get rid of

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Verb[edit]

get rid of (third-person singular simple present gets rid of, present participle getting rid of, simple past got rid of, past participle (UK) got rid of or (US) gotten rid of)

  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To rid oneself of; to cause oneself to be free of or released from.
    Synonyms: abolish, discard, dismiss, drop, lose, remove, shed; see also Thesaurus:junk
    Over the weekend he spent some time getting rid of the clothes he no longer wears.
    I want to get rid of your influence over my life!

Usage notes[edit]

One is said to get rid of something unwanted or undesirable. The term is not neutral; it implies that the situation is improved by getting rid of that thing.

The term belongs to a less formal register than most of the synonyms listed above.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]