phrasal v.docx

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This list shows about 200 common phrasal verbs, with meanings andexamples. Only the most usual meanings are given. Some phrasal verbsmay have additional meanings.

As well as learning their meanings, you need to learn how to use phrasal

verbs properly. Some phrasal verbs require a direct object(someone/something), while others do not. Some phrasal verbs can beseparated by the object, while others cannot. Review thisphrasal verbsgrammarfrom time to time so that you don't forget the rules!

Verb Meaning Example

asksomeoneout invite on a date Brian asked Judy out todinner and a movie.

ask around ask manypeople thesame question

I asked around butnobody has seen my wallet.

add up tosomething equal Your purchases add upto $205.32.

backsomethingup reverse You'll have to back up yourcar so that I can get out.

backsomeoneup support Mywife backed me up overmy decision to quit my job.

blow up explode The racing car blewup after it crashed into thefence.

blowsomethingup add air We have to blow 50balloons up for the party.

break down stop functioning(vehicle,machine)

Our car broke down at theside of the highway in thesnowstorm.

break down get upset The woman brokedown when the police toldher that her son had died.

breaksomethingdown divide intosmaller parts

Our teacher broke the finalproject downinto threeseparate parts.

break in force entry to abuilding

Somebody broke in lastnight and stole our stereo.
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2/17

break intosomething enter forcibly The firemen had to breakinto the room to rescue thechildren.

breaksomethingin wear something

a few times sothat it doesn'tlook/feel new

I need to break these

shoes in before we runnext week.

break in interrupt The TV station broke in toreport the news of thepresident's death.

break up end arelationship

My boyfriend and I brokeup before I moved toAmerica.

break up start laughing(informal)

The kids just broke up assoon as the clown startedtalking.

break out escape The prisoners broke out ofjail when the guardsweren't looking.

break out insomething develop a skincondition

I broke out in a rash afterour camping trip.

bringsomeonedown make unhappy This sad musicis bringing me down.

bringsomeoneup raise a child Mygrandparents brought meup after my parents died.

bringsomethingup start talkingabout a subject

My mother walks out of theroom when myfather brings up sports.

bringsomethingup vomit He drank so much thathe brought hisdinner up in the toilet.

call around phone manydifferentplaces/people

We called around but weweren't able to find the carpart we needed.

callsomeoneback return a phonecall

I called thecompany back but the

offices were closed for the


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weekend.

callsomethingoff cancel Jason called thewedding offbecause hewasn't in love with his

fianc.

call onsomeone ask for ananswer oropinion

The professor called on mefor question 1.

call onsomeone visit someone We called on you lastnight but you weren'thome.

callsomeoneup phone Give me your phone

number and Iwillcall you up when weare in town.

calm down relax afterbeing angry

You are still mad. You needto calm down before youdrive the car.

not careforsomeone/something

not like(formal)

I don't care for hisbehaviour.

catch up get to the samepoint assomeone else

You'll have to run fasterthan that if you wantto catch up with Marty.

check in arrive andregister at ahotel or airport

We will get the hotel keyswhen wecheck in.

check out leave a hotel You have to check out ofthe hotel before 11:00 AM.

checksomeone/somethingout

look atcarefully,investigate

The company checksout all new employees.

checkoutsomeone/something

look at(informal)

Check out the crazy hairon that guy!

cheer up become happier She cheered up when sheheard the good news.

cheersomeoneup make happier I brought you some flowers

to cheer youup.


4/17

chip in help If everyone chips in wecan get the kitchen paintedby noon.

cleansomethingup tidy, clean Please clean up your

bedroom before you gooutside.

come acrosssomething findunexpectedly

I came across these oldphotos when I was tidyingthe closet.

come apart separate The top and bottom comeapart if you pull hardenough.

come downwithsomething

become sick My nephew came downwith chicken pox thisweekend.

come forward volunteer for atask or to giveevidence

The woman cameforward with herhusband's finger prints.

come fromsomewhere originate in The art of origami comesfrom Asia.

countonsomeone/something

rely on I am counting on you tomake dinner while I amout.

crosssomethingout draw a linethrough

Please cross out your oldaddress and write your newone.

cut back onsomething consume less My doctor wants me to cutback onsweets and fattyfoods.

cutsomethingdown makesomething fallto the ground

We had to cut the old treein our yarddown after thestorm.

cut in interrupt Your father cut in while Iwas dancing with youruncle.

cut in pull in tooclosely in front

of another

The bus driver got angrywhen that carcut in.


