Digestive Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs

Copyright © 2015 by Isaac Livingstone Asamoah.

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Contents

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

X

Y

Z

No part of this publication may be produced in whole or part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

For information regarding permission, write to Digestive Series, Permission Department, P.O. Box 102, Akropong-Akuapem, Ghana.

Digestive dictionary of Phrasal Verbs contains more than 1,500 phrases with examples along with their definitions or meanings.

Summary: This book consists of the alphabetical listing of phrasal verbs with countless number of examples regarding their right usages.

Dedication

To my lovely wife, Emma.

Phrasally and alphabetically, she is the umbrella that gives shade to all,

Plump-looking, wiggling- waist lovely as the word love,

Humble, submissive, a heart of diamond, and she’s always

In the pink. She’s the jack of all trades,

Lending ears to the all and sundry, ready to give to the needy,

A mother under whose fetters children run for attention,

Streaming-tears dried up, empty-stomach fed, unkempt-hair combed and very up-to-date.

Her succulent, resigned breast, on them I have my rest,

So simple like reddish pimple, her much cherished nipple to match her dimple.

Acknowledgement

Special gratitude to the authors, publishers and editorial team of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English from whose material the alphabetical compilation of these phrasal verbs with their examples had been done.

The content of this book

This book explains meanings of phrasal verbs with singular or several examples to illustrate the usages of almost all that had been alphabetically compiled.

They are actually common phrasal verbs that readers hear or read in English almost everyday.

English, commonly used world-wide, is adorned language wise as this book makes the phrasal verbs easy to learn and understand with ease like chewing the Digestive Biscuit.

What are phrasal verbs? They are combination of a verb and with either a preposition or an adverb particle that have meanings of their own.

It should be noted that the meanings are not easily deduced from the separate meanings of the two words used in the phrase.

Again, phrasal verbs are normally made up of two words of the following;

i. a verb plus preposition as in abide by, abide with, call on, back away etc

ii. a verb plus an adverbial particle as in zip up, wrap up, break out, turn down etc.

iii. In some cases, the meaning of one word used in the phrase is still apparent.

E.g. I shall write up a full account as the word ‘write’, still means what we know but the word or particle ‘up’ means completely.

iv. To some extent, the same or one phrase may have or express two different meanings.

E.g.: Account for: To form a particular amount or part of something.

E.g. Afro-America account for 12% of the US population.

Account for: To be the reason why something happens.

E.g. Recent pressure at work may account for his behaviour

v. Sometimes, a phrase may have or express metaphorical meaning.

E.g.: Esi confessed because she was leant on. Where the phrasal verb, ‘leant on’, in the sentence means that Esi was subjected to threats.

vi. In certain situations, some adverbs may hacek or contain more than adverb particle or preposition. Hence, may be described as complex or multiple particles.

E.g.: She can’t put up with the noise in the classroom.

Note that the above phrasal verbs ‘put up with’, means ‘suffer’, that she cannot suffer the noise in the classroom.

Below are more examples of alphabetically arranged phrasal verbs with their meanings which are entirely different from idiomatic expressions.

How to use this dictionary: The best way for one to look for the meaning of a phrasal verb is by first looking at or for the first letter of the word of that phrasal verb.

For example, the phrasal verb ‘abide by’, can easily be found under the letter A. After which there is an example or are a number of examples for that particular phrasal verb.

A

1. Abide by: To accept and obey a decision, rule, agreement etc, even though you may not agree with it.

E.g. You have to abide by the referee’s decision.

2. Abound with/in: If a place, situation etc abounds with things if particular type, it contains a very large a number of the.

E.g. The forests abound with deer, birds and squirrels.

3. Accede to: To agree to a demand, proposal etc, especially after first disagreeing with it.

E.g. The doctor’s refusal to accede to his patient’s request.

4. If someone accedes to the throne, they become king or queen.

E.g. He accedes to the throne next week by tradition.

