English Reference

Phrasal verb

get out

Definition

phrasal verb. To leave a place, like a room or a building. It can also be a strong command telling someone to leave immediately.

phrasal verb. To exit or leave a physical space; also used as an imperative to command someone to depart, often forcefully.

Examples

“Let's get out of here.”

“The fire alarm rang, and everyone had to get out of the building quickly.”

“He knew he had to get out of the city before his past caught up with him, a desperate flight from shadows he himself had cast.”

Examples

simple

“Let's get out of here.”

contextual

“The fire alarm rang, and everyone had to get out of the building quickly.”

complex

“He knew he had to get out of the city before his past caught up with him, a desperate flight from shadows he himself had cast.”

Usage

Often followed by 'of' and a place, or used alone as a command.

Teaching tip

Contrast the intransitive use ('We got out') with the transitive 'get something out' ('I got the book out of my bag'), which means to remove something.

Pitfall

Get out from the car.

Get out of the car.

The correct preposition to use with 'get out' when specifying the place is 'of', not 'from'.

Phrasal verb

Particles

out

Separability

inseparable

Pattern

get + out (+ of + object)

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related words

Idioms

as all get-out — Extremely; to a superlative degree; very much.

Grammar

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Very common
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference