attractively.
- Casual dress is fine, although some of the locals do get glammed up.
gloss over [gloss over something] (insep) (failure, mistake, issue) try to excuse or not to mention something bad.
- He glossed over painful events and painted a positive picture.
go about [go about something] (insep) (daily routine, business, work) do something in the usual way or start doing it.
- How did you go about getting this book published?
go off 1 (insep) (alarm, bomb, device, gun) explodes or be activated.
- The powerful device went off just metres from the market entrance.
- Why did the alarm go off like that?
2 not be good anymore.
- Put the milk in the fridge or it will go off.
- This meat smells absolutely revolting. It must have gone off.
3 [go off someone/something] (insep) stop liking someone. take to
- After that traumatic episode we noticed she had started to go off her food.
- I liked him at the start, but then went off him rapidly.
go on 1 (insep) continue doing something. carry on
- He went on speaking for two hours.
- The ovation went on for two minutes.
2 (insep) take place; happen.
- You should have let me know what was going on.
- They had the feeling that there was something fishy going on.
- What is going on with you?
go on about [go on about something] talk continuously about something in a boring and annoying way.
- I'm sorry. You must be bored senseless hearing me going on about it.
- Do you have to keep going on about it?
goof off (insep, AmE) spend time doing nothing, usually avoiding work. skive off
- A new way to goof off at work: when the boss isn't looking, employees flock to Internet game sites.
- If employees are badly managed or badly motivated, they'll goof off.
grow apart (insep) not have a close relationship anymore.
- The couple have grown apart due to their hectic careers.
- They have grown apart and rarely spend time together.
- I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years and we have slowly grown apart.
For other verbs and to get more examples build your own lists in the Lists section.