get on someone's nerves

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

Who d'ya really hate who really gets on your nerves?
I don't mean to be horrible or anything but he really gets on my nerves!

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.

Common questions

What does “get on someone's nerves” mean?

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Is “get on someone's nerves” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.