Phrasal verbs

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

To respect or obey a If you want to keep your job here, you

abide by
decision, a law or a rule must abide by our rules.

I hope you can account for the time you

account for To explain, give a reason
were out!

To make sense, seem

add up The facts in the case just dont add up.
reasonable

To recommend not doing I advise against walking alone in this

advise against
something neighborhood.

To have the same opinion I agree with you. I think you should go
agree with
as someone else. as well.

We need to allow for unexpected

allow for To take into consideration
charges along the way.

1. To plead or make a 1. He appealed to the court to

appeal to request change its decision.

2. To be attractive or 2. A vacation of sunbathing

interesting doesnt appeal to me.

To make a formal request

He applied for a scholarship for next
apply for for something (job, permit,
semester.
loan etc.)

To move backwards, in fear When he saw the bear, he backed

back away
or dislike away in fright.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

Local authorities backed down on their

back down To withdraw, concede defeat
threats to build on that part of the beach.

1. Im going to be very strict with

1. To give support or
him. I hope youll back me up on
encouragement
back up this?

2. To make a copy of
2. You should back up all your
(file, program, etc.)
computer files in a secure location.

To base your hopes on Im banking on you to help with the

bank on
something / someone charity event.

Jenna fell in the parking lot and blacked

black out To faint, lose consciousness
out.

The police blocked off the street after

block off To separate using a barrier.
the explosion.

1. Tommy blew up the red balloon.

1. To explode
blow up
2. Dont blow up at me. Its not my
2. To get angry
fault.

It all boils down to who has more

boil down to To be summarized as
power.

To start a computer by
You need to boot up your computer
boot up loading an operating system
before you begin to work.
or program

One of the wolves broke away from his

break away To separate from a crowd
pack.

break down
1. To go out of order, 1. The washing machine broke
cease to function down so we had to call in the repair
technician.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

2. To lose control of 2. John broke down when he

ones emotions heard the news.

break into To enter by force Burglars broke into my car last night.

Rioting broke out after the government

break out To start suddenly
raised the fuel prices again.

To escape from a place by

break out of Several prisoners broke out of jail.
force

To come to an end She broke up with Daniel after dating

break up
(marriage, relationship) him for five years.

Sara is bringing up her children by

bring up To raise (a child)
herself.

To improve, refresh ones I must brush up on my French before

brush up on
knowledge of something going to Paris next month.

To meet by chance or I bumped into Adam at the bank. He

bump into
unexpectedly says hello.

1. stop (something) 1. The light bulb burnt out. Please

working change it.
burn out

2. become exhausted 2. She needs to work fewer hours.

from over-working Otherwise she will burn out.

call back To return a phone call Could please call back in ten minutes?

The game was called off because of

call off To cancel
bad weather.

To become more relaxed, It took Kylie several hours to calm

calm down
less angry or upset down after she saw the accident.

The soldiers carried on walking in order

carry on To continue
to get to their post before dark.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

1. To do something as
specified (a plan, an 1. His orders were carried out to
order, a threat) the letter.
carry out

2. To perform or 2. That company does not carry

conduct (test, out tests on animals.
experiment)

To register at a hotel or They said I must check in at least three

check in
airport hours before my flight.

1. Donna checked out of the hotel

1. To pay ones bill and
this morning.
check out leave (a hotel)

2. I dont know if this price is

2. To investigate
correct. Ill check it out online.

When the police started asking

clam up To refuse to speak
questions, the suspect clammed up.

The local authorities have decided

To act strictly to prevent
clamp down on to clamp down on illegal parking in
something
handicapped parking places.

1. I was cleaning up and came

1. To find by chance across some old photos of you.
come across
2. To appear, seem, 2. The politician came across as a
make an impression complete fool during the TV
interview.

Has the owner of the winning lotto

come forward To present oneself
ticket come forward?

To rely or depend on (for You can count on me to keep your

count on
help) secret.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

Ive decided to cut down on the amount

cut down on To reduce in number or size
of sweets I eat.

1. To remove using 1. She cut out a coupon from the

scissors newspaper.
cut out

2. To stop doing 2. You need to cut out all red meat

something from your diet.

To handle, take care of Catherine is not good at dealing

deal with
(problem, situation) with stress.

