An Extensive List of Phrasal Verbs

PHRASAL VERB MEANING EXAMPLE

ABIDE BY To respect or obey a decision, a If you want to keep your job here, you must
law or a rule abide by our rules.
ACCOUNT FOR To explain, give a reason I hope you can account for the time you
were out!
ADD UP To make sense, seem reasonable The facts in the case just don’t add up.
ADVISE AGAINST To recommend not doing I advise against walking alone in this
something neighborhood.
AGREE WITH To have the same opinion as I agree with you. I think you should go as
someone else. well.
ALLOW FOR To take into consideration We need to allow for unexpected charges
along the way.
APPEAL TO 1. To plead or make a request 1. He appealed to the court to change
2. To be attractive or its decision.
interesting 2. A vacation of sunbathing doesn’t
appeal to me.

APPLY FOR To make a formal request for He applied for a scholarship for next
something (job, permit, loan etc.) semester.
BACK AWAY To move backwards, in fear or When he saw the bear, he backed away in
dislike fright.
BACK DOWN To withdraw, concede defeat Local authorities backed down on their
threats to build on that part of the beach.
BACK UP 1. To give support or 1. I’m going to be very strict with him.
encouragement I hope you’ll back me up on this?
2. To make a copy of (file, 2. You should back up all your
program, etc.) computer files in a secure location.

BANK ON To base your hopes on something / I’m banking on you to help with the charity
someone event.
BLACK OUT To faint, lose consciousness Jenna fell in the parking lot and blacked
out.
BLOCK OFF To separate using a barrier. The police blocked off the street after the
explosion.
BLOW UP 1. To explode 1. Tommy blew up the red balloon.
2. To get angry 2. Don’t blow up at me. It’s not my
fault.

BOIL DOWN TO To be summarized as It all boils down to who has more power.
BOOT UP To start a computer by loading an You need to boot up your computer before
operating system or program you begin to work.
BREAK AWAY To separate from a crowd One of the wolves broke away from his
pack.
BREAK DOWN 1. To go out of order, cease to 1. The washing machine broke down
function so we had to call in the repair
technician.
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 2. To lose control of one’s 2. John broke down when he heard the
emotions news.

BREAK INTO To enter by force Burglars broke into my car last night.
BREAK OUT To start suddenly Rioting broke out after the government
raised the fuel prices again.
BREAK OUT OF To escape from a place by force Several prisoners broke out of jail.
BREAK UP To come to an end (marriage, She broke up with Daniel after dating him
relationship) for five years.
BRING UP To raise (a child) Sara is bringing up her children by herself.
BRUSH UP ON To improve, refresh one’s I must brush up on my French before going
knowledge of something to Paris next month.
BUMP INTO To meet by chance or I bumped into Adam at the bank. He says
unexpectedly “hello”.
BURN OUT 1. stop (something) working 1. The light bulb burnt out. Please
2. become exhausted from change it.
over-working 2. She needs to work fewer hours.
Otherwise she will burn out.

CALL BACK To return a phone call Could please call back in ten minutes?
CALL OFF To cancel The game was called off because of bad
weather.
CALM DOWN To become more relaxed, less It took Kylie several hours to calm down
angry or upset after she saw the accident.
CARRY ON To continue The soldiers carried on walking in order to
get to their post before dark.
CARRY OUT 1. To do something as 1. His orders were carried out to the
specified (a plan, an order, letter.
a threat) 2. That company does not carry out
2. To perform or conduct tests on animals.
(test, experiment)

CHECK IN To register at a hotel or airport They said I must check in at least three
hours before my flight.
CHECK OUT 1. To pay one’s bill and leave 1. Donna checked out of the hotel this
(a hotel) morning.
2. To investigate 2. I don’t know if this price is correct.
I’ll check it out online.

CLAM UP To refuse to speak When the police started asking questions,

the suspect clammed up.
CLAMP DOWN ON To act strictly to prevent The local authorities have decided to clamp
something down on illegal parking in handicapped
parking places.
COME ACROSS 1. To find by chance 1. I was cleaning up and came across
2. To appear, seem, make an some old photos of you.
impression 2. The politician came across as a
complete fool during the TV

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 interview.

COME FORWARD To present oneself Has the owner of the winning lotto ticket
come forward?
COUNT ON To rely or depend on (for help) You can count on me to keep your secret.
CUT DOWN ON To reduce in number or size I’ve decided to cut down on the amount of
sweets I eat.
CUT OUT 1. To remove using scissors 1. She cut out a coupon from the
2. To stop doing something newspaper.
2. You need to cut out all red meat
from your diet.

