1.
to come down from a high place
“Get down from the tree!”
“The cat won't get down from the roof.”
“Please get down off the chair.”
Synonyms: to come down, to climb down
Phrasal verb
What does get down mean?
Meaning: to come down from a high place; to make someone sad
B1
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Quick answer
Get down = to come down from a high place (a chair, a tree, a ladder). Get down from the table! A common figurative meaning: to make someone sad. Don't let it get you down = don't let it make you sad. In this meaning, it is separable.
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to make someone feel sad
figurative“The bad weather is getting me down.”
“Don't let it get you down.”
Synonyms: to depress, to discourage
3.
to write something quickly
common“Let me get this down before I forget.”
Synonyms: to write down, to jot down
Word order
Separable
The object can go between the verb and the particle. With a pronoun (it, them), it always goes between.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- get down
- Past Simple:
- got down
- Past participle:
- got down (UK) / gotten down (US)
- -ing form:
- getting down
Common mistakes to avoid
Get down or go down?
Get down is about leaving a high position (a chair, a tree). Go down = to move down in general (the stairs, a price). Get down from there! / Prices are going down. Not Go down from the chair! ❌.
Figurative meaning: it gets me down
In the figurative meaning, it is separable: it gets me down ✓ (it makes me sad). The pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: It's getting him down ✓, not It's getting down him ❌.
Practice quiz
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Frequently asked questions
What does get down mean?+
Get down has two main meanings: (1) to come down from a high place (get down from the tree); (2) to make someone sad (it gets me down). It can also mean to write something quickly.
What is the difference between get down and go down?+
Get down = to leave a high position (a chair, a tree, a shelf). Go down = to move down in general (the stairs, a price that falls). Get down from there! / Prices went down.
Is get down separable?+
In the figurative meaning, yes: it gets me down. With a pronoun, the pronoun goes between get and down. In the literal meaning (to come down), there is no object: get down from the tree.
What is the past simple of get down?+
Got down, in British and American English. Past participle: got down (UK) / gotten down (US). He got down from the ladder. (For a bus, we say got off the bus.) The news got me down = the news made me sad.
Can get down mean to dance?+
Yes, in American slang (very informal words), get down can mean to dance and have fun. Let's get down! = let's dance! It is very informal, and you hear it mostly in funk and disco music.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/phrasal-verbs/get-down
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.