5. Account for: To form a particular amount or part of something.

E.g. Afro-America account for 12% of the US population.

6. Account for: To be the reason why something happens.

E.g. Recent pressure at work may account for his behaviour.

7. Account for: To give satisfactorily explanation of why something has happened or why you did something.

E.g. Can you account for your movements on that night?

8. Account for: To say where all the members of a group of people or things are, especially because you are worried that some of them may be lost.

E.g. Three days after the earthquake, more than 150 people had been accounted for.

9. Act as: To do a particular job for a short time, for example while the usual person is absent.

E.g. My brother speaks French – he can act as interpreter.

10. Act on/upon: To do something because of another person’s advice or order, or because you have received information or had an idea.

E.g. She is acting on the advice of her lawyers.

11. Act out: If a group of people act out an event, they show how it happened by pretending to be the people who were involved in it.

E.g. The children were acting out the story of the birth of Jesus.

12. Act out: To express your feelings about something through your behaviour or actions, especially when your have been feeling angry or nervous.

E.g. These teenagers are likely to act out their distress by running away.

13. Act up: If children act up, they behave badly.

E.g. He’s a tough kid and he acts up a lot.

14. Act up: If a machine or part of your body acts up, it does not work properly.

E.g. The computer is acting up again.

15. Add in: To include something with something else.

E.g. Don’t forget to add in the cost of your time.

16. Add on: To include or put on something extra.

E.g. The private chapel was added on to the churn much later.

17. Add to: To make a feeling or quality stronger and more noticeable.

E.g. This show will no doubt add to his growing reputation.

18. Add up: To calculate the total of several numbers.

E.g. I can add up in my head quite easily.

19. Add up: If a set of facts does not add up, it does not provide a reasonable explanation for a situation.

E.g. He was troubled by a feeling that things just don’t add up.

20. Add up: Used to say that lots of small amounts gradually make a large total.

E.g. There are five of us using the phone so it all adds up.

21. Add up to: To produce a particular total or result.

E.g. Rising prison population and overcrowding add up to a real crisis.

22. Adhere to: To continue to behave according to a particular rule, agreement, or belief.

E.g. We adhere to the principles of equal rights and freedom of expression for all.

23. Admit of: If a situation admits of a particular explanation, that explanation can be accepted as possible.

E.g. The fats admit of no other explanation.

24. Agree with: To believe that a decision, action or suggestion is correct or right.

E.g. I don’t agree with hitting children.

25. Agree with: If a type of food does not agree with you, it males you feel ill.

E.g. Green peppers don’t agree with me.

26. Agree with: If an adjective, verb etc agrees with a word, it matches that word by being plural if the word is plural.

27. Air brush out: To remove someone or something from picture or photograph using an airbrush.

E.g. The picture of our late friend was air brushed out just last week.

28. Allow for: To consider the possible facts, problems, costs etc involved in something when making a plan, calculation, or judgment.

E.g. You should always allow for the possibility that it might rain.

29. Allow of: To make it possible for something to happens or be accepted.

E.g. The facts allow of only one interpretation.

30. Allude to: To mention something or someone indirectly.

E.g. Rick didn’t want to discuss his past, though he alluded darkly to ‘some bad things that happened.’

31. Amount to: If figures, sums etc amount to a particular total, they equal that when total they are added together.

E.g. Time lost through illness amounted to 1,357 working days.

32. Amount to: If an attitude, remark, situation etc amount to something, it has the same effect.

E.g. The court’s decision amounts to a not guilty verdict.

33. Amount to: To not to be important, valuable, or successful.

E.g. Her academic achievements don’t amount to much.

34. Angle for: Try to get something you want without asking directly for it.

E.g. She was obviously angling for invitation.

35. Answer back: To reply in a rude way to someone that you are supposed to obey.

E.g. Don’t answer me back young man!

36. Answer for: To explain to people in authority why you did something wrong or why something happened, and be punished if necessary.

E.g. Their coach must answer for the team’s poor performance.

