phrasal verbs
here a list of phrasal verbs
200 common phrasal verbs, with meanings and example sentences
phrasal verb | meaning | example sentence |
---|---|---|
ask somebody out | invite on a date | Brian asked Judy out to dinner and a movie. |
ask around | ask many people the same question | I asked around but nobody has seen my wallet. |
add up to something | equal | Your purchases add up to $205.32. |
back something up | reverse | You'll have to back up your car so that I can get out. |
back somebody up | support | My wife backed me up over my decision to quit my job. |
blow up | explode | The racing car blew up after it crashed into the fence. |
blow something up | add air | We have to blow 50 balloons up for the party. |
break down | stop functioning (vehicle, machine) | Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm. |
break down | get upset | The woman broke down when the police told her that her son had died. |
break something down | divide into smaller parts | Our teacher broke the final project down into three separate parts. |
break in | force entry to a building | Somebody broke in last night and stole our stereo. |
break into something | enter forcibly | The firemen had to break into the room to rescue the children. |
break something in | wear something a few times so that it doesn't look/feel new | I need to break these shoes in before we run next week. |
break in | interrupt | The TV station broke in to report the news of the president's death. |
break up | end a relationship | My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved to America. |
break up | start laughing (informal) | The kids just broke up as soon as the clown started talking. |
break out | escape | The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards weren't looking. |
break out in something | develop a skin condition | I broke out in a rash after our camping trip. |
bring somebody down | make unhappy | This sad music is bringing me down. |
bring somebody up | raise a child | My grandparents brought me up after my parents died. |
bring something up | start talking about a subject | My mother walks out of the room when my father brings up sports. |
bring something up | vomit | He drank so much that he brought his dinner up in the toilet. |
call around | phone many different places/people | We called around but we weren't able to find the car part we needed. |
call somebody back | return a phone call | I called the company back but the offices were closed for the weekend. |
call something off | cancel | Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in love with his fiancé. |
call on somebody | ask for an answer or opinion | The professor called on me for question 1. |
call on somebody | visit somebody | We called on you last night but you weren't home. |
call somebody up | phone | Give me your phone number and I will call you up when we are in town. |
calm down | relax after being angry | You are still mad. You need to calm down before you drive the car. |
not care for somebody/ something | not like (formal) | I don't care for his behaviour. |
catch up | get to the same point as somebody else | You'll have to run faster than that if you want to catch up with Marty. |
check in | arrive and register at a hotel or airport | We will get the hotel keys when we check in. |
check out | leave a hotel | You have to check out of the hotel before 11:00 AM. |
check somebody/ something out | look at carefully, investigate | The company checks out all new employees. |
check out somebody/ something | look at (informal) | Check out the crazy hair on that guy! |
cheer up | become happier | She cheered up when she heard the good news. |
cheer somebody up | make happier | I brought you some flowers to cheer you up. |
chip in | help | If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by noon. |
clean something up | tidy, clean | Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside. |
come across something | find unexpectedly | I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet. |
come apart | separate | The top and bottom come apart if you pull hard enough. |
come down with something | become sick | My nephew came down with chicken pox this weekend. |
come forward | volunteer for a task or to give evidence | The woman came forward with her husband's finger prints. |
come from some place | originate in | The art of origami comes from Asia. |
count on somebody/ something | rely on | I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out. |
cross something out | draw a line through | Please cross out your old address and write your new one. |
cut back on something | consume less | My doctor wants me to cut back on sweets and fatty foods. |
cut something down | make something fall to the ground | We had to cut the old tree in our yard down after the storm. |
cut in | interrupt | Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle. |
cut in | pull in too closely in front of another vehicle | The bus driver got angry when that car cut in. |
cut in | start operating (of an engine or electrical device) | The air conditioner cuts in when the temperature gets to 22°C. |
cut something off | remove with something sharp | The doctors cut off his leg because it was severely injured. |
cut something off | stop providing | The phone company cut off our phone because we didn't pay the bill. |
