phrasal verb · neutral
get behind
/ɡet bɪˈhaɪnd/get be·HIND
to fall behind schedule or fail to keep up with work or responsibilities
Examples
“She got behind with her coursework after she had to care for her sick mother.”
“If you get behind on rent, you could face penalties.”
“Try not to get behind in your revision during the exam period.”
Band 8 sentence
“I got behind on my coursework after taking a week off, so I organised a strict study plan to catch up.”
Collocations
- get behind on sth / get behind in sth
- get behind with your homework
Word family
Common mistakes
I got behind homework last week.→I got behind on my homework last week.
I am behind my homework now.→I am behind on my homework now.
Say it for a higher band
5fall behind→6be behind→7+get behind
Synonyms
fall behind
lag behind
Easily confused
fall behind
“After missing classes, he began to fall behind in his studies.”
get ahead
“She worked overtime to get ahead of her classmates.”
Related words
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In get …
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