to get around to
101
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /ɡɛt əˈraʊnd tu/
- Informal
:
ponerse a
- After a busy week at work, I finally got around to cleaning my house.
- get around to reading
- finally get around to
- never get around to
Well, after nine years, they still haven't gotten around to the replace part.
- Well, after nine years, they still haven't gotten around to the replace part.
- And because he was so busy, he never got around to painting more than a single leaf.
- I haven't got around to watching Max's.
- Now, Trump did eventually get around to making the announcement and it was worth the wait.
- It's one of the many on the list that we hope to get around to reviewing, but for GPU's.
- I'm concerned because they're not going to have adequate sperm when they get around to having a right a child.
- But you want to download all these things and start and don't be that person that says I'll get around to it later, right?
- I think that's the most difficult part about admitting your mistake is really getting around to it because you might think that.
Examples
-
I wanted to, I just never got around to it.
-
I'll make sure to look up that life insurance policy he never got around to getting.
-
Um, since you never got around to it in high school...
-
But we'll probably never get around to it.
-
We never got around to that.
-
When are you getting around to my problem?
-
But with one thing and another, they just never seemed to get around to it.
Fiction book (1995) -
Well, actually, I never got around to finishing it.
-
Just wondered if you had time to get around to my pharmacy stuff?
Fiction book (1992) -
We've been meaning to tell him, but we've never gotten around to it.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
∞
2.4
Reach a goal, place, or state after effort
3
3.4
Succeed in reaching a goal after some time and effort
To finally do something you have been putting off for a long time
Antonyms
How Prompt
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to finally do something' is only partly predictable from the parts: 'get' (arrive/obtain) + 'around' (about/around) + 'to' does not literally convey 'manage to find time' without knowledge of the phrasal-verb usage. The particle 'around' contributes a metaphorical sense of 'finding a way/occasion', so learners who know the words may suspect a related meaning but would likely need exposure to infer the exact meaning.
Etymology
The phrasal verb get around to may come from the simple picture of jobs or chores spread out in different places: you have to get yourself around to a task to reach and start it. So, to 'get around to' something means 'to finally do it' after a delay.