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Glite Dictionary
🏁 To reach a goal 📞 To contact ✅ To finish 💡 To be understood ⏳ To endure time
to get through

to get through

155 2.6
To reach someone by phone or message
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɛt θru/
translation icon : comunicarse con
  • I finally managed to get through to my friend after several failed attempts to call her.
  • get through by phone
  • callers get through
  • finally got through

We had also just got through on the radio the day before.

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Examples

  • Finally, he made the call and got through to Hocken's secretary.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • We had also just got through on the radio the day before.

    Theo Von Clips

  • "I need to hang up in case someone with a crisis is trying to get through."

    Fiction book (1998)

  • I think I might have gotten through to him.

    The Ant Bully (2006)

  • If Colin and I can get through this, then we can survive anything.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We've been trying to get through to you for over an hour.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • You stick with Chambo and I'll get you through this, all right?

  • I dove for the phone, dialed information for Wyoming, and got through to Wanda.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • It's difficult to get through to customers when the phone lines are so busy.

  • I couldn't get through to the helpline due to the high volume of calls.

Synonyms

to contact
vsto get through
∞ 2.5

To communicate with someone by phone or writing

focuses on actually succeeding in establishing communication not just the act
to reach
vsto get through
∞ 1.3

Make contact with someone by phone or email

emphasizes success by phone rather than listing channels
to get in touch
vsto get through
155 2.3

Contact someone after not talking for a while

is about succeeding in reaching someone now rather than reconnecting after absence
to make contact
vsto get through
113 2.8

To get in touch with someone after a time without talking

is focused on succeeding in reaching someone now not on initial introductions
to get hold of
vsto get through
36 3.0

To reach someone by phone or message

focuses especially on succeeding by phone or similar means

Antonyms

to miss
281 1.1

To not experience something bad that others have

How Reached

to reach
∞ 1.3
to get through
155 2.6
to speak to
∞ 1.7
to talk
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

get through infinitive
getting through present participle
gets through third person singular
got through past
got through past participle

Morphology

get + through

There is a clear compositional link: 'get' (reach/obtain) plus 'through' (across/past/finished) conveys the idea of passing, completing, or managing to pass a period or task, so a learner can often infer a basic sense. However, the specific range of meanings (finish a task, endure a difficult period, or succeed in contacting someone) are metaphorical extensions and not fully predictable from the parts without exposure.

Etymology

Get through may come from the picture of a voice or signal that gets through a busy phone line and finally reaches the other person, so it means 'to make contact'.