37. Answer for: To be responsible for causing a lot of trouble.

E.g. He would answer for what happened last night.

38. Answer for: Used to say that you cannot make a decision for someone who is not there, or give their opinion.

E.g. I’m sure John will help us – I can’t really answer for the others.

39. Answer to: To give an explanation to someone, especially about something that you have done wrong.

E.g. Phipps answers to me and me alone.

40. Answer to: To be called a particular name – used humorously.

E.g. A well-dressed young woman answering to the name of Suzanne.

41. Ante up: To pay in amount of money in order to be able to do or be involved in something.

E.g. Small firms that want to expand must ante up large legal fees.

42. Appertain to: To belong to or concern something.

E.g. A forum was set up to deal with all issues appertaining to Everton Park.

43. Ascribe to: To claim that something is caused by a particular person, situation etc.

E.g. The reports ascribes the rise in childhood asthma to the increase in population.

44. Ascribe to: To claim that something has bee written, said, made etc by a particular person.

E.g. A quotation that’s often been ascribed to Marilyn Monroe.

45. Ascribe to: To believe that something or someone has a particular quality.

E.g. Local people ascribe healing properties to this fruit.

46. Ask after: If you ask after someone, you want to know whether they are well, what they are doing.

E.g. I spoke to James today. He was asking after you.

47. Ask for: If you ask for someone, you want to speak to them.

E.g. There’s someone at the door asking for Dad.

48. Attend to: To deal with business or personal matters.

E.g. I may be late – I have got one or two things to attend to.

49. Attend to: To help a customer in a shop or a restaurant.

E.g. It’s the man who has to attend to the customer.

50. Attribute to: To believe or say that a situation or event is caused by something.

E.g. The fall in the number of deaths from heart disease is generally attributed to improvements in diet.

51. Attribute to: If people in general attribute a particular statement, painting, piece of music etc to someone, they believe that person said it, painted it etc.

E.g. A saying usually attributed to Confucius.

52. Attribute to: To believe or say that someone or something has a particular quality.

E.g. One should not attribute human motives to animals.

53. Average out: If something is average out at a particular figure, it has that figure on an average over a period of time.

E.g. Training costs for last year average out at £5,100 per trainee.

54. Average out: To calculate the average of something

E.g. I averaged out the total increase of about 10%.

55. Awake to: To begin to realize the possible effects of a situation.

E.g. The children awoke to the sudden change in weather by wearing pull-over

56. Awaken to: To make someone understand situation and its possible effects.

E.g. We must awaken people to the dangers for the environment.

B

57. Back away: To more backwards and away from something especially because you’re frightened.

E.g. She backed away from the menacing look on his face.

58. Back away: To stop supporting plan or ideas, or stop being involved in something.

E.g. The government has backed away from its nuclear weapons strategy.

59. Back down: To admit that you are wrong or that you have lost an argument.

E.g. Both side have refused to back down.

60. Back off: To move backwards away from someone or something.

E.g. She backed off and then turned and ran.

61. Back off: To stop telling someone what to do, or stop criticizing them, especially so that they can deal with something themselves.

E.g. I think you should back off for a while.

62. Back off: To stop supporting something you were planning to do.

E.g. Jerry backed off when he realized how much work was involved.

63. Back onto: If a building backs onto something, its back faces it.

E.g. The hotel backs onto St Mark’s square.

64. Back out: To decide not to do something that you had promised to do.

E.g. It’s too late to back out now.

65. Back up: To say or show that what someone is saying is true.

E.g. Jane would back me up if she were here.

66. Back up: To provide support or help for someone or something.

E.g. The plan’s success depends on how vigorously the UN will back it up.

67. Back up: To make a copy of information stored on a computer.

E.g. These devices can back up the whole system.

68. Back up: To make a vehicle move backwards.

E.g. The truck stopped and then backed up.

69. Back up: To move backwards.

E.g. Back up a bit so that everyone can see.

