Phrasal verbs are very important to make your english

writing a mature piece of work. Plump for the best one

to use it in your writing.
Roll in : to appear or arrive in large numbers or
amounts The money has been rolling in. 2 : to
arrive at a place especially later than usual or
expected He finally rolled in at 3:30 in the morning
Eye up = look sb sexually
Bring out: produce and sell in the market
Jump at = grab an opportunity
1. Call off = cancel
2. Turn down = reject
3. Bring up = mention
4. Come up= arise/ produce
5. Hand over = relinquish / give a chance
6. Take over= take control /responsibility
10. Use up = exhaust / use completely
11. Look forward to = await
12. Go on = continue
13. Catch up = meet sb
14. Fill in = complete
15. Hand in = submit
16. Look up= find/search
1
17. Look into = check/ investigate
18. Figure out = understand / solve
20. Show up = arrive
22. Go back = return to a place
24. chip in = help
30. Figure out = discover
31. Get back = return
32. Get away = escape
33. Work out= exercise
36. Pass out = faint
37. Leave out = omit/ skip
38. Show off = boast / brag
42. Cross out = delete / cancel / erase
43. Sort out = solve
45. Abide by = follow ( a rule / decision / instruction)
46. Pile up = accumulate
48. Pick up = collect
49. mix up = confuse
51. Opt for = choose
57. Die down : to gradually become less strong
58. Get along

2
62. Talk about = discuss
63. Kick out = expel
65. Link up = connect /join
71. Call up= telephone
73. Care for = like
74. carry off = win/succeed
75. Carry on = continue
76. Add on = include
77. Ask over = invite over
79. Back off = retreat
83. Give up = quit / stop trying
85. Put off = postpone
88. Bring up = raise (children)
89. Fill out = complete a form – also compare fill in
90. Drop out of = leave school
92. Fill up = fill to capacity
95. Put out = extinguish
96. Set up = arrange/ begin
97. Throw away = discard
99. Try out = test
100. Turn off = repulse

3
102. Go through
105. get rid of = eliminate/ eradicate/ erase
106. Get through with = finish
107. Look down on = despise
108. Look up to = respect & admire
109. Make sure of = verify
111. Run out of= exhaust supply
115. Get up = arise
116. Grow up = get older
118. Back up = support
My table takes up too much room.”
Watch out
• “Please look over the proposal and let me know what
you think.” (Please
quickly examine the proposal.)
“We have to wait for the fire to die down before we can
enter the
building.” (We have to wait for the fire to become less
intense.)
“The plane took off an hour late.” (The plane began its
flight later than
scheduled.)

4
She is always making up excuses.” (She is always
inventing excuses that
are not true.)
• “He has been looking after his mother.” (He has been
caring for his
mother.)
• “I came across that old watch of mine when I was
cleaning out the
drawers.” (I found my old watch unexpectedly.)
• “Stop picking on your brother like that!” (Stop teasing
or harassing your
brother in that way.)
https://7esl.com/expressions/?fbclid=IwAR0jnltv56Kv4
OnUYwLfTs3_BL73Dmc7FnJgpkzEcAfgRMBL8SHHdbOmJ
hQ#Thousands_of_Common_English_Expressions

5
His anger blazed up (= suddenly became very strong)
uncontrolloably.
abide by sth,
embark on/upon sth, vie for sth = compete for sth.
Cont.: vying
Yearn for sth = longing for sth
bang on = on target
blow sb away: impress sb a lot
stand out: clearly visible
6
stand out like a sore thumb: very noticeable in an
unpleasant way
outstanding: excellent
put off until the next day
rely on
Brush sth up : means study or practise sth to get back
the skill or knowledge that you had in the post
Nod off: drowsy, (ungnu)
Grow up
look up the word in your dictionary.
Looking forward to the trip.
'furnish a room', that is, put furniture in it,
if you 'furnish somebody with something' you are
giving them some useful information.
I will finish off my work and then I'll go out.
wake/woke up: Informal
wake/woke : formal (written)
spread out, fade away
pin sth up: means fasten something to a wall with pins:
'move very quickly from place to place, being very
busy' (I've been running around all day trying to
organize the meeting.).
Get on/ off: on an bus, plane, train, ship
7
If you get out, you leave a place or a vehicle.
We got out of the car.
come along We're qoinq out for dinner. Whv don't vou
come along with us?

• Work on your Accent

• Work on your Idioms

He tripped and fell down.

get up
When someone or something gets up or gets up
something, they move from a lower position or level to
a
higher one.
By the time we'd got up to the top of the hill, we were
exhausted.
I knew he would have difficulty getting up those steps.
If you get up, you rise to a standing position after you
have been sitting or lying down.
He got up off the floor.
When you get up, or when someone gets you up, you
get out of bed.
8
She decided it was time to get up.
We had to get the children up and dressed.
go back
If you go back, you return to a place where you were
before.
I have to go back to the US next week.
It started to rain so I went back for my umbrella.
go in
When you go in, you enter a building.
Let's go in and have some coffee.
I pushed open the door of the office and went in.
note The opposite of go in is go out.
go into
When you go into a room, building, or area, you enter it.
She went into the bedroom and shut the door.
go off
If you go off somewhere, you leave the place where you
were, usually in order to do something.
He's gone off to work.
if you keep your head down, you stay in a lying or low
position in order to avoid
being seen or attacked.
9
lay down
If you lay something down, you put it down on a
surface.
He laid the baby gently down on the changing table.
run into
To run into a place means to enter it running.
They had run into the nearest apartment and asked for
help.
turn back
If you turn back or are turned back, you stop a journey
and return towards the place you started from.
It was getting dark, so we turned back.

let in

light up
To light something up means to shine light on or in it, so
that it is bright and easy to see.
The match lit up her face.
look for
If you look for something or someone, you try to find
them.
Someone came to the office looking for you.
pick up

10
If you pick something or someone up, you lift them up
from a surface.
The baby was crying so I picked her up.
put back
If you put something back somewhere, you put it in the
place it was in before it was moved.
Shall I put it back in the box for you?
put down
If you put down someone or something that you are
holding or carrying, you put them on the floor or on
a table, bed, etc.
He put the basket down and looked inside it.

put together
If you put together an object or its parts, you join its
parts to each other so that it can be used.
It's very interesting to see how they put together these
huge structures.
I have all the parts here - 1 just need to put them
together.
note I The opposite of put together is take apart.

sandwiched between:

11
to be in a small space in the middle oftwo people or
things ® Kim was sandwiched between her brothers in
the back of the car.

