get under someone's skin

verb

"get-under-someone-s-skin" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“get under someone's skin” 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
24
letters

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

Key facts for get under someone's skin
PropertyValue
Headwordget under someone's skin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “get under someone's skin” sits in English frequency

get under someone's skin 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 under someone's skin is 24 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 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for get under someone's skin in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is get under someone's skin, spelled G-E-T- -U-N-D-E-R- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -S-K-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To irritate someone.
  2. 2
    To make a memorable impression or have a strong effect on someone; to impact someone's feelings, especially when such an effect is not expected or wanted.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "get under someone's skin"?
"get under someone's skin" is spelled G-E-T- -U-N-D-E-R- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -S-K-I-N.
What does "get under someone's skin" mean?
As a verb, "get under someone's skin" means: To irritate someone.
What language does "get under someone's skin" come from?
"get under someone's skin" 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 under someone's skin”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is G-E-T- -U-N-D-E-R- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E-'-S- -S-K-I-N - 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