AAAmerican Accent US

get over

Inseparable

The verb and particle never split. The object always follows the whole phrase.

How to say it

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

The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “get over” comes out as “ge-dover” — closer to a fast D than a T.

2 meanings

  1. 1

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

    • “It took her a month to get over the flu.”
    • “He never really got over the breakup.”

    Similar: recover from

  2. 2

    To succeed in communicating an idea.

    • “We need to get the message over more clearly.”

    Similar: get across

Don’t confuse it with

get throughTo survive or endure a difficult period to its end.

Get OVER is recovering after it is finished. Get THROUGH is surviving while you are still inside it.

The particle logic

over

Something is examined from above, done again, or moved across.

Listen + practice

Hear “get over” spoken naturally

Pick a sentence to record

Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

Click to record

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 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

To return to a place.

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 over — meaning, examples & how to say it