Fend for yourself (always reflexive) to take care of

yourself without needing help from other people *
She’s 83years old and still fends for herself
See to sth/sb: take care of sb or do things that are
necessary to be done.

The cats needs feeding twice a day, but Paula’s seeing

to that. • Would you like any help or are you being seen
to?
grow up : to gradually change from being a child to
being an adult

grown-up : fully developed as an adult,

get along: friendship

go ahead: start to do sth

12
deal with sth : take action in order to achieve something
in order to solve a problem

abide by sth
to accept or obey an agreement, rule, or decision

act out sth or act sth out

1 to perform the actions and speech of a situation or
story • The children were told to act out a verse of their
favourite poem.

account for sth

1 to explain the reason for something or the cause of
something • Can you account for your absence last
Friday?
form a particular amount of something
• Students account for about 50% of our customers.

act out sth or act sth out

13
1 to perform the actions and speech of a situation or
story • The children were told to act out a verse of their
favourite poem.

add up (sth) or add (sth) up

to calculate the total of two or more numbers
to be a reasonable or likely explanation for something •
(often negative)

add up to
add up to sth to become a particular amount

aim at sth/doing sth

to intend to achieve something, or to be intended to
achieve something

amount to sth (never in continuous tenses)

1 to become a particular amount • The cost of treating
heart disease and cancer amounts to 100 billion dollars a
year.

answer (sb) back

if someone, especially a child, answers back or answers
someone back, they reply rudely to someone they should
be polite to • Don’t you dare answer me back, young

14
lady! • What shocks me about Terry’s kids is the way
they answer back.

arrive at sth
to achieve an agreement or decision, es¬ pecially after
thinking about it or dis¬ cussing it for a long time • We
discussed the matter at length butfailed to arrive at a
decision. • It is hoped that after this round of talks they
will be able to arrive at an agreement.

ask after sb/sth

to ask for information about someone, especially about
their health • Graham’s been asking after you again.

ask around
to ask several people in order to try to get information or
help • I’ll ask around at work and see if anyone can
babysit.

couldn't ask for sb/sth

- if you say that you couldn’t ask for some¬ one or
something better, you mean that that person or thing is
15
the best of their kind • She’s great to work for - I really
couldn’t ask for a better boss

ask for sb
to say that you would like to speak to someone or see
someone • A young man was here earlier, askingfor
Rebecca.

ask out sb or ask sb out

to invite someone to come with you to a place such as
the cinema or a restaurant, especially as a way of starting
a romantic relationship • There’s some girl in the office
he fancies but he’s too scared to ask her out.
She phoned him to ask him out for a drink.

ask sb over or invite sb over

to invite someone to come to your house • I’ve asked
Adrian and David over to din¬ ner next Saturday.

aspire to sth
to have a strong desire to achieve or pos sess something •
Unlike so many men, he has never aspired to a position
of power.

16
associate sb/sth with sb/sth
to connect someone or something in your mind with
someone or something else
• Patience isn’t a virtue I normally associate with Clare. •
Why do men always asso¬ ciate enjoying themselves
with drinking loads of beer? • It’s interesting how
different styles of dress can be associated with different
types of music.

average out
to be equal in amount or number • In the end the highs
and lows of life tend to average out.

balance out/up (sth) or balance (sth) out/up

• We’d better ask a few men to the party to balance up
the numbers. • I spend a lot one month and not so much
the next and in the end it balances out.

back out
to decide not to do something that you were going to do
or that you had agreed to do • (often + of) They backed
17
out of the deal at the last minute. • She’s signed the
contract so she can’t back out now.

Back to/in the business

back up
1 if traffic backs up, the vehicles have to wait in a long
line because there are too many of them ® Traffic is
starting to back up on both lanes of the motorway.

back up sb or back sb up
1 to say that someone is telling the truth • Will you back
me up if I say that he wasn’t here? • (often + on) I know
you’re telling the truth so I’ll back you up on that.
2 to support or help someone • (often + in) My family
backed me up in my fight for compensation.
back-up n [U] • Our engineers will provide technical
back-up.
3 if a musician backs up another musician, they play
music or sing with them • Can you back me up on piano?
back-up adj (always before noun) American &
Australian • She’s a back-up singerfor Whitney Houston.

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bail out sb or bail sb out
to pay an amount of money to a law court so that a
person who has been accused of a crime can be released
until their trial
• His wife refused to bail him out.

bandage up sb/sth or bandage sb/

sth up
to put a long, narrow piece of cloth around a part of the
body that is injured
• One of his arms, resting outside the bed, was bandaged
up. • When Alison cut her leg, the school nurse
bandaged her up and sent her home.

bank on sth
to depend on something happening • I hope to be there
but don’t bank on it. « She’s banking on getting a pay
increase this year.

base sth on/upon sth

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if you base something on particular facts or ideas, you
use those facts or ideas to develop that thing • (usually
passive) The film is based on a short story by Thomas
Mann.

bear up
to deal with a very sad or difficult situ¬ ation in a brave
and determined way
• (often in continuous tenses) ‘How is she doing since
thefuneral?’ ‘Oh, she’s bearing up. ’

bear with sb
to be patient and wait while someone does something • If
you’ll just bear with mefor a moment. I’llfind you a copy
of the drawings.

beat up sb or beat sb up
to hurt someone badly by hitting or kick¬ ing them again
and again • He claims he was beaten up by police. • Four
soldiers dragged him out of his car and beat him up.

begin (sth) with (sth)

