15408_phrasal verbs final

8/7/2019 15408_phrasal verbs final

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Verb Meaning Example

asksomeoneout invite on a date Brian asked Judyout to dinner and a

movie.

ask around ask many people thesame question

I asked around butnobody has seenmy wallet.

add up tosomething equal Your purchasesadd up to $205.32.

backsomethingup reverse You'll have to back

up your car so thatI can get out.

backsomeoneup support My wife backed meup over mydecision to quit myjob.

blow up explode The racing car blewup after it crashed

into the fence.

blowsomethingup add air We have to blow50 balloons up forthe party.

break down stop functioning(vehicle, machine)

Our carbrokedown at the side ofthe highway in thesnowstorm.

break down get upset The woman brokedown when thepolice told her thather son had died.

breaksomethingdown divide into smaller Our teacherbroke


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parts the final projectdown into threeseparate parts.

break in force entry to abuilding Somebodybroke

in last night andstole our stereo.

break intosomething enter forcibly The firemen had tobreak into theroom to rescue thechildren.

breaksomethingin wear something a few

times so that it doesn'tlook/feel new

I need to break

these shoes inbefore we run nextweek.

break in interrupt The TV stationbroke in to reportthe news of thepresident's death.

break up end a relationship My boyfriend and I

broke up before Imoved to America.

break up start laughing(informal)

The kids just brokeup as soon as theclown startedtalking.

break out escape The prisonersbroke out of jail

when the guardsweren't looking.

break out insomething

develop a skincondition

I broke out in arash after ourcamping trip.


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bringsomeonedown make unhappy This sad music isbringing me down.

bringsomeoneup raise a child My grandparents

brought me upafter my parentsdied.

bringsomethingup start talking about asubject

My mother walksout of the roomwhen my fatherbrings up sports.

bringsomethingup vomit He drank so much

that he brought hisdinnerup in thetoilet.

call around phone many differentplaces/people

We called aroundbut we weren't ableto find the car partwe needed.

callsomeoneback return a phone call I called the

company back butthe offices wereclosed for theweekend.

callsomethingoff cancel Jason called thewedding offbecause he wasn'tin love with hisfianc.

call onsomeone ask for an answer oropinion

The professorcalled on me forquestion 1.

call onsomeone visit someone We called on you


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last night but youweren't home.

callsomeoneup phone Give me your

phone number andI will call you upwhen we are intown.

calm down relax after being angry You are still mad.You need to calmdown before youdrive the car.

not care forsomeone/something

not like (formal) I don't care forhisbehaviour.

catch up get to the same pointas someone else

You'll have to runfaster than that ifyou want to catchup with Marty.

check in arrive and register at ahotel or airport

We will get thehotel keys when we

check in.

check out leave a hotel You have to checkout of the hotelbefore 11:00 AM.

checksomeone/somethingout

look at carefully,investigate

The companychecks out all newemployees.

check outsomeone/something

look at (informal) Check out thecrazy hair on thatguy!

cheer up become happier She cheered upwhen she heard the


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good news.

cheersomeoneup make happier I brought you someflowers to cheer

you up.

chip in help If everyone chipsin we can get thekitchen painted bynoon.

cleansomethingup tidy, clean Please clean upyour bedroombefore you go

outside.

come acrosssomething

find unexpectedly I came acrossthese old photoswhen I was tidyingthe closet.

come apart separate The top and bottomcome apart if youpull hard enough.

come down withsomething

become sick My nephew camedown with chickenpox this weekend.

come forward volunteer for a task orto give evidence

The woman cameforward with herhusband's fingerprints.

come from somewhere originate in The art of origamicomes from Asia.

count onsomeone/something

rely on I am counting onyou to make dinnerwhile I am out.


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crosssomethingout draw a line through Please cross outyour old addressand write your newone.

cut back onsomething consume less My doctor wantsme to cut back onsweets and fattyfoods.

cutsomethingdown make something fall tothe ground

We had to cut theold tree in our yarddown after thestorm.

cut in interrupt Your father cut inwhile I was dancingwith your uncle.

cut in pull in too closely infront of anothervehicle

The bus driver gotangry when that carcut in.

cut in start operating (of an

engine or electricaldevice)

The air conditioner

cuts in when thetemperature gets to22C.

cutsomethingoff remove withsomething sharp

The doctors cut offhis leg because itwas severelyinjured.

cutsomethingoff stop providing The phone

company cut offour phone becausewe didn't pay thebill.

