get up

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

1. (literally) To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb.

   The tired horse eventually got up and over the hurdle.

   I'm having difficulty getting up the stairs.

2. To rise from one's bed, usually upon waking up in order to begin one's day.

   I didn't get up until midday.

   • 1918, William James, chapter 26, in The Principles of Psychology:

     We know what it is to get out of bed on a freezing morning in a room without a fire, and how the very vital principle within us protests against the ordeal. Probably most persons have lain on certain mornings for an hour at a time unable to brace themselves to the resolve. We think how late we shall be, how the duties of the day will suffer; we say, "I must get up, this is ignominious," etc.; but still the warm couch feels too delicious, the cold outside too cruel, and resolution faints away and postpones itself again and again just as it seemed on the verge of bursting the resistance and passing over into the decisive act. Now how do we ever get up under such circumstances? If I may generalize from my own experience, we more often than not get up without any struggle or decision at all. We suddenly find that we have got up.

3. To move from a sitting or lying position to a standing position; to stand up.

   Get up off the couch and clean this mess!

   • 2008 July 14, Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Comics, Legendary Pictures:

     That guy's not getting up, is he?

4. To materialise; to grow stronger.

   As dusk fell a storm got up.

5. To bring together; to amass.

   The general got up a large body of men.

6. To gather or grow larger by accretion.

   The locomotive got up a good head of steam.

   I could see that he was getting up a temper.

7. (sports) To go towards the attacking goal.
   • 2011 January 5, Jonathan Stevenson, “Arsenal 0 - 0 Man City”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     City sent on Adam Johnson for the ineffective Jo and the Englishman at least gave notice that he wanted to run at the Arsenal defence, but his team-mates had been run into the ground by then and no-one could get up in support of the winger.

8. (UK, Australia, colloquial) To criticise.

   He got up me about the mess I made in the kitchen.

   • 2010 July 1 [2001], Ian Healy, Hands and Heals: The Autobiography‎^[2] (non-fiction), →ISBN:

     Back in January 1989, as soon as Rod got up me that night, I knew he rated me, cared about what I did and how I performed. I felt I′d climbed a big step up the credibility ladder.

   • 2003 February 6, James Hicks, “New LoY spell info up.”, in alt.games.everquest‎^[3] (Usenet):

     I said ok and resorted to only taunting or using a taunt spell to get mobs off the wizzy but the cleric got up me for that too.

   • 2003 October 20, Dave Ello, “New Battlax to support the old Battle-axe...”, in aus.motorcycles‎^[4] (Usenet):

     To those of you who (and there a a few) who got up me yesterday at Mt White for being a slack-arse and not replacing the rear tyre on the 'Bird, I can now state for the record that she's shod with a brand new 020.

   • 2011, Mark Whittaker, Brave: Ordinary Australians and their extraordinary acts of courage (non-fiction), page 205:

     Alan, silver-haired and full of Aussie wit, tells me how his favourite cousin got up him recently, ‘Of course, you get yourself into these situations if you′re always trying to be the hero.’ That really annoyed him.

9. (colloquial) To annoy.
   • 2002 November 25 [2001], Tim Winton, “Four”, in Dirt Music‎^[5] (fiction), page 257:

     Well, Beaver said at last. Somethin′s got up him. Like you said—people have regrets.

10. To dress in a certain way, especially extravagantly.

    She was all got up in the most ridiculous frilly dress.

    He got himself up for the party.

    • James Robinson Planché, Mr. Buckstone's Ascent; Or, Mount Parnassus

      There's so much getting up to please the town, / It takes a precious deal of coming down.

    • 1973 December 15, Jonathan Cross, “The Fag in the Fifth Row”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 25, page 4:

      Leroy is gotten up in blaxploitation mod capes and jump suits, trying to look like Isaac Hayes as possible.

11. (Australia, colloquial) To succeed; to win.

    Looking at the polling, I don't reckon this referendum will get up.

    • 2009, John Gilfoyle, And They Came to Roma Saleyards, Boolarong Press, →ISBN, page 93:

      If the Blues happen to win, next day at Roma Saleyards you wouldn't know there'd been a game, but if the Maroons get up they drive it into the NSW buyers at every pen.

    • 2021 October 26, H. G. Nelson, The Fairytale: A real and imagined history of Australian sport, Macmillan Publishers Aus., →ISBN:

      'The Curry for the Country' minister's rave was, 'If Labor got up, Albo and his lot of mad loony socialist greenies were going to force all Australians to drive electric vehicles. Imagine our nation without the heady aroma of diesel.'

12. (slang) To have sex; to penetrate sexually; to have a sexual or romantic liaison.
13. (slang, African-American Vernacular) To leave prison.
14. (slang, US) To meet with or get to know (someone); to hang out with someone.
15. (slang, African-American Vernacular) To be excited about something; to act regarding something; to become cognizant of something.

    You have to get up with your career.

    He got up on his game.

• (ascend): alley oop (as a command or interjection)
• (awaken): rise; see also Thesaurus:wake
• (stand): stand up
• (materialise): come into being, form, take shape; see also Thesaurus:come into being
• (amass): amound, hoard; see also Thesaurus:amass
• (grow larger): gather, mount up; see also Thesaurus:accumulate
• (criticise): berate, tear into; see also Thesaurus:criticize
• (annoy): exasperate, irritate; see also Thesaurus:annoy

• go to bed
• sit down

• get up early
• get up in
• get up in someone's face

• getup

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