get at sth
— phrasal verb with get uk/ɡet/us/ɡet/verb present participle getting, past tense got, past participle got or US usually gotten
(REACH)
B2 to reach or obtain something, especially something that is difficult to get:
I've put the cake on a high shelf where he can't get at it.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Getting, receiving and accepting
- acquihire
- acquire
- acquisition
- awardee
- carve
- draw
- fill
- get sth out of sth
- glom onto sth/sb
- go to sb
- grasp
- obtain
- pick
- score
- secure
- snatch
- snatch at sth
- target
- wangle
- wrest
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(SUGGEST)
C1 informal When someone is getting at something, they mean it or are trying to express it:
I'm not sure what you're getting at - don't you think I should come tonight?
What do you think the poet is getting at in these lines?
More examples
- It's not clear what he's getting at in this section of the article.
- She didn't understand what her husband was getting at.
- It's obvious what he's getting at. He wants you to cook dinner.
- What are you getting at?
- What they're getting at is that they think the house is overpriced.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Suggestions & proposals
- about
- float
- grab
- hint
- how about...? idiom
- how does... grab you? idiom
- how/what about...? idiom
- it wouldn't hurt you to do sth idiom
- might
- nudge
- offer
- on the table idiom
- point sb towards/in the direction of sth idiom
- posit
- postulate
- proposal
- propose
- put
- put ideas into sb's head idiom
- table
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