20
to begin something in a particular way, or to be the way
in which something be¬ gins • He always began his
classes with a prayer. • There were six of us to begin
with and then two left. • The essay begins with a section
on religion.

believe in sth (never in continuous tenses)

1 to be sure that something [e.g. God, ghosts] exists, or
that something is true • She doesn’t believe in God. ©
They believe in astrology and let it rule their lives
completely.

believe in sb
to trust someone

belong to sb
1 to be someone’s property

bend down
to move the top part of your body towards the ground

bend over (sth)

21
to move the top part of your body nearer to the ground or
over something

black out
to suddenly become unconscious * He blacked out so he
remembers very little. blackout n [C] • He suffers from
black¬ outs and isn’t allowed to drive.

block off sth or block sth off

to put something across the entrance to something [esp.
road] in order to stop people from going into it • All the
roads out of town were blocked off by the police.

block out sth or block sth out

to stop something [esp. light] from com¬ ing into a place
• Unfortunately, there’s a tree near the window which
blocks out the light.

block up sth or block sth up

to fill a narrow space with something so that nothing can
move through that space
• Dead leaves had blocked the drains up.

22
blocked-up adj • My nose gets really blocked-up at night
and I can’t breathe through it.

blow sth apart or blow apart sth

if a bomb, explosion or violent event blows something
apart, it destroys it • (often passive) The chemicals
caught fire and the whole building blew apart.

blow away (sth) or blow (sth) away if something blows

away, or if the wind blows something away, that thing
moves from its usual place because the wind blows it •
You’d better put something on top of the tablecloth
before it blows away.

blow over (sth) or blow (sth) over if something blows

over, or if the wind blows something over, that thing
falls to the ground ® Their tents had blown over during
the night. • The wind was so strong it blew the fence
over.

if a car tyre blows out, it suddenly bursts

• It’s a good thing you weren’t going any faster when
your tyre blew out.

23
 1. blow up sth or blow sth up
1 to fill something [e.g. balloon, tyre] with air © He
blew his tyres up using the pres¬ sure pump. • I spent the
morning blowing up balloonsfor Joe’s party.

get through
phrasal verb of get

pass a difficult or testing experience or period

boil down to sth (never in continuous tenses) slightly

informal if a situation or problem boils down to a
particular thing, that is the main reason for it • The
whole housing shortage prob¬ lem boils down to one
thing: money. • What it boils down to is that you just
don’t trust me.

be booked up (always passive)

if an event, person, or place is booked up, they have no
space or time available for someone4

border on sth
if one country borders on another coun¬ try, it is next to
it • Swaziland borders on South Africa and Mozambique.

bounce back
24
to start to be successful again after a period of failure •
(often + from) They are sure to bounce back from last
week’s defeat.

bow down to sb
to obey someone and show them respect • He expects me
to bow down to him and do everything he tells me.

branch out
to start to do something different from what you usually
do, especially in your job • (often -i- into) The clothes
manufacturer recently branched out into children’s wear.

Break apart: break into pieces

break down
1 if a machine or vehicle breaks down, it stops working •
His car broke down on the way to work. • The washing
ma¬ chine's broken down so I have to wash all our
clothes by hand. • I broke down {- my car stopped
working) just before I got to the bridge.

to be unable to control your feelings and to start to cry •

When I told her the news, she broke down.

break down sth or break sth down

1 to hit a door or wall hard until it falls down • No-one
would answer so they broke the door down.

25
2 to divide information or a piece of work into smaller
parts so that it is easier to understand or deal with •
(often -i- into) The project has been broken down into
sec¬ tions for different teams to work on. • We can break
down the results ofthe survey by age and gender.

break in/into
1 to get into a building or car by using force, usually in
order to steal something
• They broke in through the kitchen win¬ dow.
break-in n [C] • Two expensive paintings were stolen
during the break-in.
2 to use someone else’s computer without permission in
order to find out or change information • Use a password
to prevent anyone from breaking in.

break out
1 to escape from prison • (often -i- of) They broke out of
the prison camp by digging a tunnel.
break-out n [C] • The prison governor resigned after a
series ofbreak-outs.
2 if something dangerous and unpleasant [e.g. war,
disease, fire] breaks out, it sud¬ denly starts • Two men
were injured when afight broke out in the bar. •He had
wisely left the country just before war broke out.
if sweat (= watery liquid) or spots break out, they
suddenly appear on your skin
Perspiration broke out on her forehead.

26
breakthrough n [C] an important dis¬ covery or success
that helps you achieve or deal with something • Her big
break¬ through came when her novel was made into a tv
drama.

break up
if a marriage breaks up, or if two people who have a
romantic relationship break up, their marriage or
relationship ends

breathe in (sth) or breathe (sth) in to take air or a

substance [e.g. gas, smoke] into your lungs through your
nose or mouth • Count to six as you breathe in, three as
you breathe out.

breathe out (sth) or breathe (sth) out

breeze through sth. slightly informal to succeed in

something [e.g. exam] very easily • The exam won’t be a
problem for her - she’ll just breeze through it. • I had
breezed through school and assumed that university
would bejust as easy.

brighten up sth or brighten sth up

1 if the weather brightens up, the sky be¬ comes lighter
and the sun starts to shine
• If the weather brightens up this after¬ noon we could
gofor a walk.
2 to suddenly look or feel happier • As soon as she heard
that
27
bring down sb or bring sb down
to cause people in positions of power [e.g. government,
president] to lose their position • The current crisis
threatens to bring down the government.

bring down sth or bring sth down

1 to reduce the amount, rate, or level of something • The
government is trying to bring down inflation. • Her
doctor’s told her she needs to relax more to bring her
blood pressure down.
2 to shoot at an aircraft, bird, or animal and make it fall
to the ground •

bring in sb/sth or bring sb/sth in if something, for

example a company, brings people or business in, it
attracts people, often encouraging them to buy products
or services

bring on/upon sth or bring sth on/upon

1 to make something unpleasant start
• Headaches are often brought on by stress.
2 to cause trouble for someone He felt deep regret for
the shame he had brought upon his family.

