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GET AT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
Example:
It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves
Synonyms:
annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex
Classified under:
Hypernyms (to "get at" is one way to...):
displease (give displeasure to)
Verb group:
chafe (feel extreme irritation or anger)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "get at"):
get; get under one's skin (irritate)
eat into; fret; grate; rankle (gnaw into; make resentful or angry)
peeve (cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful)
ruffle (trouble or vex)
fret (cause annoyance in)
beset; chevvy; chevy; chivvy; chivy; harass; harry; hassle; molest; plague; provoke (annoy continually or chronically)
antagonise; antagonize (provoke the hostility of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Sense 2
Meaning:
Reach or gain access to
Example:
I cannot get to the T.V. antenna, even if I climb on the roof
Synonyms:
access; get at
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "get at" is one way to...):
arrive at; attain; gain; hit; make; reach (reach a destination, either real or abstract)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Influence by corruption
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "get at" is one way to...):
act upon; influence; work (have and exert influence or effect)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Context examples:
Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it—the savage, beautiful creature!
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
My dear Isabella, how was it possible for me to get at you?
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
I could not bear the idea of it; so, as soon as Mr. Weston came into the room, and I could get at him, I spoke to him about the carriage.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
Your job will be to get at the core of what is causing the disagreement or discussion.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Spruce twigs are an important winter food for snowshoe hares; when the hares can get at them, these herbivores may nibble every branch in sight.
(Race across the tundra: White spruce vs. snowshoe hare, National Science Foundation)
If plumes exist, and we can directly sample what's coming from the interior of Europa, then we can more easily get at whether Europa has the ingredients for life.
(Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes, NASA)
Within was a small, square room, in which the three of us could hardly get at one time.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
For when we were shut in by the wooden apron, the man drove so fast that Flo was frightened, and told me to stop him, but he was up outside behind somewhere, and I couldn't get at him.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Spitz was the leader, likewise experienced, and while he could not always get at Buck, he growled sharp reproof now and again, or cunningly threw his weight in the traces to jerk Buck into the way he should go.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Well, it is quite evident that there are two men—more, perhaps, but at least two—who are determined for some reason to get at this fellow Blessington.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