cutsomeoneoff take out of a will My grandparents


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cut my fatheroffwhen he remarried.

cutsomethingout remove part of

something (usuallywith scissors andpaper)

I cut this ad out of

the newspaper.

dosomeone/somethingover

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

He's lucky to bealive. His shop wasdone overby astreet gang.

dosomethingover do again (N.Amer.) My teacher wants

me to do my essayoverbecause shedoesn't like mytopic.

do away withsomething

discard It's time to do awaywith all of these oldtax records.

dosomethingup fasten, close Do your coat up

before you gooutside. It'ssnowing!

dress up wear nice clothing It's a fancyrestaurant so wehave to dress up.

drop back move back in aposition/group

Andrea droppedback to third place

when she fell offher bike.

drop in/by/over come without anappointment

I might dropin/by/overfor teasome time this


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week.

dropsomeone/somethingoff

takesomeone/something

somewhere and leavethem/it there

I have to drop mysisteroffat work

before I come over.

drop out quit a class, school etc I dropped out ofScience because itwas too difficult.

eat out eat at a restaurant I don't feel likecooking tonight.Let's eat out.

end up eventuallyreach/do/decide

We ended uprenting a movieinstead of going tothe theatre.

fall apart break into pieces My new dress fellapart in thewashing machine.

fall down fall to the ground The picture that youhung up last nightfell down thismorning.

fall out separate from aninterior

The money musthave fallen out ofmy pocket.

fall out (of hair, teeth) become

loose and unattached

His hair started to

fall out when hewas only 35.

figuresomethingout understand, find theanswer

I need to figure outhow to fit the pianoand the bookshelf


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in this room.

fillsomethingin to write information inblanks (Br.E.)

Please fill in theform with your

name, address, andphone number.

fillsomethingout to write information inblanks (N.Amer.)

The form must befilled out in capitalletters.

fillsomethingup fill to the top I always fill thewater jug up whenit is empty.

find out discover We don't knowwhere he lives.How can we findout?

findsomethingout discover We tried to keepthe time of the partya secret, butSamantha found it

out.

getsomethingacross/over

communicate, makeunderstandable

I tried to get mypoint across/overto the judge but shewouldn't listen.

get along/on like each other I was surprised howwell my newgirlfriend and my

sistergotalong/on.

get around have mobility My grandfather canget around fine inhis new wheelchair.


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get away go on a vacation We worked so hardthis year that wehad to get away fora week.

get away withsomething

do without beingnoticed or punished

Jason always getsaway with cheatingin his maths tests.

get back return We got back fromour vacation lastweek.

getsomethingback receive something you

had before

Liz finally got her

Science notes backfrom my room-mate.

get back atsomeone retaliate, take revenge My sistergot backat me for stealingher shoes. Shestole my favouritehat.

get back intosomething

become interested insomething again

I finally got backinto my novel andfinished it.

get onsomething step onto a vehicle We're going tofreeze out here ifyou don't let us geton the bus.

get oversomething recover from an

illness, loss, difficulty

I just got overthe

flu and now mysister has it.

get oversomething overcome a problem The company willhave to close if itcan't get overthe


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new regulations.

get round tosomething

finally find time to do(N.Amer.: get around

tosomething)

I don't know when Iam going to get

round to writing thethank you cards.

get together meet (usually forsocial reasons)

Let's get togetherfor a BBQ thisweekend.

get up get out of bed I got up early todayto study for myexam.

get up stand You should get upand give the elderlyman your seat.

givesomeoneaway reveal hiddeninformation aboutsomeone

His wife gave himaway to the police.

givesomeoneaway take the bride to the

altar

My fathergave me

away at mywedding.

givesomethingaway ruin a secret My little sister gavethe surprise partyaway by accident.

givesomethingaway give something tosomeone for free

The library wasgiving away oldbooks on Friday.

givesomethingback return a borrowed item I have to give theseskates back toFranz before hishockey game.

give in reluctantly stop My boyfriend didn't


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fighting or arguing want to go to theballet, but he finallygave in.

givesomethingout give to many people(usually at no cost) They weregiving

out free perfumesamples at thedepartment store.

givesomethingup quit a habit I am giving upsmoking as ofJanuary 1st.

give up stop trying My maths

homework was toodifficult so I gaveup.

go aftersomeone follow someone My brother tried togo afterthe thief inhis car.

go aftersomething try to achievesomething

I went aftermydream and now I

am a publishedwriter.

go againstsomeone compete, oppose We are goingagainst the bestsoccer team in thecity tonight.

go ahead start, proceed Please go aheadand eat before the

food gets cold.

go back return to a place I have to go backhome and get mylunch.