bring together sb or bring sb to¬ gether

28
Everyone hoped that the wedding would bring the two
families together. • The disaster brought the community
closer together.

bring up sb or bring sb up
to look after a child and educate them until they are old
enough to look after themselves • She decided she’d
rather bring her children up in the countryside.
• I was brought up by my grandmother.

bring up sth or bring sth up

to start to talk about a particular subject

brush by sb
to walk quickly past someone, touching them slightly as
you pass them • She brushed by me in the corridor but
we didn’t speak.

brush down/off sb/sth or brush sb/ sth down/off

to remove dust, dirt etc. from someone or something by
using your hands or a brush

brush up (on) sth

to practise and improve your skills or your knowledge of
something that you learned in the past but have partly
forgot ten

buckle down
to start working hard
29
revolve around

build on sth
to use a success or achievement as a base from which to
achieve more success
• Once your company has established a good reputation
you’ve got something to build on. • We had a certain
amount of success in the European championships and
we hope to build on that success.

build up (sth) or build (sth) up

to increase in amount, size, or strength, or to make
something increase in amount, size, or strength • There
were big delays as traffic built up on the roads into the
city. • She needs something to build up her confidence
again.

bulk up (sth) or bulk (sth) up mainly American

to gain weight, or to increase the size of something

bump into sb
to meet someone you know when you have not planned
to meet them • I bumped into Mark when I was out
shop¬ ping this afternoon.

30
burn down (sth) or burn (sth) down to destroy
something, especially a build¬ ing, by fire, or to be
destroyed by fire

burn out or burn itself out

if a fire burns out, or if it burns itself out, it stops burning
because nothing remains that can burn

call back (sb) or call (sb) back (never passive)

to telephone someone for the second time or to telephone
someone who rang you earlier

call off sth or call sth off

to decide that a planned event or activity will not
happen, especially because it is no longer possible or
useful

call out (sth) or call (sth) out

to say something in a loud voice, especial¬ ly in order to
get someone’s attention
• Someone in the crowd called out his name, but he
couldn’t see who.

call up (sb) or call (sb) up (never passive) mainly

American
to telephone someone • Why don’tyou call me up at
home? • You can call up and leave a message ifI’m out.

31
calm down (sb)

camp out
to sleep outside in a tent (= shelter made of cloth) • The
kids love camping out in the garden.

cancel out sth or cancel sth out

if one thing cancels out another thing, the first thing has
the opposite effect of the second thing and there is
therefore no change in the situation • The cost of stay¬
ing there just one night cancelled out any savings we had
made by sleeping on the train. • The negative and
positive sides of the argument seem to cancel each other
out.

capitalize on sth
to use a situation in order to achieve something good for
yourself • Of course the opposition intend to capitalize
on the government’s lack ofpopularity.

care for sb
1 to look after someone who is too young, too old, or too
ill to look after themselves • Very little support is given
to people who care for their elderly relatives.

be carried away (always passive)

to be so excited about something that you do not control
what you say or do and you forget about everything else
• I got a bit carried away when I was dancing and got up
on the table.
32
carry on mainly British & Australian
to continue doing something

carry out sth or carry sth out

1 to do or complete something, especially something
important c A survey of ten schools in the area will be
carried out next year.

cash in sth or cash sth in

to exchange a financial arrangement that you have paid
for [e.g. shares, bonds] for the money itself • She cashed
in her savings bonds to raise money to buy the car.

be cast away (always passive)

to be on an island with no other people after swimming
from a ship that is sink- * ing • (usually -i- on) IfI were
cast away on a desert island, I think it’s chocolate that
I’d miss most.

Cast adrift : to cause (a boat) to float on the water

without being tied to anything or controlled by
anyone
Nepal, devoid of efficient leadership, is cast adrift

33
catch on or take off
1 to become popular • The practice of tak¬ ing cold
showers is unlikely to catch on in Britain. • (often +
with) The movie did not catch on with black audiences.

catch up sb or catch sb up British & Australian

to reach the same quality or standard as someone or
something else • (often + with) My piano playing’s
improved, but I’ve got a long way to go before I catch up
with my sister.

cave in (sth) or cave (sth) in

if a ceiling, roof, or other structure caves in, or if
something caves it in, it suddenly breaks up and falls
inward • The explo¬ sion caused the roofof the building
to cave in.

centre (sth) around/round sih. British & Australian

center (sth) around/round sthAmm- can
if an activity or discussion centres around something, or
if it is centred around something, that is the main or most
important part of it • Much of the discussion centred
around the reduction of pollution. ® My social life is
centred round one or two pubs.

34
centre (sth) on sth British & Australian
to give a lot of attention to one particular activity,
situation, or idea • The main ac¬ tion of the play centres
on a young woman and her older lover. ® Most
architectural debate is still centred on controversial
buildings.

chain up sb/sth or chain sb/sth up to fasten a person,

animal, or object with chains so they cannot escape or be
stolen
• She left the dogs chained up in the yard.
• My bike was chained up outside the house.

charge up sth or charge sth up

if you charge up a piece of electrical equipment, you put
electricity into it

cheat on sb informal
to behave in a dishonest way towards your husband,
wife, or usual sexual part¬ ner by having a sexual
relationship with someone else • She decided to leave
her husband when she found out he’d been cheating on
her.

check in
to show your ticket at an airport so that you can be told
where you are sitting and so that your bags can be put on
the air¬ craft ® When Iflew to New York, I was told to
check in two hours before myflight.