After the storm died down, we went

To calm down, become less
die down outside to see the damage it had
strong
caused.

She didnt get a salary this month, so

do without To manage without
shell have to do without extra treats.

The suspects trial dragged on longer

drag on To last longer than expected
than we had expected!

To write (contract, They drew up a contract and had me

draw up
agreement, document) sign it.

Their wedding gave us a chance

dress up wear elegant clothes
to dress up and get out of the house.

To visit, usually on the way Why dont you drop in to see us on your
drop in
somewhere way home?

1. To deliver someone 1. Ill drop off the papers later

drop off or something today.

2. To fall asleep 2. I often drop off in front of the TV.

To leave school without Zack dropped out of college and joined

drop out
finishing the army.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

To reduce, become less

ease off severe or slow down (pain, Traffic usually eases off about 7pm
traffic, work)

To finish in a certain way;

end in Her marriage ended in divorce.
result in

To finally reach a state, If you dont improve your work habits,

end up
place or action youll end up being fired.

His plans to trek through South

fall through To fail; doesnt happen
America fell through when he got sick.

To understand, find the Hes trying to figure out how to earn

figure out
answer enough money to go on the trip to Spain.

To complete (a form/an Please fill out the enclosed form and

fill out
application) return it as soon as possible.

To discover or obtain Im going to to find out whos

find out
information responsible for the power cut.

To concentrate on Tom had difficultty focusing on work the

focus on
something day before his holiday started.

get along To be on good terms; work Its important to get along with your
(with) well with team supervisor.

What are you getting at? Do you think

get at To imply
Im to blame?

I think we should get away for the

get away To escape
weekend.

To manage to cope or to Students without jobs have a hard

get by
survive time getting by.

get in To enter When did you get in last night?

get into How did you get into your car without
To enter
(+noun) the keys?

get off
1. To leave (bus, train, 1. You should get off the train in
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

Kings Heath.
plane)

2. I cant get the ink stain off my

2. To remove
shirt.

get on To board (bus, train, plane) Im trying to get on the flight to Brussels.

get on with To continue to do; make After they split up, she had a hard
(something) progress time getting on with her life.

get on (well)
To have a good relationship He doesnt get on very well with the
with
with other members of the committee.
(somebody)

He had a hard time getting out of

get out To leave
Newark because of the snow?

Ednas trying to get out of working the

get out of To avoid doing something
night shift.

To recover from (illness,

get over Has she gotten over the flu?
disappointment)

To recover from (illness, Mary had the chickenpox last week but
get over
disappointment) she got over it.

Please get rid of that old t-shirt. Its so

get rid of To eliminate
ragged.

Lets get together for your birthday on

get together To meet each other
Saturday.

Will you please get up? Youve got a

get up To rise, leave bed
class in 20 minutes.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

1. To cease opposition;
1. We will never give in to the
yield
give in terrorists demands.

2. To To hand in;
2. Ill give in my paper tomorrow.
submit

give up To stop doing something Morris gave up drinking 10 years ago.

Andy went through a lot of pain after

go through To experience
his mother died.

To spend ones childhood; Hes like Peter Pan. He never

grow up
develop; become an adult really grew up at all.

To submit (report, Please hand in your papers before

hand in
homework) Friday.

Susan volunteered at the shelter where

hand out To distribute
she handed out warm clothes.

To spend time in a particular

Which pub does the team hang out at
hang out place or with a group of
after the game?
friends

To end a phone If you hang up now, Ill never speak to

hang up
conversation you again.

1. Please hold on and a

representative will answer your call.
1. To wait
hold on
2. She was so scared on the
2. To grip tightly
rollercoaster ride that she held
on for dear life.

Hurry up and finish your lunch or well

hurry up To be quick, act speedily
miss the train.

To resolve by discussion, The two countries met at the conference

iron out
eliminate differences to iron out their differences.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

Yes David, you can join in the

join in To participate
discussion any time you like.

1. There was a war on, so some

1. To engage in,
kids were only sixteen when
become a member of
join up they joined up.

2. To meet and unite

2. Lets separate now and join
with
up later at the restaurant.

To continue doing If you keep on making that noise I will

keep on
something get annoyed.

To stay at the same level as I read the paper every day to keep up
keep up with
someone or something with the news.

kick off To begin, start The rugby match kicked off at 3 oclock.

