AAAmerican Accent US

get back

Both

Sense-dependent: some meanings take an object and split, others take none. Check the sense you mean.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: get BACK. Saying “GET back” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Do not release the /t/. Before the consonant of “back” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “get back”.

2 meanings

  1. 1

    To return to a place.

    • “We got back around midnight.”

    Similar: return

  2. 2

    To recover something you had lost or lent.

    • “Did you ever get your book back?”

    Similar: recover, retrieve

The particle logic

back

Something returns to where it was, or is held in reserve.

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More GET phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

get up

To rise from bed, or to stand up.

get along

To have a friendly relationship with someone.

get over

To recover from an illness, a shock or an upset.

get through

To survive or endure a difficult period to its end.

get by

To survive or manage with barely enough.

get rid of

To remove or dispose of something unwanted.

get away

To escape.

get away with

To do something wrong and escape the consequences.

get back at

To take revenge on someone.

get in

To enter a car or a small enclosed space.

get out

To leave a car or a building.

get out of

To avoid a duty you were supposed to do.

get back — meaning, examples & how to say it