35
 check-in n [U] the time at which you have to check in •
Check-in is at 9 a.m. and theflight departs at 10.30 a.m.
check-in n [C] the place in an airport where you check
in • When we got to the check-in, there were already
long queues of people.

check into sth

to arrive at a hotel and say who you are so that you can
be given a key for your room • After I had checked in, I
had a shower and then unpacked my suitcase. • He
checked into a cheap hotel near the station.

check out
to leave a hotel after paying and giving back the key of
your room • (often -h of) We checked out of the motel
early the next morning.
check-out n [U] mainly American & Australian the time
by which you must check out of a hotel • Check-out is
11 o’clock. • (used as adj) I think check-out time is 12
noon.

choke up
to become unable to speak, usually be¬ cause you are
starting to cry • She can’t talk about her mother without
choking up.

chop down sth or chop sth down or cut down

to cut through a tree or a group of trees so that they fall
to the ground • They decided to chop the elm tree down
because it was too close to the house

36
cut down
to reduce the amount, number, length or size of
something ® They’ve cut her hours down at work so she
doesn’t have much money.

chop up sth or chop sth up

to cut something, especially food, into small pieces •
Chop up the onion and fry in oil.

chill out informal

to relax completely, or not allow things to upset you •
(usually an order) Sit down, have a drink and chill out,
girl! • We spent the whole week chilling out in the
country.

clean up (sth/sb) or clean (sth/sb) up to make something

or someone clean and tidy • We’ll go out as soon as I’ve
cleaned up the kitchen. • We’ll need to clean up before
we can leave the building. • She’d spilt some coffee and
was cleaning it up just as John walked in. clean-up n [C]
• It’s time you gave your bedroom a good clean-up. •
(used as adj) A clean-up operation had been under way
at the works since early Monday.

clear up (sth) or clear (sth) up

to make a place tidy and clean, especially by putting
things where they usually be¬ long • We’ll have to clear
up before my parents come home. • Can you clear up
that mess in the kitchen before you go out?

37
clear up
if the weather clears up, it improves • I hope the weather
clears up before we have to leave.

climb down
British & Australian to admit that you are wrong

close down (sth) or close (sth) down if a business or

organization closes down, or if someone or something
closes it down, it stops doing business

cloud over
1 if the sky clouds over, it becomes covered with clouds
• We watched as the sky clouded over, waiting for the
rain to come.

come across sth/sb (never passive) to discover something

by chance, or to meet someone by chance

come about: happen

bring about: make sth happen

come after : chase sb to punish

38
come back
1 to return to a place
to start to happen again I thought Fd got rid of my cough
but it seems to have come back again.

Comeback: Old dresses are making a comeback

come forward
to offer to do something, especially to help someone or
to give information to someone in authority • 300 donors
have come forward in response to a request for people to
give blood.

come from swh (never in continuous tenses)

1 if someone comes from a particular place, they were
born there and lived there when they were a child

come in
1 if someone comes in when you are in a room or
building, they enter that room or building

come together
to start working well as a complete thing or process,
after some time or effort

39
consist of sth (never in continuous tenses)
to be formed from two or more things
• The team consists of four Americans and two
Europeans. •It’s a simple dish to prepare, consisting
mainly of rice and ve¬ getables.

contribute to sth
to be one of the causes of an event or situ¬ ation «
Pollutants in the air contribute to a wide range of heart
and lung diseases.

count down (sth) or count (sth) down to wait excitedly

and sometimes impa¬ tiently for an important event to
happen

count in sb or count sb in informal to include someone in

an activity

count on/upon sb
to have confidence in someone because you know fhaf
they will do what you want • You can always count on
Martin in a crisis.

cover up sth/sb or cover sth/sb up to cover something or

someone in order to hide or protect them

crack (sb) up informal

40
to suddenly laugh a lot, or to make some¬ one suddenly
laugh a lot • They cracked up when they saw me in that
hat. • There’s something about that guy’s face that
simply cracks me up.

cram In sth or cram sth in cram sth into sth

to push a lot of things into a very small space so that the
space becomes very full » You can’t cram any more
clothes into that suitcase.

cross out sth or cross sth out

to draw a line through something that you have written,
usually because it is wrong

cross over (sth) mainly British & Austra¬ lian

to walk from one side of the road to the other • Look
both ways before you cross over.

crowd around/round (sth/sb)

if a group of people crowd around or crowd around
something or someone, they surround something or
someone, standing very close to them • We all crowded
around the television screen. • As soon as he appeared,
reporters crowded round.

cry out (sth) (never passive)

to shout or make a loud noise because you are in pain or
very afraid (often + in) She cried out in pain.

41
cuddle up
to sit or lie very close to someone in an affectionate way

be cursed with (always passive)

to have something that is a disadvantage to you or that
other people think is very unpleasant • My brother is
cursed with very smelly feet.

cut in
if a motor or a piece of equipment cuts in, it starts
working automatically

cut off sth or cut sth off

to stop providing something [e.g. aid, electricity,
supplies] • The U.S. threat¬ ened to cut off military aid.

cut out sth or cut sth out

1 to remove something by cutting, especial¬ ly
something made of paper or cloth • (often + of) She had
a picture ofhim that she’d cut out of a magazine.

dampen down

3 to make a strong feeling [e.g. anger] be felt less

strongly • The murder has roused anger in the
community which may not be easily damped down.

42
4 to make a surface slightly wet • On hot days you
should damp down your green¬ house to lower the
temperature.

date back (always -i- adv/prep)

to have existed since a particular time • The oldest part
of the building dates back to the early 16th century.

deal in sth
1 to buy and sell particular goods as a busi¬ ness • She
used to sell modern art but now she deals in antiques. •
He made most of his money by dealing in drugs.

deal with sth

1 to take action in order to achieve some¬ thing, or in
order to solve a problem • I haven’t got time to reply to
this letter. Could you deal with it?

deal with sb/sth

to do business with a person or organiza¬ tion - We have
been dealing with thisfirm for over ten years.

decide on/upon sth/sb

to choose something or someone after thinking carefully
s Have you decided on
a name for the baby

declare against sth/sb formal

to publicly state that you disagree with something or
someone or that y

43
delve into sth
to examine something carefully in order to discover
more information about someone or something

depend on/upon sth/sb

1 to need the help or support of something or someone in
order to survive or con¬ tinue as before •

deprive sb/sth of sth

to take something important away from someone or
something

No one can function properly if they’re deprived

ofadequate sleep.