cut somebody off | take out of a will | My grandparents cut my father off when he remarried. |
cut something out | remove part of something (usually with scissors and paper) | I cut this ad out of the newspaper. |
do somebody/ something over | beat up, ransack (BrE, informal) | He's lucky to be alive. His shop was done over by a street gang. |
do something over | do again (AmE) | My teacher wants me to do my essay over because she doesn't like my topic. |
do away with something | discard | It's time to do away with all of these old tax records. |
do something up | fasten, close | Do your coat up before you go outside. It's snowing! |
dress up | wear nice clothing | It's a fancy restaurant so we have to dress up. |
drop back | move back in a position/group | Andrea dropped back to third place when she fell off her bike. |
drop in/ by/ over | come without an appointment | I might drop in/by/over for tea sometime this week. |
drop somebody/ something off | take somebody/ something somewhere and leave them/it there | I have to drop my sister off at work before I come over. |
drop out | quit a class, school etc | I dropped out of Science because it was too difficult. |
eat out | eat at a restaurant | I don't feel like cooking tonight. Let's eat out. |
end up | eventually reach/do/decide | We ended up renting a movie instead of going to the theatre. |
fall apart | break into pieces | My new dress fell apart in the washing machine. |
fall down | fall to the ground | The picture that you hung up last night fell down this morning. |
fall out | separate from an interior | The money must have fallen out of my pocket. |
fall out | (of hair, teeth) become loose and unattached | His hair started to fall out when he was only 35. |
figure something out | understand, find the answer | I need to figure out how to fit the piano and the bookshelf in this room. |
fill something in | to write information in blanks, as on a form (BrE) | Please fill in the form with your name, address, and phone number. |
fill something out | to write information in blanks, as on a form (AmE) | The form must be filled out in capital letters. |
fill something up | fill to the top | I always fill the water jug up when it is empty. |
find out | discover | We don't know where he lives. How can we find out? |
find something out | discover | We tried to keep the time of the party a secret, but Samantha found it out. |
get something across/ over | communicate, make understandable | I tried to get my point across/over to the judge but she wouldn't listen. |
get along/on | like each other | I was surprised how well my new girlfriend and my sister got along/on. |
get around | have mobility | My grandfather can get around fine in his new wheelchair. |
get away | go on a vacation | We worked so hard this year that we had to get away for a week. |
get away with something | do without being noticed or punished | Jason always gets away with cheating in his maths tests. |
get back | return | We got back from our vacation last week. |
get something back | receive something you had before | Liz finally got her Science notes back from my room-mate. |
get back at somebody | retaliate, take revenge | My sister got back at me for stealing her shoes. She stole my favourite hat. |
get back into something | become interested in something again | I finally got back into my novel and finished it. |
get on something | step onto a vehicle | We're going to freeze out here if you don't let us get on the bus. |
get over something | recover from an illness, loss, difficulty | I just got over the flu and now my sister has it. |
get over something | overcome a problem | The company will have to close if it can't get over the new regulations. |
get round to something | finally find time to do (AmE: get around to something) | I don't know when I am going to get round to writing the thank you cards. |
get together | meet (usually for social reasons) | Let's get together for a BBQ this weekend. |
get up | get out of bed | I got up early today to study for my exam. |
get up | stand | You should get up and give the elderly man your seat. |
give somebody away | reveal hidden information about somebody | His wife gave him away to the police. |
give somebody away | take the bride to the altar | My father gave me away at my wedding. |
give something away | ruin a secret | My little sister gave the surprise party away by accident. |
give something away | give something to somebody for free | The library was giving away old books on Friday. |
give something back | return a borrowed item | I have to give these skates back to Franz before his hockey game. |
give in | reluctantly stop fighting or arguing | My boyfriend didn't want to go to the ballet, but he finally gave in. |
give something out | give to many people (usually at no cost) | They were giving out free perfume samples at the department store. |
give something up | quit a habit | I am giving up smoking as of January 1st. |
give up | stop trying | My maths homework was too difficult so I gave up. |
go after somebody | follow somebody | My brother tried to go after the thief in his car. |
go after something | try to achieve something | I went after my dream and now I am a published writer. |
go against somebody | compete, oppose | We are going against the best soccer team in the city tonight. |
go ahead | start, proceed | Please |
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