5/17

vehicle

cut in start operating(of an engine orelectrical

device)

The air conditioner cutsin when the temperaturegets to 22C.

cutsomethingoff remove withsomethingsharp

The doctors cut offhis legbecause it was severelyinjured.

cutsomethingoff stop providing The phone company cutoffour phone because wedidn't pay the bill.

cutsomeoneoff take out of a

will

My grandparents cut my

father offwhen heremarried.

cutsomethingout remove part ofsomething(usually withscissors andpaper)

I cut this ad out of thenewspaper.

dosomeone/somethingover

beat up,ransack (Br.E.,informal)

He's lucky to be alive. Hisshop was done over by astreet gang.

dosomethingover do again(N.Amer.)

My teacher wants meto do myessayover because shedoesn't like my topic.

do awaywithsomething

discard It's time to do awaywith all of these old taxrecords.

dosomethingup fasten, close Do your coat up before yougo outside. It's snowing!

dress up wear niceclothing

It's a fancy restaurant sowe have todress up.

drop back move back in aposition/group

Andrea dropped back tothird place when she fell offher bike.

drop in/by/over come without

an appointment

I might drop

in/by/over for tea


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sometime this week.

dropsomeone/somethin

gofftakesomeone/something

somewhere andleave them/itthere

I have to drop mysister offat work before Icome over.

drop out quit a class,school etc

I dropped out of Sciencebecause it was too difficult.

eat out eat at arestaurant

I don't feel like cookingtonight. Let's eat out.

end up eventually

reach/do/decide

We ended up renting a

movie instead of going tothe theatre.

fall apart break intopieces

My new dress fell apart inthe washing machine.

fall down fall to theground

The picture that you hungup last nightfell down thismorning.

fall out separate from

an interior

The money must

have fallen out of mypocket.

fall out (of hair, teeth)become looseand unattached

His hair started to fallout when he was only 35.

figuresomethingout understand,find the answer

I need to figure out howto fit the piano and thebookshelf in this room.

fillsomethingin to writeinformation inblanks (Br.E.)

Please fill in the form withyour name, address, andphone number.

fillsomethingout to writeinformation inblanks(N.Amer.)

The form must be filledout in capital letters.

fillsomethingup fill to the top I always fill the waterjug up when it is empty.


7/17

find out discover We don't know where helives. How can we findout?

findsomethingout discover We tried to keep the time

of the party a secret, butSamantha found it out.

getsomethingacross/over

communicate,makeunderstandable

I tried to get mypoint across/over to the

judge but she wouldn'tlisten.

get along/on like each other I was surprised how wellmy new girlfriend and mysister got along/on.

get around have mobility My grandfather can getaround fine in his newwheelchair.

get away go on avacation

We worked so hard thisyear that we had to getaway for a week.

get awaywithsomething

do withoutbeing noticedor punished

Jason always gets awaywith cheating in his mathstests.

get back return We got back from ourvacation last week.

getsomethingback receivesomething youhad before

Liz finally got her Sciencenotes backfrom my room-mate.

get back atsomeone retaliate, takerevenge

My sister got back at mefor stealing her shoes. She

stole my favourite hat.

get backintosomething

becomeinterested insomethingagain

I finally got back into mynovel and finished it.

get onsomething step onto avehicle

We're going to freeze outhere if you don't let us geton the bus.

get oversomething recover from an I just got over the flu and


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illness, loss,difficulty

now my sister has it.

get oversomething overcome aproblem

The company will have toclose if it can'tget over the

new regulations.

get round tosomething finally find timeto do(N.Amer.:getaroundtosomething)

I don't know when I amgoing to get roundto writing the thank youcards.

get together meet (usuallyfor socialreasons)

Let's get together for aBBQ this weekend.

get up get out of bed I got up early today tostudy for my exam.

get up stand You should get up and givethe elderly man your seat.

givesomeoneaway reveal hiddeninformationabout someone

His wife gave him away tothe police.

givesomeoneaway take the brideto the altar

Myfather gave me away atmy wedding.

givesomethingaway ruin a secret My little sister gave thesurprise partyaway byaccident.

givesomethingaway give somethingto someone forfree

The library was givingaway old books on Friday.

givesomethingback return aborrowed item

I have to give theseskates back to Franzbefore his hockey game.

give in reluctantly stopfighting orarguing

My boyfriend didn't want togo to the ballet, but hefinally gave in.

givesomethingout give to manypeople (usually

at no cost)

They were giving out freeperfume samples at the

department store.