descend from sth

to have developed from something which existed in the
past • According to the the¬ ory of evolution, human
beings descended from apes.

devote sth to sth/doing sth

to use all of something, for example your life or your
time, for a particular purpose
• He resigned from his job to devote more time to his
family.

die out
to become more and more rare and then disappear
completely • Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. •
Many ofthe cus¬ toms of village life have died out over
the years.
44
dig in informal
1 to start eating food

dive into sth

1 to start doing something suddenly and energetically,
often without stopping to think

divide sth by sth

if you divide a larger number by a small¬ er number, you
calculate the number of times that the smaller number
fits into the larger one ® 21 divided by 3 is 7.

divide up (sth) or divide (sth) up to separate something

into smaller parts or groups, or to form smaller parts or
groups • She divided up the class intofour groups. • The
world divides up into those who like cats and those who
don’t.

doze off informal

to gradually start to sleep, especially dur¬ ing the day «
He dozed off in front of the TV.

drag sb down
if an unpleasant or difficult situation drags someone
down, it makes them feel unhappy or ill * He’s been
unwell for a number of months now and it’s starting to

45
drag him down. • All that stress and con¬ flict at work
has really dragged him down.

drag down sth or drag sth down

to make the level of something go down
• The earthquake will drag down the prices of property
built on less stable ground. • One or two bad exam
results may drag down the overall results.

drag sb/sth into sth

1 to force someone or something to become involved in
an unpleasant or difficult situation

drag on
if an unpleasant or difficult situation or process drags on,
it continues for too long
• (often for) The war has already dragged on for six
years and could drag on for a further six. • The talks
might drag on for weeks before any concrete re¬ sult is
announced.

dress down
to put on clothes that are not formal or special and that
will not attract attention o This time he dressed down,
having real¬ ised that the smart suit would be out of
place.

46
dress up (sb) or dress (sb) up
1 to put on formal or special clothes for a special
occasion, or to put them on some¬ one else ® Weddings
are a great opportun¬ ity to dress up. • She was dressed
up to the nines (= extremely dressed up) in a pink Chanel
suit and high heels.

drift apart
if two friends drift apart, they gradually become less
friendly and their relation¬ ship ends • Jane used to be
one ofmy best friends at school but we’ve drifted apart
over the past few years.

drink up (sth) or drink (sth) up

to completely finish your drink • We’d better drink up -
it looks like the pub’s about to close.

eat up sth or eat sth up

to eat all the food you have been given

drop by or drop in drop over

British & Australian informal to make a short visit to
someone in their home, usually without arranging it be¬
fore ® He said he might drop by later this evening.

47
drop off sb/sth or drop sb/sth off to take someone to a
place that they want to go to, or to deliver something to a
place, usually in a car, often when you are going
somewhere else • I’m driving into town so I can drop
you off on the way.

drop out
if a student drops out, they stop going to classes before
they have finished their
course • (often + of) She dropped out of college and took
ajob in a riding stables.

dry out (sth) or dry (sth) out or dry off (sb/sth) or dry
(sb/sth) off
to make something dry, or to become dry ® Central
heating dries out your skin. • If you don’t keepfood
covered, it dries out.

Collocations advanced by Felicity O Dell

run into trouble
Common errors with make (First sentences are all
incorrect)
I would like to do/give some suggestions – make some
suggestions
I think that I could have/give a contribution to the
project – make a contribution

48
I expect you to give a formal apology – make a formal
apology
There is still some way to go and lots of improvements
to do – improvements to make
Thank you very much for doing these arrangements –
making these arrangements
Sometimes candidates use make where another verb is
required. For example:
We’re going to make a party on Saturday – have a party
Lana made some interesting research into her family
roots – did … research

lodge a complaint
make a habit of
The team made several attempts
made an important discovery
make all the calculations correctly
make room for the piano
loosely based on
foot the bill, heavy burden, run into trouble
deeply offensive, spotlessly clean, wildly inaccurate
generally speaking, talk business, get a message across
make a living, take up a post, move up the ladder
fit the job description, land a new job, menial tasks
bear in mind, widespread belief, jump to conclusions
fierce competition, stimulate growth, hike in prices
consumer demands, product development, market share
49
gifted child, mature student, thirst for knowledge
call for a celebration
root cause
dire consequences
give it one’s best shot

on the fly
phrase of fly
1. while in motion or progress

on the go: be very busy

to be brutally honest,
bitter enemies
highly recommended
thoroughly enjoy
fundamentally different
words of wisdom

come up with a suggestion

to your principles
play the stock market.

of great importance,
you’ll make (NOT do) fewer mistakes

was walking to and fro (meaning I was walking in one

direction

50
and then in the opposite direction, a repeated number
of times).

picturesque location

The simple/plain truth is that no one was aware of the

problem.
stunningly attractive woman.
taking it easy for a while
She has a gift for languages,
make a difference.

underestimate the value of

source of amusement
take a boat
Students may request an extension after
consulting their tutor.
I haven’t a clue

Choose what you like from the menu – the company is

footing the bill.
So light reading is reading material that is not serious. If
you do something
with a light heart, you feel carefree and happy
ran into diff iculties
However, when he left university he walked
straight into a job2
jumped to the conclusion

51
over and done with

drop in drop into swh

to go into a place [e.g. shop, library, pub] for a short
time * I need to drop in at the bank on my way home. •
I dropped into the book store to see if they had that
book you wanted.

dry up
1 if an area of water [esp. river, lake] dries up, the water
in it disappears • The pond had dried up over the long
hot summer.
• The wells have all dried up and people walk milesfor
water.
2 if a supply of something dries up, it ends
• The flow offoreign money into the coun¬ try has
almost dried up.

dust off sth/sb or dust sth/sb off Brit¬ ish, American &
Australian
to remove dust or dirt from something a He stood up,
dusted his trousers off and shook his jacket. •

dwell on/upon sth

to think or talk about a particular subject for too long,
especially one that is un¬ pleasant or not important any
more

52
ease off/up

to gradually stop or become less • I’m leaving soon but

I’m just waiting for the traffic to ease off a bit. «' At last
the rain began to ease up.

