get on

English

Verb

get on (third-person singular simple present gets on, present participle getting on, simple past got on, past participle (UK) got on or (US) gotten on)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To board or mount (something), especially a vehicle.

   Please get on the bus as quickly as possible.

   She has no trouble getting off a bus but has difficulty getting on.

2. (intransitive) To handle, cope or manage (over time); to perform or make progress.

   John is really getting on at work.

   I hear John has a new job. How's he getting on?

   She's getting on very well at school.

3. (intransitive, with "with") To progress (with).

   It's time to get on with improving quality.

4. (intransitive) To become late.

   Time is getting on

   It was getting on for midnight before I went to bed.

5. (intransitive) To become old.

   My parents are visibly getting on a bit these days.

6. (intransitive, chiefly UK) To have a good relationship; to get along.
   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     “I don't know how you and the ‘head,’ as you call him, will get on, but I do know that if you call my duds a ‘livery’ again there'll be trouble. It's bad enough to go around togged out like a life saver on a drill day, but I can stand that 'cause I'm paid for it. […] ”

   I wish you and I could learn to get on.

7. (transitive) To commence (an action).

   The dishes need washing, the floor needs vacuuming, the laundry needs folding. Get on it!

8. (slang, archaic, transitive, gambling) To place a bet on.

   to get on a horse or a man

Synonyms

• (to board a vehicle): board, climb on, embark, get on board, get onto, mount
• (to enter a vehicle): board, embark, get onboard
• (to handle): handle, cope, manage, get by, fare, perform, progress
• (to become late): get late.
• (to become old): age, become old, get old; see also Thesaurus:to age.
• (to have a good relationship): get along, understand each other or understand one another

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "to board a vehicle"): alight from, climb down from, climb off, disembark, exit, get down from, get off, get out of, leave
• (antonym(s) of "to enter a vehicle"): alight, climb down, disembark, exit, get down, get off, get out, leave

Derived terms

• get on like a house on fire
• getting on for

Translations

Interjection

get on!

1. Expresses surprise or disbelief.

See also

• get
• get in
• get into
• get off
• get on board
• get on to
• get onto
• get on with

Anagrams

• G-note, Tonge, tonge