get back

verb

got back; got back or gotten back; getting back; gets back

intransitive verb

1

: to come or go again to a person, place, or condition : return, revert

getting back to the main topic of the lecture

2

: to gain revenge : retaliate

—usually used with at

transitive verb

: to regain possession of : recover

Synonyms

• re-collect
• reacquire
• recapture
• reclaim
• recoup
• recover
• regain
• repossess
• retake
• retrieve

Examples of get back in a Sentence

the distraught owner cried that she would do anything to get back her lost dog

Recent Examples on the Web

Things are getting back to normal with the prosthesis. —Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 4 Sep. 2024

Employees at the downtown cafe all were offered jobs at the Carytown restaurant, where the new owners are trying to staff up to get back to daily hours, Zicopula added. —Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Sep. 2024

First, Abbas swiftly resumed security coordination with Israel and made other gestures to get back in Washington’s good graces. —Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024

With inflation getting back to normal, the Federal Reserve has the freedom to cut interest rates. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

get back

verb

1

: to return to a person, place, or condition

getting back to our first topic

2

: to get revenge

get back at him for the insult

3

: to regain possession of