get down

verb

got down; got down or gotten down; getting down; gets down

transitive verb

1
: to manage to swallow
2
: to cause to be physically, mentally, or emotionally exhausted : depress
the weather was getting her down
3
: to commit to writing : describe

intransitive verb

1
: to alight especially from a vehicle : descend
2
: to give one's attention or consideration
used with to
get down to business
3
a
: to perform music or dance effectively and infectiously
b
: to have a good time partying

Examples of get down in a Sentence

I was getting down from the seaplane when a gust of wind swept away my hat. it's really getting him down that there does not seem to be one woman who will date him
Recent Examples on the Web On the morning of October 21, 2016, Allison Nixon was just getting down to work in Flashpoint’s office, an old garment factory on the desolate western edge of Midtown Manhattan, when a colleague pointed out to her that something was seriously wrong with the internet. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 14 Nov. 2023 In the TikTok, a man in a gray t-shirt gets down on one knee as a woman wearing a pink sweater appears to say yes. Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2023 The friend told me that my husband got down and was army crawling, trying to hide under one of the cornhole boards just for some sort of protection. Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 29 Oct. 2023 Low temperatures merely get down into the upper 50s to mid-60s. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2023 To get down to Florida, the Beta aircraft made more than a dozen stops along the way, departing Burlington, Vermont on October 11 and flying 84 miles to Glens Falls, New York, a hop that took 49 minutes. Rob Verger, Popular Science, 26 Oct. 2023 Get in your steps now and get down on Halloween candy later. Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2023 Daily highs from December through February average in the 60- and 70-degree range, with overnight lows occasionally getting down to freezing. Sarah L. Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2023 His players are dead serious, unflappable and willing to get down and dirty. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'get down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of get down was in 1647

Dictionary Entries Near get down

Cite this Entry

“Get down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/get%20down. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.

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