Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To communicate successfully; to make something understood: To convey a message, idea, or information so that it is clearly received and comprehended by someone else.
   • To cause to cross or traverse: To move something or someone from one side to the other of a physical obstacle like a road, river, or space.

2. Verb (intransitive):

   • To become clear or understood: For a message, idea, or feeling to be successfully received and comprehended by others.
   • To cross over; to traverse: To go from one side to the other of a physical space or barrier.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (transitive):

  • The teacher used simple diagrams to get the complex concept across to the students.
  • We helped get the supplies across the river.

• Verb (intransitive):

  • His main point didn't get across during the noisy meeting.
  • It's dangerous to get across this highway on foot.

Advanced Usage

• "to get one's meaning/point across": To successfully communicate one's intended message or argument.

  • She struggled to get her point across to the skeptical audience.

• "to get it across to someone that...": To make someone understand a specific fact or situation.

  • I need to get it across to him that we are running out of time.

Variants and Related Words

• Communicate (v): To share or exchange information, news, or ideas. (A more general synonym for the 'make understood' sense).
• Convey (v): To transport or carry to a place; to communicate an idea or feeling.
• Cross (v): To go or extend across from one side to another. (A core synonym for the physical movement sense).

Synonyms

• Put over (phrasal verb): To communicate an idea successfully.
• Get through (phrasal verb): To succeed in making someone understand something.
• Traverse (v): To travel across or through.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Come across (as): To make a particular impression on others.

  • He comes across as very confident. (This is different from 'get across', which focuses on the act of communicating, not the impression made.)

• Get over: To recover from something; to overcome a problem or difficulty.

  • It took her weeks to get over the flu. (This is distinct and should not be confused with 'get across').

Related Idioms

• Get the message across: To ensure a communication is understood. This is a fixed phrase using the target phrasal verb.
  • The public health campaign finally got the message across about the importance of vaccination.

Verb

1. travel across or pass over
   • The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day
2. become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
   • It dawned on him that she had betrayed him
   • she was penetrated with sorrow
3. communicate successfully
   • I couldn't get across the message
   • He put over the idea very well