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go out leave home to go on asocial event

We're going out fordinner tonight.

go out withsomeone date Jesse has been

going out withLuke since they metlast winter.

go oversomething review Please go overyour answersbefore you submityour test.

go over visit someone nearby I haven't seen Tina

for a long time. Ithink I'll go overforan hour or two.

go withoutsomething suffer lack ordeprivation

When I was young,we went withoutwinter boots.

grow apart stop being friends overtime

My best friend and Igrew apart after

she changedschools.

grow back regrow My roses grewback this summer.

grow up become an adult When Jack growsup he wants to be afireman.

grow out ofsomething get too big for Elizabeth needs anew pair of shoesbecause she hasgrown out ofherold ones.


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grow intosomething grow big enough to fit This bike is too bigfor him now, but heshould grow into itby next year.

handsomethingdown give something usedto someone else

I handed my oldcomic books downto my little cousin.

handsomethingin submit I have to hand inmy essay by Friday.

handsomethingout to distribute to a groupof people

We will hand outthe invitations at the

door.

handsomethingover give (usuallyunwillingly)

The police askedthe man to handoverhis wallet andhis weapons.

hang in stay positive (N.Amer.,informal)

Hang in there. I'msure you'll find a jobvery soon.

hang on wait a short time(informal)

Hang on while Igrab my coat andshoes!

hang out spend time relaxing(informal)

Instead of going tothe party we arejust going to hangout at my place.

hang up end a phone call He didn't saygoodbye before hehung up.

holdsomeone/something

prevent fromdoing/going

I had to hold mydog back because


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back there was a cat inthe park.

holdsomethingback hide an emotion Jamie held back

his tears at hisgrandfather'sfuneral.

hold on wait a short time Please hold onwhile I transfer youto the SalesDepartment.

hold onto

someone/something

hold firmly using your

hands or arms

Hold onto your hat

because it's verywindy outside.

holdsomeone/somethingup

rob A man in a blackmask held the bankup this morning.

keep on doingsomething

continue doing Keep on stirringuntil the liquidcomes to a boil.

keepsomethingfromsomeone

not tell We kept ourrelationship fromour parents for twoyears.

keepsomeone/somethingout

stop from entering Try to keep the wetdog out of the livingroom.

keepsomethingup continue at the samerate

If you keep thoseresults up you willget into a greatcollege.

letsomeonedown fail to support or help, I need you to be on


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disappoint time. Don't let medown this time.

letsomeonein allow to enter Can you let the cat

in before you go toschool?

look aftersomeone/something

take care of I have to look aftermy sickgrandmother.

look down onsomeone

think less of, considerinferior

Ever since we stolethat chocolate baryour dad has

looked down onme.

look forsomeone/something

try to find I'm looking forared dress for thewedding.

look forward tosomething

be excited about thefuture

I'm lookingforward to theChristmas break.

look intosomething investigate We are going tolook into the priceof snowboardstoday.

look out be careful, vigilant,and take notice

Look out! That car'sgoing to hit you!

look out for

someone/something

be especially vigilant

for

Don't forget to look

out forsnakes onthe hiking trail.

looksomethingover check, examine Can you look overmy essay forspelling mistakes?


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looksomethingup search and findinformation in areference book ordatabase

We can look herphone numberupon the Internet.

look up tosomeone have a lot of respectfor

My little sister hasalways looked upto me.

makesomethingup invent, lie aboutsomething

Josie made up astory about aboutwhy we were late.

make up forgive each other We were angry last

night, but we madeup at breakfast.

makesomeoneup apply cosmetics to My sisters mademe up for mygraduation party.

mixsomethingup confuse two or morethings

I mixed up thetwins' names again!

pass away die His uncle passedaway last nightafter a long illness.

pass out faint It was so hot in thechurch that anelderly lady passedout.

passsomethingout give the same thing to

many people

The professor

passed thetextbooks outbefore class.

passsomethingup decline (usuallysomething good)

I passed up the jobbecause I am afraid


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of change.

paysomeoneback return owed money Thanks for buyingmy ticket. I'll pay

you back on Friday.

pay forsomething be punished for doingsomething bad

That bully will payforbeing mean tomy little brother.

picksomethingout choose I picked out threesweaters for you totry on.

