List Phrasal Verb

7/27/2019 List Phrasal Verb

1/17

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 but nobodyhas seen my wallet.

add up tosomething equal Your purchases add upto $205.32.

backsomethingup reverse You'll have to back up your

car so that I can get out.

backsomeoneup support My wife 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 three

separate parts.

break in force entry to abuilding

Somebody broke in lastnight and stole our stereo.

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

breaksomethingin wear somethinga few times so

that it doesn't

I need to break theseshoes in before we run next

week.


2/17

look/feel new

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 of

jail when the guards weren'tlooking.

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 me u

p 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 his dinner up inthe toilet.

call around phone many

differentplaces/people

We called around but we

weren't able to find the carpart we needed.

callsomeoneback return a phonecall

I called thecompany back but theoffices were closed for theweekend.

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


3/17

call onsomeone ask for ananswer oropinion

The professor called on mefor question 1.

call onsomeone visit someone We called on you last nightbut you weren't home.

callsomeoneup phone Give me your phone numberand I willcall you up whenwe are 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 hair onthat guy!

cheer up become happier She cheered up when she

heard the good news.

cheersomeoneup make happier I brought you some flowersto cheer youup.

chip in help If everyone chips in we canget the kitchen painted bynoon.

cleansomethingup tidy, clean Please clean up yourbedroom before you go

outside.


4/17

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 her husband'sfinger prints.

come fromsomewhere originate in The art of origami comesfrom Asia.

count

onsomeone/somethingrely on I am counting on you to

make dinner while I am out.

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 frontof anothervehicle

The bus driver got angrywhen that carcut in.

cut in start operating(of an engine orelectricaldevice)

The air conditioner cutsin when the temperaturegets to 22C.

cutsomethingoff remove with The doctors cut offhis leg


5/17

somethingsharp

because it was severelyinjured.

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

cutsomeoneoff take out of awill

My grandparents cut myfather offwhen heremarried.

cutsomethingout remove part ofsomething(usually withscissors and

paper)

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 so wehave todress up.

drop back move back in a

position/group

Andrea dropped back to

third place when she fell offher bike.

drop in/by/over come withoutan appointment

I might dropin/by/over for teasometime this week.

dropsomeone/somethingoff

takesomeone/somethingsomewhere andleave them/it

I have to drop mysister offat work before Icome over.


6/17

there

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 eventuallyreach/do/decide

We ended up renting amovie 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 froman interior

The money musthave 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 how tofit 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 in

blanks(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.

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

findsomethingout discover We tried to keep the time of the party a secret, but

Samantha found it out.


7/17

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 well mynew 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 this yearthat we had to get away for

a week.

get awaywithsomething

do withoutbeing noticed orpunished

Jason always gets awaywith cheating in his mathstests.

get back return We got back from ourvacation last week.

getsomethingback receivesomething you

had before

Liz finally got her Sciencenotes backfrom my room-

mate.

get back atsomeone retaliate, takerevenge

My sister got back at mefor stealing her shoes. Shestole my favourite hat.

get back intosomething 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 anillness, loss,difficulty

I just got over the flu andnow my sister has it.

get oversomething overcome aproblem

The company will have toclose if it can'tget over thenew regulations.


8/17

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

tosomething)

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

My father 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 Franz beforehis hockey game.

give in reluctantly stopfighting or

arguing

My boyfriend didn't want togo to the ballet, but he

finally gave in.

givesomethingout give to manypeople (usuallyat no cost)

They were giving out freeperfume samples at thedepartment store.

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.


9/17

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

go aftersomething try to achievesomething

I went after my dream andnow I am a published writer.

