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gotta
[ got-uh ]
- got to; have got to:
I can’t stay—I gotta get up early tomorrow.
- got a; have got a:
Hey, man, gotta light?
gotta
/ ˈɡɒə /
verb
- got to
Usage Note
Word History and Origins
Origin of gotta1
Example Sentences
Anybody that’s partied at my house and they’re like, “’s the passcode? Gotta change the music.”
“Just gotta do a better job of standing in front of the ball,” Finney-Smith said.
“I feel like we were just giving up too many blow-bys, and it really ain’t had nothing to do with our size. It was just on-base defense and rotations outside of when we gotta scramble. I feel like we didn’t have the sense of urgency the whole game, and they did.”
With HBO supporting the production, America Ferrera, then 17, was cast as Ana — her biggest film role yet, after appearing in Disney sports comedy “Gotta Kick It Up!”
“You gotta make smart decisions, calculated decisions, trying to build your roster as deep as you can going into the draft,” Hortiz said, “so you can sit there, kind of let the draft come to you and pick the best player available.”
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More About Gotta
doesdzٳٲmean?
Gotta is an informal shortening of the phrase got to, as in My ride is here, so I gotta go.
A past tense form of the verb get, got is used informally to mean “must” or “have got.” To is used to mark an infinitive verb, as in to run, to read, or to sing. Together, the informal got to means “have to“ or “need to.”
In informal language, speakers will shorten got to to gotta. You can use it to mean “must” or “have to,” as in I gotta get an A on the next test to pass the course.
Gotta is also an informal shortening for got a, meaning “have.” If you’re thirsty, you might ask your friends, Anybody gotta bottle of water?
Some other similar shortenings include wanna (“want to,” “want a”), gonna (“going to”), hafta (“have to”), lemme (“let me”), kinda (“kind of”), and dunno (“don’t know”).
Example: Well I gotta go soon, so why don’t I start packing up?
Where does dzٳٲcome from?
The first records of the term gotta come from around the 1880s. Originally, the shortening was spelled gotter but was said without the r sound in British English dialects. The spelling was eventually changed to represent the pronunciation.
Did you know ... ?
How isdzٳٲused in real life?
Gotta is commonly used in informal speaking and writing.
It's gotta be you, only you. It's gotta be you, only you
— One Direction (@onedirection)
sometimes you gotta close a door to open the window
— T (@tylerthecreator)
Try usinggotta!
Which of the following is NOT a synonym for gotta?
A. got to
B. need to
C. used to
D. have to
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