DEAL WITH To handle, take care of (problem, Catherine is not good at dealing with stress.
situation)
DIE DOWN To calm down, become less strong After the storm died down, we went outside
to see the damage it had caused.
DO WITHOUT To manage without She didn’t get a salary this month, so she’ll
have to do without extra treats.
DRAG ON To last longer than expected The suspect’s trial dragged on longer than
we had expected!
DRAW UP To write (contract, agreement, They drew up a contract and had me sign it.
document)
DRESS UP wear elegant clothes Their wedding gave us a chance to dress up
and get out of the house.
DROP IN To visit, usually on the way Why don’t you drop in to see us on your
somewhere way home?
DROP OFF 1. To deliver someone or 1. I’ll drop off the papers later today.
something 2. I often drop off in front of the TV.
2. To fall asleep

DROP OUT To leave school without finishing Zack dropped out of college and joined the
army.
EASE OFF To reduce, become less severe or Traffic usually eases off about 7pm
slow down (pain, traffic, work)
END IN To finish in a certain way; result in Her marriage ended in divorce.
END UP To finally reach a state, place or If you don’t improve your work habits,
action you’ll end up being fired.
FALL THROUGH To fail; doesn’t happen His plans to trek through South America fell
through when he got sick.
FIGURE OUT To understand, find the answer He’s trying to figure out how to earn
enough money to go on the trip to Spain.
FILL OUT To complete (a form/an Please fill out the enclosed form and return
application) it as soon as possible.
FIND OUT To discover or obtain information I’m going to to find out who’s responsible
for the power cut.
FOCUS ON To concentrate on something Tom had difficultty focusing on work the
day before his holiday started.
GET ALONG (WITH) To be on good terms; work well It’s important to get along with your team
with supervisor.
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GET AT To imply What are you getting at? Do you think I’m
to blame?
GET AWAY To escape I think we should get away for the weekend.
GET BY To manage to cope or to survive Students without jobs have a hard time
getting by.
GET IN To enter When did you get in last night?
GET INTO (+NOUN) To enter How did you get into your car without the
keys?
GET OFF 1. To leave (bus, train, plane) 1. You should get off the train in Kings
2. To remove Heath.
2. I can’t get the ink stain off my shirt.

GET ON To board (bus, train, plane) I’m trying to get on the flight to Brussels.
GET ON WITH To continue to do; make progress After they split up, she had a hard time
(SOMETHING) getting on with her life.
GET ON (WELL) To have a good relationship with He doesnt get on very well with the other
WITH (SOMEBODY) members of the committee.
GET OUT To leave He had a hard time getting out of Newark
because of the snow?
GET OUT OF To avoid doing something Edna’s trying to get out of working the
night shift.
GET OVER To recover from (illness, Has she gotten over the flu?
disappointment)
GET OVER To recover from (illness, Mary had the chickenpox last week but she
disappointment) got over it.
GET RID OF To eliminate Please get rid of that old t-shirt. It’s so
ragged.
GET TOGETHER To meet each other Let’s get together for your birthday on
Saturday.
GET UP To rise, leave bed Will you please get up? You’ve got a class
in 20 minutes.
GIVE IN 1. To cease opposition; yield 1. We will never give in to the
2. To To hand in; submit terrorists’ demands.
2. I’ll give in my paper tomorrow.

GIVE UP To stop doing something Morris gave up drinking 10 years ago.

GO THROUGH To experience Andy went through a lot of pain after his
mother died.
GROW UP To spend one’s childhood; He’s like Peter Pan. He never really grew
develop; become an adult up at all.
HAND IN To submit (report, homework) Please hand in your papers before Friday.
HAND OUT To distribute Susan volunteered at the shelter where she
handed out warm clothes.
HANG OUT To spend time in a particular place Which pub does the team hang out at after
or with a group of friends the game?
HANG UP To end a phone conversation If you hang up now, I’ll never speak to you
again.
HOLD ON 1. To wait 1. Please hold on and a representative
will answer your call.
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 2. To grip tightly 2. She was so scared on the
rollercoaster ride that she held on for
dear life.

HURRY UP To be quick, act speedily Hurry up and finish your lunch or we’ll
miss the train.
IRON OUT To resolve by discussion, eliminate The two countries met at the conference to
differences iron out their differences.
JOIN IN To participate Yes David, you can join in the discussion
any time you like.
JOIN UP 1. To engage in, become a 1. There was a war on, so some kids
member of were only sixteen when they joined
2. To meet and unite with up.
2. Let’s separate now and join up later
at the restaurant.