Please check your form again and make

leave out To omit, not mention
sure nothing is left out.

I feel so let down because they

let down To disappoint promised me a puppy but all I got was a
doll.

Andy can you look after your sister until

look after To take care of
I get back?

Shes such a snob. She always looks

look down on To consider as inferior
down on anyone who is poor.

To be a spectator at an If you dont want to take part in the game

look on
event you can look on for now.

Harry went to the shop to look for a new

look for To try to find something
computer.

To await or anticipate with Im looking forward to my birthday. Its

look forward to
pleasure in two days time.

look up to To admire I always looked up to my father. He was

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

a great man.

To laugh at/ make jokes Its not nice to make fun of people in
make fun of
about wheelchairs.

Thats a good excuse. Did you make

make up To invent (excuse, story)
up it up yourself?

To mistake one thing or She had so many cats that she

mix up
person for another kept mixing up their names.

To arrive in a new home or Did you hear? Our new neighbors

move in
office are moving in this afternoon.

To leave your home/office When are you moving out? We need

move out
for another one. your office for the new guy.

You were so tired after the game that

nod off To fall asleep
you nodded off on the couch.

To admit or confess
own up Come on. Own up. We know you did it!
something

Your grandfather passed

pass away To die
away peacefully in his sleep last night.

He didnt drink enough water so

pass out To faint
he passed out at the end of the race.

Ill pay you back as soon as I get the

pay back To reimburse
loan.

To postpone, arrange a later Dont put off until tomorrow, what you
put off
date can do today.

Its very dark in here. Please put on the

put on To turn on, switch on
light on.

The fire fighters were able to put out fire

put out To extinguish
in ten minutes.

To accommodate, give I can put you up until the weekend but

put up
somebody a bed then Im going away.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

Ill pick you up at around 7:00 to take

pick up To collect somebody
you to the airport.

To indicate/direct attention As I already pointed out, there was a

point out
to something mistake in your calculation.

To count on, depend on, You can rely on me. I always arrive on
rely on
trust time.

Since he had a sound alibi, the

rule out To eliminate
police ruled him out as a suspect.

To escape from a place or He ran away from home and joined the
run away
suddenly leave circus.

To meet by accident or
Im so glad I ran into you. I need to ask
run into unexpectedly (also: bump
you something.
into)

To have no more of Weve run out of milk. Ill just pop next
run out of
something. door to borrow some.

Lets set off early to miss the rush hour

set off To start a journey;
traffic.

They set up their own company when

set up To start a business
they were still in high school.

Dont buy that. Lets shop around and

shop around To compare prices
see if we can find something cheaper.

To brag or want to be Hes such a show off. He has to tell

show off
admired everybody about his new computer.

I dont think shell show up tonight. Her

show up To appear/arrive
daughter is sick.

shut up
To be silent, stop talking Shut up, youre spoiling the movie!
(impolite)

I think you should sit down. Its bad

sit down To take a seat
news.

stand up To rise from a sitting The whole stadium stood up for the
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

position national anthem.

My big brother always stuck up for me

stick up for To defend
when I got into a fight.

To resemble, in appearance Angie really takes after her

take after
or character grandmother.

Please take care of my cat when Im

take care of To look after
away.

The plane will take off as soon as the

take off To leave the ground
fog lifts.

I hear theyre taking on extra staff for

take on To hire or engage staff
this event.

Please take out your mobile phones and

take out To remove; extract
turn them off.

To reprimand/criticize The coach told her off for not trying

tell off
severely hard enough.

Take your time and think it over before

think over To consider
you decide.

To wear something to see if

try on Go ahead, try it on and see if it fits?
it suits or fits

I asked her out but

turn down To refuse
she turned me down flat.

To finish a product (so that

use up Your parents used up all the coffee!
theres none left)

watch out To be careful Watch out! Theres a dog in the road.

1. To become 1. Julie wore out her shoes

unusable running the marathons.
wear out

2. To become very 2. Julie was worn out after all that

tired running.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

1. To do physical 1. You should work out twice a

exercise week at the gym.
work out

2. To find a solution or 2. Can you work this out? Im no

calculate something good at math.

wipe off To clean (board, table). Ill wash up if you wipe off the table.