What does give as good as one gets mean?

give as good as one gets

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.05 in modern English

Syllables: give as -good as one gets
IPA

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To behave toward others in a manner resembling or commensurate with their behavior towards oneself, especially in a situation where one is insulted or otherwise ill-treated.

Example Sentences

"On balance, it was harsh on Hearts, who had given as good as they got against their more-fancied opponents, who, despite not being at full strength, fielded a multi-million pound team."
"The Foreign Correspondents Association's annual banquet last week turned into an angry slanging match. Botha gave as good as he got. "I am sick and tired of a lot of foreign representatives descending on my country and picking up on all the dirty work instead of all the beauty, promise and goodwill," Botha said."

Inflected Forms

gives as good as one gets (present, singular) giving as good as one gets (participle, present) gave as good as one got (past) given as good as one got (participle, past)

Phrases

stick up for oneself as good as it gets give someone a run for their money give someone a taste of their own medicine pay back in someone's own coin pay back in kind

Frequently Paired Words