get through

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

get through (third-person singular simple present gets through, present participle getting through, simple past got through, past participle (UK) got through or (US) gotten through) (informal)

  2. (transitive) To overcome; to endure.
    Military training was hard, but I got through it.
    • 2026 June 19, Gooseworx, “Remember” (5:06 from the start), in The Amazing Digital Circus‎[1], episode 9, spoken by Kinger (Sean Chiplock):
      But, while the others took weeks - hell, even months - to get used to everything, myself included, you found your footing in a matter of days. And not just that - you've also become someone they can trust, even if they don't seem receptive. It's times like these they're gonna need someone like that the most. You're very strong, Pomni. And I know you'll be able to get through this.
  4. (transitive) To complete; to finish.
    She got through her book this morning!
    I was so thirsty that I got through three glasses of orange juice.
  6. (transitive) To use up; to expend.
    Near-synonyms: burn through, run through
    With near-daily trips to Houston and back, he really gets through a lot of fuel in one month.
  7. (intransitive) To reach its destination.
    • 1917 August 23, Clio [pseudonym], “The Ladies Letter”, in Punch, volume CXXVII, number 3239, London, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 310, column 2:
      The earliest arrival was able to ameliorate the lot of the other, especially as he was the lucky recipient of no less than thirteen parcels of comforts and food. So you see, O women of little faith, parcels are getting through to our brave lads.
    • 2003 February 25, Mike59Lark, “SPAM (OT)”, in alt.autos.studebaker‎[2] (Usenet):
      My ISP offers filtering through Postini but lately there's a lot of stuff getting through even with the most aggressive filter settings.
    • 2022 July 15, Jeff Gaines, “How To...”, in uk.people.silversurfers‎[3] (Usenet):
      Switch to bank 2 tab to see if money got through, it has timed out.
  9. (intransitive, transitive) To communicate successfully across a barrier; to make contact, or get one's point across; to reach the addressee, possibly with difficulty.
    Synonym: patch
    Near-synonym: get across
    He was such a dyed-in-the-wool partisan that I just couldn't get through to him and change his mind.
    He was such a dyed-in-the-wool partisan that I just couldn't get it through his skull.
    • 1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London:
      "You bloody fools!" shrieked Nickle, stung by a sudden dreadful inspiration, "we've let him phone. He has got through!"
    • 1920, Margot Asquith, An Autobiography:
      My father had a horror of girls' schools (and if he could “get through”—to use the orthodox expression of the spookists—he would find all his opinions on this subject more than justified by the manners, morals and learning of the young ladies of the present day) […]
    • 1976, Paddy Chayefsky, Network, spoken by Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty):
      And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and YOU… WILL… ATONE! Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale?
    • 2003, “The Outsider”, performed by A Perfect Circle:
      What'll it take to get it through to you precious?
      I'm over this, why do you wanna throw it away like this?
      Such a mess, why would I want to watch you?

Usage notes

  • The communication sense is often used to blame the listener, not the speaker. One saying Am I getting through to you? is implying the listener is ignoring or even consciously resisting the speaker's message. There is no similarly convenient expression with which the speaker can acknowledge that their own message may have been unclear.

Translations

See also

This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.