get at
verb8 senses
1
To manage to gain access to.
- I have a lot of money in my trust fund. I just can't get at it.
2
To understand or ascertain by investigation.
- We need to get at the root cause of all this.
3
To mean, signify, imply.
- I don't understand. What are you getting at?
4
To attack verbally or physically; to annoy, bother.
- He's a bit disheartened. The newspapers have been getting at him again.
- My cat was badly injured after the neighbour's dog got at her.
5
To persuade by intimidation; to tamper with; to corrupt.
- That was a ridiculous verdict. I think the jury was got at.
- All the while, Wolf's followers hounded me about why I had sold out to the “globalists” and was duping the public into believing that masks, vaccines, and restrictions on indoor gatherings were legitimate public health measures […] “I think she's been got at!” someone whose handle is “RickyBaby321” said of me[.]2023, Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World, Penguin, →ISBN, page 36:
6
To begin working on or dealing with.
- Stop procrastinating on your work and get at it!
- Derived terms
- getatable, ungetatable