🧎 To lower yourself 🐎 To dismount 💼 To start seriously 📦 To take down ✍️ To write 😞 To make sad 🥄 To swallow

to get down

348 1.8

To crouch or kneel down to a lower position

phrasal verb
/ɡɛt daʊn/

: agacharse

We were on the couch, but I stopped right then patting her back and got down on the floor.
get down on one's hands and knees

a video of him getting down on one knee.

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Examples

Take a step into the river and get down on your knees.
I'm going to have to get down on my knees and beg this man to forgive me.

Fiction book (2000)
Baby S loves when we get down on the floor with him and play.

Blog text (21)
So let's go ahead and get down low here.

Funny Or Die
But a few minutes later, they were told to get down as artillery fire began to whiz over their heads.

Fiction book (1990)
"Do you think you can get down on the floor?" Jory asked breathlessly.

Fiction book (1994)
Resignedly, she got down on her knees and picked up every capsule she could find.

Fiction book (1995)
When the loud siren went off, the teacher told the students to get down under their desks for safety.
To avoid the rain, he decided to get down to the ground and take cover under the tree.
During the drill, the coach instructed everyone to get down on the field to practice their moves.

Synonyms

to kneel

vsto get down

187 1.4

To be with your knees on the ground

is more general and includes bending or lowering without this ceremonial purpose

to drop down

vsto get down

90 1.8

To fall from a higher place to a lower place

is intentional lowering rather than an uncontrolled fall or shift

to crouch

vsto get down

71 1.8

To lower your body close to the ground by bending your knees and leaning forward

is broader and also includes kneeling rather than only a forward posture

to squat

vsto get down

51 3.4

To bend your knees, lower your body, then stand up

is not limited to a repetitive exercise movement and includes simple lowering

to hunker

vsto get down

40 7.5

To bend your knees and lower your body close to the ground

is similar but covers any lowering, not only this heel‑balanced position

to stoop

vsto get down

17 2.6

To bend your body forward at the waist

involves lowering the whole body toward the ground often by bending or kneeling

to duck down

vsto get down

12 4.2

To lower your body quickly by bending your knees to avoid being seen or hit

is more neutral, not necessarily quick or for avoidance

to scrunch

vsto get down

Informal

7 6.0

Bend your knees and sit on your heels

is wider, also allowing kneeling or other lower positions, not only sitting on heels

to scrunch up

vsto get down

Informal

5 4.3

To crouch down close to the ground by bending the knees

is more general and can mean bending or moving down without tightness

to couch

vsto get down

3 5.7

To lower your body close to the ground to hide or protect yourself

is broader and can be done for simple positioning, not only for hiding

Antonyms

to stand up

378 1.0

To get up from sitting or lying and be on your feet

How Low

to lie down

403 1.0

to get down

348 1.8

to kneel

187 1.4

to crouch

71 1.8

to stoop

17 2.6

to bend

84 1.0

Surface Forms

get down infinitive

getting down present participle

gets down third person singular

got down past

got down past participle

Morphology

get + down

The literal meanings of 'get' (move/obtain) and 'down' (lower) give a loose metaphorical image of moving into a lower or focused position, but the specific sense 'to begin doing something seriously' (as in 'get down to business') is an extended, conventionalized meaning that is not directly predictable from the parts. This phrase follows a phrasal-verb pattern where the particle adds a metaphorical/figurative nuance, so a B1 learner who knows the words may not reliably infer the intended sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

Get down meaning 'to lower your body to the ground' comes from the action of bending or dropping your body down to hide or kneel, so it now means 'to crouch' or 'go to the ground'.