KEEP ON To continue doing something If you keep on making that noise I will get
annoyed.
KEEP UP WITH To stay at the same level as I read the paper every day to keep up with
someone or something the news.
KICK OFF To begin, start The rugby match kicked off at 3 o’clock.
LEAVE OUT To omit, not mention Please check your form again and make sure
nothing is left out.
LET DOWN To disappoint I feel so let down because they promised me
a puppy but all I got was a doll.
LOOK AFTER To take care of Andy can you look after your sister until I
get back?
LOOK DOWN ON To consider as inferior She’s such a snob. She always looks down
on anyone who is poor.
LOOK ON To be a spectator at an event If you don’t want to take part in the game
you can look on for now.
LOOK FOR To try to find something Harry went to the shop to look for a new
computer.
LOOK FORWARD To await or anticipate with I’m looking forward to my birthday. It’s in
TO pleasure two days time.
LOOK UP TO To admire I always looked up to my father. He was a
great man.
MAKE FUN OF To laugh at/ make jokes about It’s not nice to make fun of people in
wheelchairs.
MAKE UP To invent (excuse, story) That’s a good excuse. Did you make up it
up yourself?
MIX UP To mistake one thing or person for She had so many cats that she kept mixing
another up their names.
MOVE IN To arrive in a new home or office Did you hear? Our new neighbors are
moving in this afternoon.
MOVE OUT To leave your home/office for When are you moving out? We need your
another one. office for the new guy.
NOD OFF To fall asleep You were so tired after the game that you
nodded off on the couch.
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OWN UP To admit or confess something Come on. Own up. We know you did it!
PASS AWAY To die Your grandfather passed away peacefully in
his sleep last night.
PASS OUT To faint He didn’t drink enough water so he passed
out at the end of the race.
PAY BACK To reimburse I’ll pay you back as soon as I get the loan.
PUT OFF To postpone, arrange a later date Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can
do today.
PUT ON To turn on, switch on It’s very dark in here. Please put on the light
on.
PUT OUT To extinguish The fire fighters were able to put out fire in
ten minutes.
PUT UP To accommodate, give somebody I can put you up until the weekend but then
a bed I’m going away.
PICK UP To collect somebody I’ll pick you up at around 7:00 to take you
to the airport.
POINT OUT To indicate/direct attention to As I already pointed out, there was a
something mistake in your calculation.
RELY ON To count on, depend on, trust You can rely on me. I always arrive on
time.
RULE OUT To eliminate Since he had a sound alibi, the police ruled
him out as a suspect.
RUN AWAY To escape from a place or He ran away from home and joined the
suddenly leave circus.
RUN INTO To meet by accident or I’m so glad I ran into you. I need to ask you
unexpectedly (also: bump into) something.
RUN OUT OF To have no more of something. We’ve run out of milk. I’ll just pop next
door to borrow some.
SET OFF To start a journey; Let’s set off early to miss the rush hour
traffic.
SET UP To start a business They set up their own company when they
were still in high school.
SHOP AROUND To compare prices Don’t buy that. Let’s shop around and see
if we can find something cheaper.
SHOW OFF To brag or want to be admired He’s such a show off. He has to tell
everybody about his new computer.
SHOW UP To appear/arrive I don’t think she’ll show up tonight. Her
daughter is sick.
SHUT UP To be silent, stop talking Shut up, you’re spoiling the movie!
(IMPOLITE)
SIT DOWN To take a seat I think you should sit down. It’s bad news.
STAND UP To rise from a sitting position The whole stadium stood up for the national
anthem.
STICK UP FOR To defend My big brother always stuck up for me
when I got into a fight.
TAKE AFTER To resemble, in appearance or Angie really takes after her grandmother.
character
TAKE CARE OF To look after Please take care of my cat when I’m away.
TAKE OFF To leave the ground The plane will take off as soon as the fog
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 lifts.
TAKE ON To hire or engage staff I hear they’re taking on extra staff for this
event.
TAKE OUT To remove; extract Please take out your mobile phones and
turn them off.
TELL OFF To reprimand/criticize severely The coach told her off for not trying hard
enough.
THINK OVER To consider Take your time and think it over before you
decide.
TRY ON To wear something to see if it suits Go ahead, try it on and see if it fits?
or fits
TURN DOWN To refuse I asked her out but she turned me down
flat.
USE UP To finish a product (so that there’s Your parents used up all the coffee!
none left)
WATCH OUT To be careful Watch out! There’s a dog in the road.
WEAR OUT 1. To become unusable 1. Julie wore out her shoes running the
2. To become very tired marathons.
2. Julie was worn out after all that
running.

WORK OUT 1. To do physical exercise 1. You should work out twice a week
2. To find a solution or at the gym.
calculate something 2. Can you work this out? I’m no good
at math.

WIPE OFF To clean (board, table). I’ll wash up if you wipe off the table.