get on for
phrasal verb.phrasal verb. to be close to a certain time, age, or number.
phrasal verb. to approach a specific time, age, or amount; typically used in the progressive aspect to indicate an approximation.
It's getting on for midnight, so we should leave.
He must be getting on for eighty now, but he still goes for a run every morning.
The total cost of the renovations is getting on for fifty thousand pounds, which is significantly over the original budget.
almost always used in the continuous form 'getting on for'.
this is a British English idiom; help students by comparing it to 'approaching' or 'nearly', and note that it is followed by a noun phrase representing a limit.
It gets on for ten o'clock.It's getting on for ten o'clock.this phrase is almost exclusively used in the present continuous to show a process of approaching a time or number.
Last updated April 24, 2026