9/17

givesomethingup quit a habit I am giving up smoking asof January 1st.

give up stop trying My maths homework wastoo difficult so I gave up.

go aftersomeone follow someone My brother tried to goafter the thief in his car.

go aftersomething try to achievesomething

I went after my dreamand now I am a publishedwriter.

go againstsomeone compete,oppose

We are going against thebest soccer team in the citytonight.

go ahead start, proceed Please go ahead and eatbefore the food gets cold.

go back return to aplace

I have to go back homeand get my lunch.

go out leave home togo on a socialevent

We're going out for dinnertonight.

go out withsomeone date Jesse has been going outwith Luke since they metlast winter.

go oversomething review Please go over youranswers before you submityour test.

go over visit someonenearby

I haven't seen Tina for along time. I think I'll goover for an hour or two.

go withoutsomething suffer lack ordeprivation

When I was young,we went withoutwinterboots.

grow apart stop beingfriends overtime

My best friend and I grewapart after she changedschools.

grow back regrow My roses grew back thissummer.

grow up become an When Jack grows up he


10/17

adult wants to be a fireman.

grow out ofsomething get too big for Elizabeth needs a new pairof shoes because shehas grown out ofher old

ones.

grow intosomething grow bigenough to fit

This bike is too big for himnow, but he should growinto it by next year.

handsomethingdown give somethingused tosomeone else

I handed my old comicbooks down to my littlecousin.

handsomethingin submit I have to hand in my essay

by Friday.

handsomethingout to distribute toa group ofpeople

We will hand out theinvitations at the door.

handsomethingover give (usuallyunwillingly)

The police asked the manto hand overhis wallet andhis weapons.

hang in stay positive

(N.Amer.,informal)

Hang in there. I'm sure

you'll find a job very soon.

hang on wait a shorttime (informal)

Hang on while I grab mycoat and shoes!

hang out spend timerelaxing(informal)

Instead of going to theparty we are just goingto hang out at my place.

hang up end a phone

call

He didn't say goodbye

before he hung up.

holdsomeone/somethin

gbackprevent fromdoing/going

I had to hold mydog back because therewas a cat in the park.

holdsomethingback hide anemotion

Jamie held back his tearsat his grandfather's funeral.

hold on wait a shorttime

Please hold on while Itransfer you to the Sales

Department.


11/17

holdontosomeone/somethin

g

hold firmlyusing yourhands or arms

Hold onto your hatbecause it's very windyoutside.

holdsomeone/somethin

gup

rob A man in a black

mask held the bank upthismorning.

keep ondoingsomething

continue doing Keep on stirring until theliquid comes to a boil.

keepsomethingfromsomeone

not tell We kept ourrelationship from ourparents for two years.

keepsomeone/somethin

gout

stop from

entering

Try to keep the wet

dog out of the living room.

keepsomethingup continue at thesame rate

If you keep thoseresults up you will get intoa great college.

letsomeonedown fail to supportor help,disappoint

I need you to be on time.Don't let medown thistime.

letsomeonein allow to enter Can you let the

cat in before you go toschool?

lookaftersomeone/something

take care of I have to look after mysick grandmother.

look down onsomeone think less of,considerinferior

Ever since we stole thatchocolate bar your dadhas looked down on me.

lookforsomeone/something

try to find I'm looking for a red dressfor the wedding.

look forwardtosomething

be excitedabout thefuture

I'm looking forwardto the Christmas break.

look intosomething investigate We are going to lookinto the price ofsnowboards today.

look out be careful, Look out! That car's going


12/17

vigilant, andtake notice

to hit you!

look outforsomeone/something

be especiallyvigilant for

Don't forget to look outfor snakes on the hiking

trail.

looksomethingover check, examine Can you look over myessay for spelling mistakes?

looksomethingup search and findinformation in areference bookor database

We can look her phonenumber up on the Internet.

look up tosomeone have a lot of

respect for

My little sister has

always looked up to me.

makesomethingup invent, lieaboutsomething

Josie made up a storyabout why we were late.

make up forgive eachother

We were angry last night,but we made up atbreakfast.

makesomeoneup apply cosmetics

to

My sisters made me up for

my graduation party.

mixsomethingup confuse two ormore things

I mixed up the twins'names again!

pass away die His uncle passedaway last night after a longillness.

pass out faint It was so hot in the churchthat an elderly lady passed

out.

passsomethingout give the samething to manypeople

The professor passed thetextbooks outbefore class.

passsomethingup decline (usuallysomethinggood)

I passed up the jobbecause I am afraid ofchange.

paysomeoneback return owed

money

Thanks for buying my

ticket. I'll pay youback on


13/17

Friday.

pay forsomething be punished fordoingsomething bad

That bully will payfor being mean to my littlebrother.

