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

Florida appeared to get back within one on an Aleksander Barkov goal 10 seconds later, but the goal was overturned after Edmonton successfully challenged that the play was offside. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 22 June 2024

Better to consider this a signal delay and get back on the right track. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 21 June 2024

This is typically a document that a professor, faced with the same questions semester after semester, has put together to save the most time possible and get back to their work. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024

Every human being at this event has a story that involves some triumph and some tragedy and some falling down and always getting back up. —Dave Sheinin, Washington Post, 20 June 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