Alternative forms

• get a hold of
• get ahold of (sometimes proscribed)
• get hold on
• get a hold on

Verb

get hold of (third-person singular simple present gets hold of, present participle getting hold of, simple past got hold of, past participle (UK) got hold of or (US) gotten hold of)Category:English lemmas#GETHOLDOFCategory:English verbs#GETHOLDOFCategory:English multiword terms#GETHOLDOFCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#GETHOLDOFCategory:Pages with entries#GET%20HOLD%20OFCategory:Pages with 1 entry#GET%20HOLD%20OF

1. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#GETHOLDOF) To obtain.
   • 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, pages 54–55:

     However, a Carlisle newspaper got hold of the story, and at the half-yearly meeting of the Caledonian Railway Company, held on March 17, 1863, a shareholder, Mr. Meiklem, questioned the Chairman, Lt.-Col. Salkeld, regarding a "Chase of Engines," described in the newspaper article. The Chairman admitted that the statements made in the article were perfectly true.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GETHOLDOF

   • 1987, Withnail and I:

     Withnail: I want to stop and get hold of a child.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GETHOLDOF

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
2. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#GETHOLDOF) To pick up or grab.
   • 1987, Withnail and I:

     I: Now get hold of that map.

     Category:English terms with quotations#GETHOLDOF

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
3. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#GETHOLDOF) To contact (a person).

   Get hold of John and tell him the meeting's been canceled.Category:English terms with usage examples#GETHOLDOF

4. (transitiveCategory:English transitive verbs#GETHOLDOF) To control or stabilize (oneself).

   Get hold of yourself!Category:English terms with usage examples#GETHOLDOF

Further reading

• “get hold of”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.