get wind
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (phrasal verb): * To become aware of information, especially news or a secret, often indirectly or by chance.
Usage
This phrasal verb is used to describe the moment someone hears or discovers a piece of information, typically something that was not widely known or was meant to be secret. It implies the information comes to the person, rather than them actively seeking it out.
Examples
- How did the press get wind of the celebrity's wedding plans? (How did the press find out about the plans?)
- If management gets wind of this mistake, there will be serious consequences. (If management hears about this mistake...)
- I just got wind that the company is planning major layoffs next month. (I just found out that...)
Advanced Usage
- The structure is typically "get wind of [something]" or "get wind that [clause]".
- It often carries a nuance that the information is spreading unofficially, through gossip, leaks, or rumor.
Variants and Related Words
- Get a whiff of: An idiom with a similar meaning, using the metaphor of smelling something in the air.
- The investors got a whiff of the financial trouble and pulled out.
Synonyms
- Learn: To gain knowledge of a fact.
- Find out: To discover a fact or piece of information.
- Hear: To be told or informed about something.
- Discover: To find something unexpectedly.
Related Idioms
- Hear it through the grapevine: To hear news indirectly through informal channels or gossip.
- I heard it through the grapevine that they're dating.
Verb
- get to know or become aware of, usually accidentally
- I learned that she has two grown-up children
- I see that you have been promoted