GET THE BETTER OF • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Get the better of

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/gɛt ðə bˈɛtər əv/ Listen

verb

Get v. t. (past got, obs. gat; past part. got or gotten; pres. part. getting)

1.

To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of; to acquire; to earn; to obtain as a price or reward; to come by; to win, by almost any means; as, to get favor by kindness; to get wealth by industry and economy; to get land by purchase, etc.

2.

Hence, with have and had, to come into or be in possession of; to have. "Thou hast got the face of man."

3.

To beget; to procreate; to generate. "I had rather to adopt a child than get it."

4.

To obtain mental possession of; to learn; to commit to memory; to memorize; as to get a lesson; also with out; as, to get out one's Greek lesson. "It being harder with him to get one sermon by heart, than to pen twenty."

5.

To prevail on; to induce; to persuade. "Get him to say his prayers."

6.

To procure to be, or to cause to be in any state or condition; with a following participle. "Those things I bid you do; get them dispatched."

7.

To betake; to remove; in a reflexive use. "Get thee out from this land." "He... got himself... to the strong town of Mega." Note: Get, as a transitive verb, is combined with adverbs implying motion, to express the causing to, or the effecting in, the object of the verb, of the kind of motion indicated by the preposition; thus, to get in, to cause to enter, to bring under shelter; as, to get in the hay; to get out, to make come forth, to extract; to get off, to take off, to remove; to get together, to cause to come together, to collect.

To get by heart, to commit to memory.

To get the better of, To get the best of, to obtain an advantage over; to surpass; to subdue.

To get up, to cause to be established or to exit; to prepare; to arrange; to construct; to invent; as, to get up a celebration, a machine, a book, an agitation.

Synonyms: To obtain; gain; win; acquire. See Obtain.

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Etymology of 'Get the better of'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Get the better of" Quotes from Famous Books

... same in regard to controlling your temper. But there is one truth of which I can assure you: If you will learn to be silent and not speak at all when you feel that your temper is getting or has gotten the better of you, you will soon get the better of your temper. There is no such efficient discipline for a hasty temper as determined, self-imposed silence. Then, too, there is a dignity about silence under provocation that is impressive and effective. The greatest disadvantage at which any person can be placed in the ...

— Letters to a Daughter and A Little Sermon to School Girls • Helen Ekin Starrett

... sheep-stealers still increasing notwithstanding the late executions, it was deemed necessary to pursue some other steps to get the better of this evil; and a proclamation was read in church on Sunday the 15th, preparatory to issuing a process of outlawry against these public depredators, whom all persons were commanded to aid and assist ...

— An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Vol. 2 • David Collins

... man? It was not Pilate. We no more expected Pilate than we expected Judas. Pilate had had his chance at Jesus. Pilate had had an opportunity of knowing, of befriending Him, of serving Him. But Pilate had allowed his own interests to get the better of his conscience. Pilate had chosen the friendship of Caesar and had spurned the friendship of the King Eternal. So we did not expect Pilate to be present in this little company of the friends of Jesus who met on the resurrection side of the cross. Who was the missing ...

— Sermons on Biblical Characters • Clovis G. Chappell

... connected with the canal. Yule soon became so accustomed to the din as to be undisturbed by the noise, but the unpunctuality and carelessness of the native workmen sorely tried his patience, of which Nature had endowed him with but a small reserve. Vexed with himself for letting temper so often get the better of him, Yule's conscientious mind devised a characteristic remedy. Each time that he lost his temper, he transferred a fine of two rupees (then about five shillings) from his right to his left pocket. When about to leave Roorkee, he devoted this accumulation of self-imposed fines to the erection ...

— The Travels of Marco Polo Volume 1 • Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa

... afterwards used to show his ear-to-ear scar with considerable satisfaction. Some people might have objected to the escape of the bear, but I confess that I did not grudge him the victory he had earned so well, and we consoled ourselves further with the reflection that we would get the better of him next time. Before concluding the subject of bears, I may give another incident which was rather amusing, and the narration of which may be of use as illustrating one or two points which are worthy of notice, and ...

— Gold, Sport, And Coffee Planting In Mysore • Robert H. Elliot

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