pointsomeone/somethingout

indicate with yourfinger I'll point myboyfriend out whenhe runs by.

putsomethingdown put what you areholding on a surfaceor floor

You can put thegroceries down onthe kitchen counter.

putsomeonedown insult, make someonefeel stupid

The students putthe substitute

teacherdownbecause his pantswere too short.

putsomethingoff postpone We are putting offour trip untilJanuary because ofthe hurricane.

putsomethingout extinguish The neighbours put

the fire out beforethe firemen arrived.

putsomethingtogether

assemble I have to put thecrib togetherbefore the baby


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arrives.

put up withsomeone/something

tolerate I don't think I canput up with three

small children in thecar.

putsomethingon putclothing/accessorieson your body

Don't forget to puton your newearrings for theparty.

run intosomeone/something

meet unexpectedly I ran into an oldschool-friend at the

mall.

run oversomeone/something

drive a vehicle over aperson or thing

I accidentally ranoveryour bicycle inthe driveway.

run over/throughsomething

rehearse, review Let's runover/through theselines one more timebefore the show.

run away leave unexpectedly,escape

The child ran awayfrom home and hasbeen missing forthree days.

run out have none left We ran out ofshampoo so I hadto wash my hairwith soap.

sendsomethingback return (usually by mail) My letter got sentback to mebecause I used thewrong stamp.


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setsomethingup arrange, organize Our boss set ameeting up with thepresident of thecompany.

setsomeoneup trick, trap The police set upthe car thief byusing a hiddencamera.

shop around compare prices I want to shoparound a littlebefore I decide onthese boots.

show off act extra special forpeople watching(usually boastfully)

He always showsoffon hisskateboard

sleep over stay somewhere forthe night (informal)

You should sleepovertonight if theweather is too badto drive home.

sortsomethingout organize, resolve aproblem

We need to sortthe bills out beforethe first of themonth.

stick tosomething continue doingsomething, limityourself to oneparticular thing

You will lose weightif you stick to thediet.

switchsomethingoff stop the energy flow,turn off

The light's toobright. Could youswitch it off.

switchsomethingon start the energy flow,turn on

We heard the newsas soon as we


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switched on thecar radio.

take aftersomeone resemble a family

member

I take aftermy

mother. We areboth impatient.

takesomethingapart purposely break intopieces

He took the carbrakes apart andfound the problem.

takesomethingback return an item I have to take ournew TV backbecause it doesn't

work.

take off start to fly My plane takes offin five minutes.

takesomethingoff remove something(usually clothing)

Take offyour socksand shoes andcome in the lake!

takesomethingout remove from a place

or thing

Can you take the

garbage out to thestreet for me?

takesomeoneout pay for someone to gosomewhere with you

My grandparentstook us out fordinner and a movie.

tearsomethingup rip into pieces I tore up my ex-boyfriend's lettersand gave them

back to him.

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

When I think backon my youth, I wishI had studiedharder.


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thinksomethingover consider I'll have to thinkthis job offeroverbefore I make myfinal decision.

throwsomethingaway dispose of We threw our oldfurniture awaywhen we won thelottery.

turnsomethingdown decrease the volumeor strength (heat, lightetc)

Please turn the TVdown while theguests are here.

turnsomethingdown refuse I turned the jobdown because Idon't want to move.

turnsomethingoff stop the energy flow,switch off

Your mother wantsyou to turn the TVoffand come fordinner.

turnsomethingon start the energy,

switch on

It's too dark in here.

Let's turn somelights on.

turnsomethingup increase the volume orstrength (heat, lightetc)

Can you turn themusic up? This ismy favourite song.

turn up appear suddenly Our cat turned upafter we put postersup all over the

neighbourhood.

trysomethingon sample clothing I'm going to trythese jeans on, butI don't think they willfit.


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trysomethingout test I am going to trythis new brand ofdetergent out.

usesomethingup finish the supply The kids used all ofthe toothpaste upso we need to buysome more.

wake up stop sleeping We have to wakeup early for work onMonday.

warm

someone/somethingup

increase the

temperature

You can warm your

feet up in front ofthe fireplace.

warm up prepare body forexercise

I always warm upby doing sit-upsbefore I go for arun.

wear off fade away Most of my make-up wore offbefore

I got to the party.

work out exercise I work out at thegym three times aweek.

work out be successful Our plan workedout fine.

worksomethingout make a calculation We have to work

out the total costbefore we buy thehouse.

Br.E.: British English; N.Amer.: North American

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15408_phrasal verbs final