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 submit

your 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 being

friends overtime

My best friend and I grew

apart after she changedschools.

grow back regrow My roses grew back thissummer.

grow up become anadult

When Jack grows up hewants to be a fireman.

grow out ofsomething get too big for Elizabeth needs a new pairof shoes because she

has grown out ofher old


10/17

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 essayby Friday.

handsomethingout to distribute toa group of

people

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 sureyou'll find a job very soon.

hang on wait a short

time (informal)

Hang on while I grab my

coat and shoes!

hang out spend timerelaxing(informal)

Instead of going to the partywe are just going to hangout at my place.

hang up end a phonecall

He didn't say goodbyebefore he hung up.

holdsomeone/somethingback

prevent fromdoing/going

I had to hold mydog back because there was

a cat in the park.

holdsomethingback hide an emotion Jamie held back his tearsat his grandfather's funeral.

hold on wait a shorttime

Please hold on while Itransfer you to the SalesDepartment.

holdontosomeone/somethin

g

hold firmlyusing your

hands or arms

Hold onto your hat becauseit's very windy outside.


11/17

holdsomeone/somethingup

rob A man in a blackmask 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/somethingout

stop fromentering

Try to keep the wetdog out of the living room.

keepsomethingup continue at the

same rate

If you keep those

results up you will get into agreat 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 thecat in before you go toschool?

lookaftersomeone/something

take care of I have to look after my sickgrandmother.

look down onsomeone think less of,consider inferior

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 the future

I'm looking forward to theChristmas break.

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

look out be careful,vigilant, andtake notice

Look out! That car's going tohit you!

look out be especially Don't forget to look out


12/17

forsomeone/something vigilant for for snakes on the hikingtrail.

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 ofrespect for

My little sister hasalways looked up to me.

makesomethingup invent, lie about

something

Josie made up a story

about why we were late.

make up forgive eachother

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

makesomeoneup apply cosmeticsto

My sisters made me up formy graduation party.

mixsomethingup confuse two ormore things

I mixed up the twins'names again!

pass away die His uncle passed away lastnight after a long illness.

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

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 owedmoney

Thanks for buying my ticket.I'll pay youback on Friday.

pay forsomething be punished fordoingsomething bad

That bully will pay for beingmean to my little brother.


13/17

picksomethingout choose I picked out three sweatersfor you to try on.

pointsomeone/somethingout

indicate withyour finger

I'll point myboyfriend out when he runsby.

putsomethingdown put what youare holding on asurface 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 of thehurricane.

putsomethingout extinguish The neighbours put thefire out before the firemenarrived.

putsomethingtogether assemble I have to put thecrib together before the

baby arrives.

put upwithsomeone/somethin

g

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.

runoversomeone/something

drive a vehicleover a personor thing

I accidentally ran over yourbicycle in the driveway.

run

over/throughsomething

rehearse,review

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


14/17

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 so Ihad 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 extra specialfor people

watching(usuallyboastfully)

He always shows offon hisskateboard

sleep over stay somewherefor the 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, limityourself to oneparticular thing

You will lose weight ifyou stick to the diet.

switchsomethingoff stop the energyflow, turn off

The light's too bright. Couldyou switch itoff.

switchsomethingon start the energyflow, turn on

We heard the news as soonas weswitched on the carradio.


15/17

take aftersomeone resemble afamily member

I take after my mother. Weare 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'twork.

take off start to fly My plane takes offin fiveminutes.

takesomethingoff remove

something(usuallyclothing)

Take offyour socks and

shoes and come in the lake!

takesomethingout remove from aplace or thing

Can you take thegarbage out to the streetfor me?

takesomeoneout pay forsomeone to gosomewhere with

you

Mygrandparents took us out for dinner and a movie.

tearsomethingup rip into pieces I tore up my ex-boyfriend'sletters and gave them backto 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 oldfurniture away when wewon the lottery.

turnsomethingdown decrease thevolume orstrength (heat,light etc)

Please turn theTV down while the guestsare here.


16/17

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 theenergy, switchon

It's too dark in here.Let's turn some lights on.

turnsomethingup increase thevolume orstrength (heat,

light etc)

Can you turn the music up?This is my favourite 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 new

brand of detergent out.

usesomethingup finish thesupply

The kids used all of thetoothpaste up so we need tobuy 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 the

fireplace.

warm up prepare bodyfor exercise

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

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

work out exercise I work out at the gymthree times a week.

work out be successful Our plan worked out fine.


17/17

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List Phrasal Verb