70. Back up: If traffic backs up, it forms a long of vehicles that cannot move.

E.g. The traffic was starting to back up in both directions.

71. Back up: If a toilet, sink etc backs up, it becomes blocked so that water cannot flow out of it.

72. Bag up: To put things into bags.

E.g. We bagged up the money before we closed the shop.

73. Bail out: To do something to help someone out of troubles, especially financial problems.

E.g. Some local business have offered to bail out the museum.

74. Bail out: To leave a large sum of money with a court so that someone can be let out of prison wile waiting for their trial.

E.g. Clarke’s family paid £500 to bail him out.

75. Bail out: To escape from a plane, using a parachute.

E.g. The soldiers were lucky to have been bailed out.

76. Balance out: If two or more thing balance out, the final result is that they are equal in amount, importance, or effect.

E.g. Sometimes I look after the kids and sometimes John does – it all balances out.

77. Balls up: To do something really badly or unsuccessfully.

E.g. The armed-robber balled up the building into rubble

78. Bandy about/around: To mention an idea, name, remark etc several times, especially in order to seem impressive.

E.g. Many names have been bandied about in the press as the manager’s replacement

79. Bang about/around: To move around a place, making a lot of noise.

E.g. We could hear them banging about upstairs.

80. Bang on: To talk continuously about something in a boring way.

E.g. I wish he wouldn’t keep banging on about politics.

81. Bang out: To play a tune or song loudly and badly on piano.

E.g. The children banged out in the classroom in the absence of the music teacher.

82. Bang out: To write something in a hurry, especially using a keyboard.

E.g. He decided just to bang out for making himself happy.

83. Bang up: To put someone in prison.

E.g. The court will really have the thief banged up.

84. Bang up: To seriously damage something.

E.g. A banged-up old Buick.

85. Bank on: To depend on something happening or someone doing something.

E.g. I was banking on being able to get some coffee on the train.

86. Bargain for: To expect that something will happen and make part of your pains.

E.g. They hadn’t bargained for such a dramatic change in the weather.

87. Barge in: To enter somewhere rudely, or rudely to interrupt someone.

E.g. George barged into my office without knocking.

88. Bash on: To continue working in order to finish something.

E.g. Well, I’d better bash on.

89. Bash out: To produce something quickly or in great quantities but without care or thought.

E.g. I bashed out replies as fast as I could.

90. Bash up: To seriously hurt someone by attacking violently.

E.g. The demonstrators were bashed up before the forecourt of the palace.

91. Bat around: To discuss various ideas or suggestions.

E.g. We shall bat around before the manager arrives, said the lady.

92. Bawl out: To speak angrily to someone because they have done something wrong.

E.g. He was afraid Vic would bawl him out for being late.

93. Bear down on: To move quickly towards a person or place in a threatening way.

E.g. A storm bearing down on the island.

94. Bear down on: To use all your strength and effort to push or press down on something.

E.g. They will bear down on management for their allowances.

95. Bear on/upon: To relate to and possibly influence something.

E.g. The national policies which bear on these problems.

96. Bear out: If facts or information bear out a claim, story, opinion etc, they help to prove that it is true.

E.g. Evidence bears out the idea that students learn best in small groups.

97. Bear up: To show courage or determination during a difficult or unpleasant time.

E.g. How is he bearing up since the fall?

98. Bear with: Used to ask someone politely to wait while you find out information, finish what you are doing.

E.g. Bear with me a minute, and I’ll check if Mr. Garrard’s in.

99. Bear with: To be patient or continue to do something difficult or unpleasant.

E.g. It’s boring, but please bear with it.

100. Beat down: If the sun beats down, it shines very brightly and the weather is hot.

E.g. The old lady was beaten down that day on her way back from the farm.

101. Beat down: If the rain beats down, it is raining very hard.

E.g. The rain beat down last Wednesday.

102. Beat down: To hit a door so hard that it falls down.

E.g. It was beaten down by the young man.

103. Beat down: To persuade someone to reduce a price.

E.g. He wanted £4500 for the car but u beat him down to £3850.

104. Beat down: To make someone feel defeated, so they no longer respect themselves.

E.g. The women seemed beaten down.

105. Beat off: To succeed in defeating someone who is attacking, opposing, or competing with you.

E.g. McConnell beat off a challenge for his Senate seat.

106. Beat off: If a man beats off, he masturbates.

E.g. He has been beating off lately.

107. Beat out: If a drum or something else beats out a rhythm, or if you beat out a rhythm on a drum, it makes a continuous regular sound.

108. Beat out: To defeat someone in a competition.

E.g. Lockheed beat out a rival company to win the contract.

109. Beat out: To put out a fire by hitting it many times with something such as a cloth.

E.g. The women managed to beat out the fire at the market.

110. Beat up: To hurt someone badly by hitting them.

E.g. Her boyfriend got drunk and beat her up.

111. Beat up: To hit someone and harm them, especially someone younger or weaker than yourself.

E.g. The young man beat up the little girl.

112. Beat up: To blame yourself too much for something.

E.g. If you do your best and you lose, you can’t beat yourself up about it.

113. Bed down: To sleep somewhere which is not your bed and where you do not usually sleep.

E.g. Can I bed down on your sofa?

114. Bed down: To make a person or animal comfortable in a place where they do not usually sleep.

E.g. They children were finally bed down in the suite.

115. Bed out : To put plants into the ground so that they can grow.

E.g. The farmer was able to bed out some maize on the land.

116. Beef up: To improve something or make it more interesting, more important etc.

E.g. We need to beef the campaign up.

117. Begin as: To be a particular thing at the start of your existence, working life etc.

E.g. Roger began his career as an office boy.

118. Believe in: To be sure that someone or something exits.

E.g. Do you believe in God?

119. Believe in: To think that something is effective or right.

E.g. I believe in the rule of law.

120. Belong to : If something belongs to someone, they own it.

E.g. The book belongs to Dan.

121. Belong to: To be a member of a group or organization.

E.g. He belongs to the golf club.

122. Belong to: To be related to something or form part of it.

E.g. Cars that belong to a different era.

123. Belong to: To be related to or produced by a particular person.

E.g. She recognized the voice as belonging to the man who had attacked her.

124. Belong to: If a competition or period of times belongs to someone, they are the most important or successful person in it.

E.g. All the acts were good, but the evening belonged to a dance group from Moscow.

125. Belt out : To sing a song or play an instrument loudly.

E.g. She saw belting out old Broadway favorites.

126. Belt up : Used to tell someone rudely to be quiet.

E.g. ‘’ You better belt up,’’ warned the mistress.

127. Belt up: To fasten your seat belt in a vehicle.

E.g. ‘’Please belt up,’’ the driver asked the passengers.

128. Bill as : To advertise or describe something in a particular way.

E.g. The castle bills itself as the oldest in England.

129. Bind over : If someone is bound over by a court of law, they are warned that if they cause more trouble, they will be legally punished.

E.g. The demonstrators were bound over to keep the peace.

130. Bite back : To stop yourself from saying or showing what you really think.

E.g. Tamar bit back the retort which sprang to her lips.

131. Bite back: To react strongly and angrily to something.

E.g. Determined to bite back at car thieves, he wired his car to an electric fence.

132. Black out: To become unconscious.

E.g. For a few seconds, he thought he was going to black out.

133. Black out: To put a dark mark over something so that it cannot be seen.

E.g. The censors had blacked out several words.

134. Black out: To hide or turn off all the lights in a town or city, especially during war.

E.g. There was black out during the Ashanti-Denkyira war.

135 Blank out: To cover something so that it cannot be seen.

E.g. The actual names had been blank out.

136. Blank out: To completely forget something, especially deliberately.

E.g. I tried to blank out everything he had said.

137. Block in : To park your car too close to another car, so that the other one cannot drive away.

E.g. Her vehicle was blocked in at the mall.

138. Block in: To paint or draw simple shapes or areas of color.

E.g. I’ll just block in the buildings.

139. Block off : To completely close something such as road or an opening.

E.g. Police block off the city centre streets.

140. Block out: To stop light reaching a place.

E.g. There was a heavy curtain blocking out the light.

141. Block out: To stop yourself thinking about something or remembering it.

E.g. A memory so terrible that she tried to block it out.

142. Blot out: To cover or hide something completely.

E.g. Thick white smoke blotted out the sun.

143. Blot out: If you blot out an unpleasant memory, a thought etc, you deliberately try to forget it.

E.g. She said she took drugs to blot out her problems.

144. Blot up : To remove liquid from a surface by pressing soft paper or cloth onto it.

E.g. Use that liquid to blot out the stain.

145. Blow away: To make someone feel very surprised, especially about something they like or admire.

E.g. It just blows me away, the way everyone’s so friendly round here.

146. Blow away: To kill someone by shooting them with a gun.

E.g. The soldiers will blow away the enemies.

147. Blow away: To defeat someone completely, especially in a game.

E.g. Nancy blew away the rest if the skaters

148. Blow down: If the wind blows something down, or if something blows down, the wind makes it fall.

E.g. Several trees were blown down in the night.

149. Blow in/into: To arrive in a place, especially suddenly.

E.g. Guess who’s just blown into town?

150. Blow in/ into: If a storm or bad weather blows in, it arrives and begins to affect a particular area.

E.g. The first snowstorm blew in from the north.

151. Blow off: To treat someone or something as unimportant, for example by not meeting someone or not going to an event.

E.g. Bud got into trouble for blowing off the meeting,

152. Blow off: To make known something that was secret, especially something involving important or famous people.

E.g. Her book blew the lid off the Reagan years.

153. Blow off: To kill someone by shooting them in the head.

E.g. The thief’s head was blown off.

154. Blow off: To get rid of anger or energy by doing something.

E.g. I went jogging to blow off some steam.

155. Blow out: If you blow a flame or fire out, or if it blows out, it stops burning.

E.g. The match blew out in the wind.

156. Blow out: If a tyre blows out, it bursts.

E.g. The thieves would blow out your tyres on that very road.

157. Blow out: If a storm blows itself out, it ends.

E.g. The storm blew out on the high seas.

158. Blow out: To kill yourself or someone else with a shot to the head.

E.g. They managed to blow out the manager.

159. Blow out: To easily defeat someone.

E.g. We blew them out 28 – 0.

160. Blow out: If you blow out your knee or another joint in your body, or if it blows out, you injure it badly.

161. Blow out: If an oil or gas well blows out, oil or gas suddenly escapes from it.

E.g. The station was blown out by the rebels.

162. Blow out: To stop having a friendship or relationship with someone.

E.g. The lady has decided to blow out of it.

163. Blow over : If the wind blows over, or if something blows over, the wind makes it fall.

E.g. our fence blew over in the storm.

164. Blow over: If an argument or unpleasant situation blows over, it ends or is forgotten.

E.g. They weren’t speaking to each other, but I think it’s blown over now.

165. Blow over: If a storm blows over, it goes away.

E.g. It got blown over in the night.

166. Blow up: To destroy something, or to be destroyed, by an explosion.

E.g. The plane blew up in mid-air.

167. Blow up: To fill something with air or gas.

E.g. Can you blow up this balloon?

168. Blow up: If a situation, argument etc blows up, it suddenly becomes important or dangerous.

E.g. A crisis had blown up over the peace talks.

169. Blow up: If you blow up a photograph, you make it larger.

E.g. The man was told to blow up the portrait.

170. Blow up: To become very angry with someone.

E.g. Jenny’s father blew up when she didn’t come home last night.

171. Blow up: I f something you have done or planned to do blows up in your face, it suddenly goes wrong.

E.g. One of his