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.

“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

“Really get serious about trying to maintain the media that is still around that has a commitment for centering communities that are never going to get the kind of coverage that they deserve.”

From Salon • Nov. 16, 2025

“But before we go, we wanted to get serious for a minute and say that, to be honest, climate change never really mattered to us much before.”

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

get serious

Example Sentences

Related Words