Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

get away with

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
phrasal verb [transitive]
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theyget away with
he/she/itgets away with
present participlegetting away with
past tensegot away with
past participlegotten away with

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    get away with something to manage to do something bad without being punished or criticized for it

    They have repeatedly broken the law and gotten away with it.

    get away with doing something:

    How can he get away with speaking to her like that?

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  get away withThesaurus entry for this meaning of get away with
  2. 2
    get away with something informal to manage to do something without any bad results

    You ought to allow three sandwiches per person, although you could get away with two.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  get away withThesaurus entry for this meaning of get away with

This is the American English definition of get away with. View British English definition of get away with.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 
See also main entry: get

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog