phrasal verb · neutral
get the message
UK/ɡet ðə ˈmesɪdʒ/US/ɡet ðə ˈmɛsɪdʒ/get the MES·sage
to understand what someone is trying to say, especially indirectly or by hint
Examples
“He didn't reply — I guess he got the message and knows I'm upset.”
“I dropped hints about being busy, but she still didn't get the message.”
“When the teacher frowned, everyone got the message to be quiet.”
Band 8 sentence
“She didn't reply to my invitation, so I took the silence as a sign she had got the message and wasn't interested.”
Collocations
- get the message + that-clause
- drop hints so someone gets the message
Word family
Common mistakes
get message→get the message
understand the message→get the message
Say it for a higher band
5understand→6take the hint→7+get the message
Synonyms
catch on
take the hint
Easily confused
get the picture
“After he explained the budget cuts, I finally got the picture.”
Related words
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