get someone's goat
/ˌɡɛt ˈsʌmwʌnz ˈɡəʊt/
"get-someone-s-goat" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“get someone's goat” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 18
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To annoy or infuriate someone.
Corpus desk
Index EN-get-someone-s-goat · get someone's goat · English
get someone's goat · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 18 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "G" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | get someone's goat |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˌɡɛt ˈsʌmwʌnz ˈɡəʊt/ |
| Letters | 18 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “get someone's goat” in English
Rare enough to double-check
get someone's goat is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌɡɛt ˈsʌmwʌnz ˈɡəʊt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To annoy or infuriate someone.".
Zero misspellings are on record for get someone's goat in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain; it has been suggested that the term may be derived from French prendre la chèvre (literally “to take the goat”), or refer to the stealing of a goat mascot from a military unit, etc. The correct English form is get someone's goat, spelled G-E-T- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -G-O-A-T.
Definition
- 1To annoy or infuriate someone.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how get someone's goat appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It really gets my goat when inconsiderate people drop litter in public.
If he had legged it on his own account, because what he heard me say got his goat, I could understand that.
Etymology
Uncertain; it has been suggested that the term may be derived from French prendre la chèvre (literally “to take the goat”), or refer to the stealing of a goat mascot from a military unit, etc.
This word in other languages
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.