to start to treat someone less severely than before

eat in
to have a meal at home, not in a restaur¬ ant

eat out
to eat a meal in a restaurant, not at home
• The cost ofeating out is quite high here.

edit out sth or edit sth out

to remove part of a piece of writing or re¬ corded
material before it is printed or broadcast

emanate from/to sb/sth formal

to come from or be produced by someone or something
® Angry voices emanated from a room upstairs. •
Complaints about working conditions were emanating
from factory staff.

embark on/upon sth slightly formal to start something,

especially something large, important, or new

53
empty out
if a place empties out, all the people in it leave • Most of
the offices in the city empty out at 5.30 on weekdays.

if you empty out things that are in a con¬ tainer, you

remove them from it ® He tried to make the bottle
lighter by empty¬ ing out halfthe water.

encroach on/upon sth

formal to gradually take away someone else’s rights, or
to take control of someone’s time, work etc. • What the
gov¬ ernment proposed encroaches on the rights
ofindividuals.
2 to gradually cover more and more of an area of land

end in sth
to finish in a particular way • Her first, childless
marriage ended in divorce.

end up (always -i- adv/prep/adj) slightly in¬ formal

to finally be in a particular place, state, or situation,
especially without having planned it

Illegally imported reptiles such as snakes and crocodiles

often end up as shoes, belts and handbags. • (often with)
He ended up with an alco¬ hol problem. • She’ll end up
pregnant at this rate.

54
engage in sth - formal
to take part in something • They’ve been engaged in a
legal battle with the council for months.

engage on/upon sth formal

if you engage on a particular activity, you do it • (usually
passive) So what projects are you engaged on at present?

even out (sth) or even (sth) out

to become equal, or to make something equal» He pays
for some things and Ipay for others and in the end it all
evens out.
• The new system is aimed at evening out the differences
between rich and poor col¬ leges.

even up sth or even sth up

to make a situation more equal or fair

fade away
1 to gradually become less strong or clear and then
disappear • As the years passed, the memories of her
grandfather slowly faded away.2

fade out (remember phase out)

to gradually disappear or become less common • Interest
in the product has now almost completelyfaded out. •
Thefashion for wearing old, ripped jeans faded out very
quickly.

55
fall for sth
to be tricked into believing something that is not true *
She often falls for the extravagant claims of slimming
products.

fall for sb/sth informal

to be attracted to someone or something

fall into/under sth

to belong to a particular group of things that have similar
qualities

fall on sth
to happen on a particular day or date
• My birthday falls on a Monday this year.

fall off
if the amount, rate, or quality of some¬ thing falls off, it
becomes smaller or lower • The demandfor new carsfell
off in thefirst halfof the year. • We used to enjoy going
to our local French restaurant but the standard has
reallyfallen offrecently.

fall on sth
to happen on a particular day or date
56
• My birthday falls on a Monday this year.

fall on/upon/to sb
1 if a job or duty falls on someone, it be¬ comes their
responsibility c The job of collecting the new tax will
fall on local councils.

fall to sb
if a duty or job falls to someone, it is their responsibility
to do it

fall out

if your hair or a tooth falls out, it be¬ comes loose and

falls out of your head or mouth • His hair began to fall
out when he was only 25. • Most of Sophie’s baby teeth
havefallen out.

fall over
1 if someone falls over, they fall to the ground • He was
walking along quite nor¬ mally and then suddenlyfell
over.

57
fall apart
1 if something falls apart, it breaks or breaks into pieces
because it is old or weak
if an organization, system, or agreement falls apart, it
fails or stops working effect¬ ively

fall behind (sb)

1 to fail to remain level with a group of people that is
moving forwards
to fail to score as many points as another team or player
in a competition
to fail to develop at the same rate as something else, or
to fail to achieve a standard reached by other people

fall down
1 to fall to the ground

whistle-blower
noun
noun: whistleblower
1. a person who informs on a person or organization
regarded as engaging in an unlawful or immoral
activity.

farm out sth or farm sth out

58
to give work to other people instead of doing it yourself
He has decided to farm out most of the work to freelance
design¬ ers.

fatten up sth or fatten sth up

to give a lot of food to an animal so that it becomes fatter

fear for sth/sb slightlyformal

to be worried about something, or to be worried that
someone is in danger • After 50 workers were laid off
many people feared for their jobs. • John had not been
seen for over 24 hours, and she feared for his safety.

feast on/upon sth

to enjoy something very much • His fans will be able to
feast on his biography which hasjust been published.

feed on/upon sth

1 if an animal feeds on a particular type of food, it
usually eats that food • Most bee¬ tlesfeed on live plants
or plant material.

fend for yourself (always reflexive) to take care of

yourself without needing help from other people • She’s
83years old and still fends for herself.

fiddle about/around

59
1 informal to use your hands in a series of small
movements in order to try to do something » She was
fiddling around in her bag looking for a comb. * I
fiddled about on my short wave radio to find the World
Service.
2 informal to spend time doing silly or unimportant
things • They can no longer afford to fiddle around - it’s
time they acted.

fight back
to defend yourself when someone or something attacks
you or causes prob¬ lems for you ® He might be 70
years old, but don’t underestimate his ability to fight
back.

fight off sb/sth or fight sb/sth off to use violence so that

someone or some¬ thing goes away • Officials say that
villa¬ gers have had tofight offseveral attacks in the past
year.

figure out sth/sb or figure sth/sb out to understand

something or someone, or to find the answer to
something by think¬ ing carefully

fill in/out sth or fill sth in

1 to write the necessary information on an official
document [e.g. form, question¬ naire]
60
fill up (sth) or fill (sth) up
to become full, or to make something be¬ come full •
Fill that bucket up with water and bring it over here.

filter out sth/sh or filter sth/sb out to separate or remove

something or some¬ one that is not wanted from a group
of things or people

find out (sth) or find (sth) out

to get information about something be¬ cause you want
to know more about it, or to learn a fact or piece of
information for the first time ® (often -f question word) I
need to find out exactly what went wrong.

