get someone's back up
"get-someone-s-back-up" is a 17-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“get someone's back up” 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
- 21
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To annoy or anger someone.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | get someone's back up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 21 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “get someone's back up” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for get someone's back up is 21 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. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To annoy or anger someone.".
Zero misspellings are on record for get someone's back up in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is get someone's back up, spelled G-E-T- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -B-A-C-K- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To annoy or anger someone.
Synonyms
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
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Using “get someone's back up”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-E-T- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -B-A-C-K- -U-P - 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.