get hold of

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"get-hold-of" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“get hold of” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To obtain.

Key facts for get hold of
PropertyValue
Headwordget hold of
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “get hold of” sits in English frequency

get hold of falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for get hold of is 11 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for get hold of in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is get hold of, spelled G-E-T- -H-O-L-D- -O-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To obtain.
  2. 2
    To pick up or grab.
  3. 3
    To contact (a person).
  4. 4
    To control or stabilize (oneself).

This word in other languages

erreichen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "get hold of"?
"get hold of" is spelled G-E-T- -H-O-L-D- -O-F.
What does "get hold of" mean?
As a verb, "get hold of" means: To obtain.
What language does "get hold of" come from?
"get hold of" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “get hold of”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-E-T- -H-O-L-D- -O-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list