Get around meaning
Get around means to travel or move from place to place. It can also mean to finally do something you have been meaning to do.
get around
get around · got · getting
It’s easy to get around Lisbon by tram.
Get around meanings and examples
4 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Travel or move from place to place
get around
- It’s easy to get around Lisbon by tram.
- How do you get around without a car?
- My grandma gets around with a walking stick now.
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2
Finally do something you have been meaning to do
get around something
- I finally got around to fixing the shelf.
- She never got around to reading the book.
- Have you got around to booking the flights yet?
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3
Find a way to avoid a problem or a rule
get around something
- We got around the problem by working from home.
- There’s no way to get around the new rules.
- Can we get around the queue somehow?
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4
Spread from person to person, like news
get around
- News gets around fast in a small village.
- Word got around that the café was closing.
- How did that story get around so quickly?
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use get around in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is get around separable?
Get around is not separable. A place or problem comes after it: get around the city, get around the rule, get around it.
British English often says get round instead of get around: get round the problem, I never got round to it. Both are correct.
Verb tenses for get around
| Present | I get around · she gets around |
|---|---|
| Past | got around |
| Present perfect | have got around (US: have gotten around) |
| -ing form | getting around |
Common mistakes with get around
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: I never got around to call her back.
Right: I never got around to calling her back.
After get around to, use the -ing form.
Wrong: I’ll get around it tomorrow, I promise.
Right: I’ll get around to it tomorrow, I promise.
To mean finally do it, you need to.
Wrong: We got around of the problem.
Right: We got around the problem.
No of after get around.
Synonyms and opposites of get around
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- go aroundmove in a circle, or visit many parts of a place
- work aroundfind a way to avoid a problem
Opposite
- stay putstay in one place and not move
- put offdelay doing something until later
Get around quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Rome is easy to ___ on foot.
Get around means move from place to place.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Say get around to plus -ing.
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3A shop has a rule, but people find a clever trick. What do they do?
Get around a rule means find a way to avoid it.
More phrasal verbs with get
All phrasal verbs with get, by level, with an exercise
19 phrasal verbs start with get. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- get onA2go onto a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get offA2leave a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get backA2return home or to a place where you were before
- get inA2enter a car, a taxi, a building or a small space
- get outA2leave a car, a room or a building
- get intoA2go inside a car, a building or a small space
- get overB1feel better after an illness
- get alongB1like each other and be friendly
- get togetherB1meet other people, usually to spend time together
- get byB2manage to live or do something with just enough money, skill or help
- get throughB2pass an exam or reach the next stage of a competition
- get awayB2escape from a person or a place
- get away withB2do something wrong and not be punished for it
- get aheadB2be successful in your job or in life
- get on withB2start or continue doing something, especially work, after a pause
- get out ofB2avoid doing something you should do, often with an excuse
- get down toB2start doing something seriously and with full attention
Get around FAQ
Questions people ask about get around.
What does get around to mean?
It means finally do something after a long delay. I’ll get around to it often means I keep forgetting or putting it off.
What is the difference between get around and go around?
Get around stresses how you travel: get around by bike. Go around often means visit or move in a circle: go around the museum.
What does word gets around mean?
It means news spreads from person to person: Word gets around fast in this office, so be careful what you say.
Use get around in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.