phrasal verb

• 1Perform or make progress in a specified way.

  ‘how are you getting on?’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Sirka did as she was instructed, and with the help of Aden, she managed to get on.’
  • ‘I suppose I was selfish, in that everything was geared towards getting on in my career.’
  • ‘I'm just a pilot trying to get on in my career, so suddenly I find myself with very little to move on to.’
  • ‘Derek came over to see how we were getting on with our repairs.’
  • ‘And we were supposed to go to loads of meetings to tell them how we were getting on.’
  • ‘It was interesting to know how things were getting on with her and her life.’
  • ‘And even though they had since stopped attending the meetings, members still met up informally at a local pub on a regular basis to chat about how they were getting on.’
  • ‘Although rivalry was intense between the two clubs, she always showed an interest in how my children were getting on and always asked after them.’
  • ‘She then chatted informally to students asking them how they were getting on in their different courses.’
  • ‘An hour later, my mother arrived to see how I was getting on.’

  Synonyms

  fare, manage, progress, advance, get on, do, cope, survive, muddle along, muddle through

  fare, manage, progress, advance, get along, do, cope, survive, muddle along, muddle through

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1Continue doing something, especially after an interruption.
     ‘that's enough hanging around, we need to get on’
     More example sentences

     • ‘I've got to get on with this job’
     • ‘Kimi just looks politely bored, waiting to get on with his interrupted conversation.’
     • ‘We value time, we are pressed to get on with the job, to deliver the goods, to increase productivity.’
     • ‘He said it was important that the very busy base now had to get on with day-to-day life and continue its vital role.’
     • ‘There is nothing I can do but get on with things, push as hard as possible and hope our strategists got things right.’
     • ‘I continue to urge all concerned to focus and get on with the tasks at hand.’
     • ‘Writers could avoid being interrupted in these narrow rooms and could get on with their work.’
     • ‘It was time to get on with several aspirations that I'd been consistently pushing to one side for several years.’
     • ‘The Scot hardly spent any time planning or visualising the climb ahead, preferring just to get on with it.’
     • ‘Let the experts get on with governing the institutions, and let the government stick to its business.’
     • ‘We can discuss things, but he gets on with his job and I get on with mine.’
     Synonyms

     continue, proceed, go ahead, carry on, go on, keep on, press on, push on, press ahead, persist, persevere

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2British Be successful in one's life or career.
     More example sentences

     • ‘parents are always anxious for their children to get on’

• 2British Have a harmonious or friendly relationship.

  ‘they seem to get on pretty well’

  More example sentences

  • ‘I always got on with him brilliantly’

  Synonyms

  be friendly, be on friendly terms, be in harmony, be compatible, get along, feel a rapport

  View synonyms

• 3be getting oninformal Be old or comparatively old.

  More example sentences

  • ‘we are both getting on a bit’
  • ‘It's hard to know, but I was in my 30s and some of the other were getting on too, but it's hard to say.’
  • ‘The couple said they were getting on, and they thought they'd better move near their daughter so she could look after them.’
  • ‘Therefore, most participants were getting on in years.’
  • ‘Dad had been an alderman for the City and chairman of the Ratepayers' Association, but they were getting on in years by then.’
  • ‘In 1949, when he was getting on in years, he took a party on a tour of historic sights.’
  • ‘It was the solace of women who were getting on in years - the plain gold band on the ring finger.’
  • ‘Kostya's getting on in age, has had a great career and is ready to enjoy the fruits of his success with his family.’