Definition

Verb: 1. To take revenge or obtain retribution: To inflict harm or unpleasantness on someone because they have previously inflicted harm or unpleasantness on you, with the aim of making things equal or "even." 2. To equalize a score or situation: To bring a competitive score or a state of advantage/disadvantage back to a level position.

Usage and Examples

• Taking Revenge:
  • After being embarrassed in the meeting, he was determined to get even.
  • She vowed to get even with the person who spread the rumor.
• Equalizing a Score:
  • The team scored just before halftime to get even at 1-1.
  • He paid for my lunch yesterday, so I'll buy coffee today to get even.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• The phrase often implies a negative or retaliatory context when referring to revenge. It suggests a desire to balance a perceived wrong.
• The construction is almost always "get even with [someone]" when referring to revenge.
• In sports or games, it is used intransitively to describe the state of the score.

Variants and Related Words

• Even (verb): To make level or equal.
• Get back at (phrasal verb): A close synonym for the revenge meaning of "get even."

Synonyms

• Retaliate: To make an attack or assault in return for a similar attack.
• Pay back: To return punishment or injury to (someone who has harmed one).
• Square accounts: To settle a debt or grievance.
• Equalize: To make things equal in score or status.

Related Phrasal Verbs and Idioms

• Get even with: The standard construction for expressing revenge against a specific person or group.
  • He spent years plotting to get even with his former partner.
• Even the score: An idiom with identical meaning, focusing on the act of making things equal, often through retaliation.
  • The article was written to even the score for the earlier criticism.

Verb

1. take revenge or even out a score
   • I cannot accept the defeat--I want to get even
2. compensate; make the score equal