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get serious

VERB
buckle down
Synonyms
WEAK
address apply oneself attend to bend concentrate on dedicate oneself to devote oneself to exert oneself give give oneself over to keep close to keep one's mind on knuckle down launch into occupy oneself with pitch in plunge into put one's hand to the plow put one's nose to the grindstone set to swing into action take the bull by the horns throw turn
Antonyms
WEAK
be lazy ignore relax

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

So when does it start to get serious?

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

“They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is no turning back,” he added.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

After graduating from high school, Russell suffered an injury and decided to put down the baseball bat and get serious about acting.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 26, 2026

To get serious about closing the skills gap, we need to close the funding gap.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

“Let them get serious about helping us win this war, and we’ll clue them in. Look, I really have to get back.”

From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

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