Get Together vs. Get-together – Which is Correct?

Both get together and get-together are correct, but they serve different grammatical roles. Use get together as a verb phrase meaning meet or unite, and get-together as a noun for an informal social gathering. The hyphen helps signal the noun. Choose the form that matches your sentence’s grammar and meaning.

A similar distinction appears in Getaway vs. Get Away, where spacing also changes the word’s grammatical role.

Get Together or Get-Together – Which is Correct?

Get together and get-together are both valid forms in American English, but they are not interchangeable in every sentence. Get together is usually a verb phrase that describes people meeting, joining, or becoming united. Get-together is a compound noun referring to an informal meeting or social event.

The difference is similar to the distinction between an action and an event. In “Let’s get together next week,” the words describe an action. In “We are hosting a get-together next week,” the hyphenated form names the event itself.

The Best Trick to Remember the Difference

Use the action-versus-event test. If the sentence answers the question “What are people doing?” use get together. If it answers “What is the event called?” use get-together.

Try replacing the expression with meet or party. If meet fits, choose get together. If party or gathering fits, choose get-together.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Example
get together	Verb phrase	To meet, unite, or gather	Let’s get together for lunch.
get-together	Noun	An informal social gathering	The office held a holiday get-together.

How to Use Get Together

Get together functions primarily as a phrasal verb. It can mean to meet socially, arrange a meeting, collaborate, or join physically or emotionally. The phrase is common in casual conversation, friendly messages, workplace discussions, and informal writing.

When it refers to meeting, it may be followed by a time, place, or purpose. It can also appear with a subject such as we, they, or the teams. In some contexts, get together means reconcile or form a relationship, as in “The two groups got together to solve the problem.”

Example 1: My cousins plan to get together during the holidays.

Example 2: Can we get together tomorrow to discuss the proposal?

Example 3: The two departments got together to create a shared schedule.

What are the different forms of Get Together?

The phrase changes according to the tense and subject of the verb get. In standard American English, the principal forms of get are get, got, and gotten, although got is also used in some perfect constructions. The participle form is getting.

• Present: We get together every Friday.
• Third-person singular: She gets together with her classmates.
• Past: They got together last weekend.
• Present participle: We are getting together after work.
• Perfect form: The friends have gotten together several times this month.

When get together means “meet,” it is commonly followed by with: “I got together with my former colleagues.” When it means “unite” or “collaborate,” it can be followed by an expression such as to discuss or to solve.

Etymology of the Word Get Together

Get comes from Old Norse and entered Middle English with meanings related to obtaining, acquiring, or reaching. Together developed from Old English words meaning “in one place” or “with one another.” The modern phrasal verb get together evolved naturally from the meanings “bring or come into one place” and “unite.”

How to Use Get-Together

Get-together is a compound noun for an informal social gathering. It often refers to a small or relaxed event involving friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, or members of a group. It is less formal than terms such as conference, reception, or ceremony.

The noun can appear after an article or other determiner, including a, the, our, and this. Because it is countable, its plural form is usually get-togethers.

Example 1: We are having a small get-together at our house.

Example 2: The neighborhood get-together will begin at six o’clock.

Example 3: She organized a farewell get-together for her colleague.

What are the different forms of Get-Together?

Get-together is a countable compound noun. Its singular form is get-together, and its plural form is get-togethers. The plural ending is added to the final word, just as in many other compound nouns.

• Singular: We planned a get-together.
• Plural: The club hosts monthly get-togethers.
• With a modifier: They attended a family get-together.

The hyphen is especially useful when the expression appears as a noun. In casual writing, some people use get together without a hyphen as a noun, but get-together clearly identifies the expression as a compound noun and is the safest choice in edited writing.

Etymology of the Word Get-Together

Get-together was formed from the phrasal verb get together. English commonly creates nouns from verb phrases by combining the words, sometimes with a hyphen. The noun preserves the original idea of people coming together in one place for a social or cooperative purpose.

Related Concepts

Understanding parts of speech and compound-word punctuation makes the difference between these expressions easier to recognize.

• Phrasal verbs: A phrasal verb combines a verb with another word, often an adverb or preposition, to create a meaning that functions as a verb. Get together is a phrasal verb.
• Compound nouns: A compound noun combines two or more words to name a person, place, thing, or idea. Get-together is a compound noun.
• Hyphenation: Hyphens can join words that work together as one grammatical unit. In get-together, the hyphen helps readers recognize a single noun.
• Context clues: The surrounding grammar often reveals the correct form. Articles such as a or the commonly signal that get-together is being used as a noun.

Examples from Media and Literature

Both forms appear naturally in entertainment, journalism, workplace communication, and everyday storytelling. The surrounding sentence determines whether the expression describes an action or names an event.

• Song and popular culture: “Get Together” has been used as a title for songs and public events, where the unhyphenated form emphasizes the action of gathering or uniting.
• Fiction: A novel might describe characters who “get together after years apart,” using the phrase as a verb to show that the characters meet again.
• Family drama: A story may mention “a family get-together,” using the hyphenated noun to identify the gathering as an event.
• News reporting: A local news article might report that community members will “get together to discuss safety,” using the verb phrase for the meeting activity.
• Workplace communication: An office announcement may invite employees to “a casual get-together,” using the compound noun for the social occasion.

Practice Exercises

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

1. Let’s ______ after the meeting to review the results.
2. The department is planning a summer ______ for its employees.
3. Our old classmates try to ______ once a year.
4. They invited everyone to a weekend ______ at the park.
5. The two organizations will ______ to support the community project.

Answer Key

1. get together
2. get-together
3. get together
4. get-together
5. get together

Get Together Synonyms

Synonym	Definition
Meet	To come into the same place or spend time with someone.
Gather	To come together in a group or location.
Assemble	To come together, often for an organized purpose.
Unite	To join people or groups into one collective effort.
Reunite	To meet again after being separated.

Get-Together Synonyms

Synonym	Definition
Gathering	An occasion when people come together.
Social	An informal event for meeting and socializing.
Party	A social event, often held for entertainment or celebration.
Reunion	A gathering of people who have been separated or have not met recently.
Reception	A formal or semi-formal social event held to welcome or honor people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Is “get together” one word?
No. When it functions as a verb phrase, it is written as two words: get together. When it functions as a noun meaning an informal gathering, it is commonly written with a hyphen: get-together.

Question 2: Is “get-together” always hyphenated?
The hyphenated form is the clearest and most widely accepted choice when the expression is a noun. For example, write “We attended a get-together.” Style preferences can vary in highly informal writing, but the hyphen avoids ambiguity.

Question 3: What is the plural of “get-together”?
The plural is get-togethers. The plural ending is added to the final word: “The organization holds several get-togethers each year.”

Conclusion

Get together and get-together are both correct, but get together is a verb phrase for meeting or uniting, while get-together is a noun for an informal social event. Pro Tip: Using the correct grammatical form demonstrates attention to detail and strengthens your professional reputation.