picksomethingout choose I picked out threesweaters for you to try on.

pointsomeone/somethingout

indicate withyour finger

I'll point myboyfriend out when he runsby.

putsomethingdown put what youare holding ona surface or

floor

You can put thegroceries down on thekitchen counter.

putsomeonedown insult, makesomeone feelstupid

The students put thesubstituteteacherdown because hispants were too short.

putsomethingoff postpone We are putting offour tripuntil January because ofthe hurricane.

putsomethingout extinguish The neighbours put thefire out before the firemenarrived.

putsomethingtogether assemble I have to put thecrib together before thebaby arrives.

put upwithsomeone/something

tolerate I don't think I can put upwith three small children inthe car.

putsomethingon putclothing/accessories on yourbody

Don't forget to put on yournew earrings for the party.

runintosomeone/something

meetunexpectedly

I ran into an old school-friend at the mall.

run

oversomeone/somethin

g

drive a vehicleover a person

or thing

I accidentally ranover your bicycle in the

driveway.


14/17

runover/throughsomethin

g

rehearse,review

Let's runover/through these linesone more time before theshow.

run away leaveunexpectedly,escape

The child ran away fromhome and has been missingfor three days.

run out have none left We ran out of shampoo soI had to wash my hair withsoap.

sendsomethingback return (usuallyby mail)

My letter got sent back tome because I used thewrong stamp.

setsomethingup arrange,organize

Our boss set ameeting up with thepresident of the company.

setsomeoneup trick, trap The police set up the carthief by using a hiddencamera.

shop around compare prices I want to shop around alittle before I decide onthese boots.

show off act extraspecial forpeoplewatching(usuallyboastfully)

He always shows offonhis skateboard

sleep over staysomewhere forthe night(informal)

You should sleepover tonight if the weatheris too bad to drive home.

sortsomethingout organize,resolve aproblem

We need to sort thebills out before the first ofthe month.

stick tosomething continue doingsomething,limit yourself toone particularthing

You will lose weight ifyou stick to the diet.


15/17

switchsomethingoff stop the energyflow, turn off

The light's too bright. Couldyou switch itoff.

switchsomethingon start theenergy flow,

turn on

We heard the news as soonas weswitched on the car

radio.

take aftersomeone resemble afamily member

I take after my mother.We are both impatient.

takesomethingapart purposely breakinto pieces

He took the carbrakes apart and found theproblem.

takesomethingback return an item I have to take our newTV back because it doesn't

work.

take off start to fly My plane takes offin fiveminutes.

takesomethingoff removesomething(usuallyclothing)

Take offyour socks andshoes and come in the lake!

takesomethingout remove from a

place or thing

Can you take the

garbage out to the streetfor me?

takesomeoneout pay forsomeone to gosomewherewith you

Mygrandparents took us out for dinner and a movie.

tearsomethingup rip into pieces I tore up my ex-boyfriend's letters and gavethem back to him.

think back remember(often + to,sometimes +on)

When I think back on myyouth, I wish I had studiedharder.

thinksomethingover consider I'll have to think this joboffer overbefore I make myfinal decision.

throwsomethingaway dispose of We threw our old

furniture away when we


16/17

won the lottery.

turnsomethingdown decrease thevolume orstrength (heat,

light etc)

Please turn theTV down while the guestsare here.

turnsomethingdown refuse I turned thejob down because I don'twant to move.

turnsomethingoff stop the energyflow, switch off

Your mother wants youto turn the TVoffand comefor dinner.

turnsomethingon start the

energy, switchon

It's too dark in here.

Let's turn some lights on.

turnsomethingup increase thevolume orstrength (heat,light etc)

Can you turn themusic up? This is myfavourite song.

turn up appearsuddenly

Our cat turned up after weput posters up all over theneighbourhood.

trysomethingon sample clothing I'm going to try thesejeans on, but I don't thinkthey will fit.

trysomethingout test I am going to try this newbrand of detergent out.

usesomethingup finish thesupply

The kids used all of thetoothpaste up so we needto buy some more.

wake up stop sleeping We have to wake up earlyfor work on Monday.

warmsomeone/somethi

ngupincrease thetemperature

You can warm yourfeet up in front of thefireplace.

warm up prepare bodyfor exercise

I always warm up by doingsit-ups before I go for arun.


17/17

wear off fade away Most of my make-up woreoffbefore I got to theparty.

work out exercise I work out at the gym

three times a week.

work out be successful Our plan worked out fine.

worksomethingout make acalculation

We have to work out thetotal cost before we buy thehouse.

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