get up

verb

got up; got up or gotten up; getting up; gets up

intransitive verb

1

a

: to arise from bed

b

: to rise to one's feet

c

: climb, ascend

2

: to go ahead or faster

—used in the imperative as a command especially to driven animals

transitive verb

1

: to make preparations for : organize

got up a party for the newcomers

2

: to arrange as to external appearance : dress

3

: to acquire a knowledge of

4

: to create in oneself

cannot get up the courage to tell them

Synonyms of get up

• roll out
• wake
• rise
• turn out

Examples of get up in a Sentence

you need to get right up when the alarm goes off in the morning

all got up in her Sunday best

Recent Examples on the Web

San Antonio gets up 12 and New York methodically chips away at it and inexplicably leaves the court for the half up seven. —Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

Then, the Shamrocks got up to bat. —Jack Murray, Boston Herald, 7 June 2026

The Okinawans call it ikigai, a reason to get up in the morning. —Jon Sabes, Fortune, 7 June 2026

Eligible claimants could get up to $102 from the settlement, but the deadline to file is June 9. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 7 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Rhymes for get up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup

Kids Definition

getup

1 of 2 noun

get·​up ˈget-ˌəp 

: outfit entry 1 sense 1, costume

get up

2 of 2 verb

get-ˈəp, 

git-

1

a

: to arise from bed

b

: to rise to one's feet

2

: prepare sense 2, organize

get up a petition

3

: to produce in oneself by effort

get up the courage