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GET TO
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Arrive at the point of
Example:
She gets to fretting if I stay away from home too long
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "get to" is one way to...):
begin; commence; get; get down; set about; set out; start; start out (take the first step or steps in carrying out an action)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s INFINITIVE
Sense 2
Meaning:
Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
Example:
It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves
Synonyms:
annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "get to" is one way to...):
displease (give displeasure to)
Verb group:
chafe (feel extreme irritation or anger)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "get to"):
get; get under one's skin (irritate)
eat into; fret; grate; rankle (gnaw into; make resentful or angry)
peeve (cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful)
ruffle (trouble or vex)
fret (cause annoyance in)
beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)
antagonise; antagonize (provoke the hostility of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sentence example:
The performance is likely to get to Sue
Sense 3
Meaning:
Reach a goal
Example:
She may not make the grade
Synonyms:
get to; make; progress to; reach
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "get to" is one way to...):
accomplish; achieve; attain; reach (to gain with effort)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Context examples:
This form is easier for the body to absorb and allows more drug to get to the target area of the body, such as a tumor.
(Liposomal, NCI Dictionary)
A question about whether an individual is able to get to places beyond walking distance.
(Get to Places Out of Walking Distance, NCI Thesaurus)
When the cells get to a certain level of damage they go through an aging process of their own, called cellular senescence.
(Scientists Find Natural Product That Slows Aging, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Finding out how bacteria quickly get to food is contributing to solutions for many human problems, including better ways of conducting search and rescue missions.
(Bacteria change behavior to tackle tiny obstacle course, National Science Foundation)
Blood normally flowed through the channels from the skull’s interior to the bone marrow, but after a stroke, neutrophils were seen moving in the opposite direction to get to damaged tissue.
(Researchers unearth secret tunnels between the skull and the brain, National Institutes of Health)
Seed dispersers help trees get to new places.
(Overhunting of large animals has catastrophic effects on trees, NSF)
When you feel the urge to have a bowel movement, you may not be able to hold it until you get to a toilet.
(Bowel Incontinence, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
How close could the rover safely get to an RSL?
(NASA Weighs Use of Rover to Image Potential Mars Water Sites, NASA)
It became absolutely necessary for her to get to Fanny and try to learn something more.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Then I tell you what, young Copperfield, said Steerforth, you shall tell 'em to me. I can't get to sleep very early at night, and I generally wake rather early in the morning.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