finish off/up sth or finish sth off

1 to complete the last part of something that you are
doing

fire up sb or fire sb up
to make someone become excited or angry

firm up sth or firm sth up

1 to make something [e.g. agreement, de¬ tails, prices]
more definite or less likely to change • Could we have a
61
meeting so that we can firm up the details of our
agreement?
2 to make part of your body [thighs, but¬ tocks] have
less fat and become harder by doing exercise •
Swimming is one of the best ways tofirm up your thighs.

fit in/into
to feel happy in a group of people because you are
similar to them

fix up sth or fix sth up

1 to repair or arrange something [e.g. room, house] in
order to improve it or to make it suitable for a particular
purpose

flare up
1 if something [e.g. violence, argument, anger] flares up,
it suddenly happens and becomes very serious ' Violence
flared up again last night in many parts of the city.

flash back
if your mind or thoughts flash back to something that
happened to you in the past, you suddenly remember that
thing
• (usually to) Her mind flashed back to the day oftheir
wedding.
62
flashback n [C] an occasion when you suddenly
remember something that hap¬ pened to you in the past •
A year after the accident he was still havingflashbacks.

flatten out (sth) or flatten (sth) out

1 to become flat, or to make something be¬ come flat ;
Matthew flattened out his newspaper and began to read.
if the rate of something flattens out, or if something
flattens it out, it stops increas¬ ing and decreasing and
begins to stay at the same level • Interest rates have
begun to flatten out.

flip through sth

to look briefly at the pages of something [esp. book,
magazine] • I wasjustflipping through my new cookbook
while the kettle boiled.

flirt with sb
to talk and behave towards someone in a way that is
sexually attractive and which shows that person that you
are sexually attracted to them • He likes to flirt with the
young women in the office.

float about/around
63
if an idea or story floats about, it is dis¬ cussed or
repeated by a lot of people
• Rumours about his condition had been floating
aboutfor a long time.

Flood/flock into sth

to arrive or enter somewhere in very large numbers or
amounts ® More and more hotels are being built as
tourists from Germany and Japan flood in.

flush out sth or flush sth out

to clean something by putting a large amount of liquid
through it ® Heavy rain had flushed out the drains,
taking sewage and other pollutants out to sea.

flutter about/around
if a bird or insect flutters about, it moves its wings up
and down very quickly and lightly • Butterflies fluttered
about in the sunlight.

focus (sth) on/upon sth

1 to give a lot of attention to one particular activity,
situation, or idea • He has given up running in order to
focus on the long jump. • Scientists are focussing their
research upon areas with high levels of cancer patients.

64
2 to make your eyes or a piece of equip¬ ment [esp.
camera, microscope] give a clear picture of something •
Ifocussed the telescope on the moon. • All eyes were
focussed upon him.

fog up (sth) or fog (sth) up

if something made of glass [e.g. wind¬ screen, glasses]
fogs up, or if something fogs it up, it becomes covered
with small drops of water and you cannot see through it
any more

fold up (sth) or fold (sth) up

to make something [e.g. cloth, paper, chair] into a
smaller, neater and usually flatter shape by folding it, or
to be able to be folded in this way • Can you help me
fold up these sheets? » The road mapfolds up andfits in
my bag. • Fold that chair up and put it in here.
fold-up adj (always before noun) • a fold-up

follow through (sth) or follow (sth) through

1 to do something as the next part of an ac¬ tivity or
period of development • The group had one successful
song butfailed to follow through with another hit record.

follow up sth or follow sth up

1 to do something in order to make the ef¬ fect of an
earlier action or thing stronger or more certain • (often +

65
with) If you make a hotel booking by phone, follow it up
with written confirmation
to find out more about something and take action
connected with it @ The police were quick to follow up
allegations of fraud.

force sth on/upon sb

to make someone accept something that they do not want
• I wasn’t going to eat a dessert but Julia forced it on me.
® When she accepted the promotion she had many new
responsibilitiesforced upon her.

freak out (sb) or freak (sb) out informal to suddenly feel

extremely surprised or afraid, or to make someone
suddenly feel this way
She saw all those faces looking up at her and just freaked
out.

free up sth or free sth up

to make time or money available for a particular use by
not using it in another way ® I cancelled my meeting to
free up the afternoon to write my report. • If the
developed nations cut their military spending it
wouldfree up huge resources.
free up sb or free sb up
to do something for someone so that they are avaiable to
do something else g If I can get Dan to do myfiling,
that’llfree me up to get on with writing those letters.

freeze over
66
if water freezes over, it becomes covered with ice • The
lake would freeze over in the winter and we would go
skating.

freeze up
1 if something [e.g. pipe, lock] freezes up, it becomes
blocked with ice and stops work¬ ing

freshen up
to quickly wash yourself so that you feel clean • Would
you like to use the bathroom to freshen up a little?

frighten away/off sb/sth or frighten sb/sth away/off

1 to make a person or animal so afraid that they go away
® Be quiet or you’ll frighten the deer away.

frost over/up
to become covered with frost (= the thin white layer of
ice which forms when the temperature is below freezing)
@ The car windows werefrosted up.

fry up sth or fry sth up

to fry food in order to make a quick meal V? Shall we
just fry up last night’s meat and potatoes?

fuel up
to put fuel into a vehicle ® We can drive for another 20
miles and then we’ll need to fuel up.

gather around/round (sb/sth)

67
to form a group surrounding someone or something • A
crowd gathered around

gear up (sth/sb) or gear (sth/sb) up to prepare for

something that you have to do or want to do • (often -i-
to do sth) Em¬ ployees are already gearing up to cope
with an increased workload.

get sth across

to successfully communicate an idea to other people

get along
1 if two or more people get along, they like each other
and are friendly to each other
• Vicky and Ellen seem to be getting along

get away
to escape • We ran after them but they got away.

get back
to return to a place after you have been somewhere else •
What time did you get back last night?

get back sth or get sth back

if you get something back, something that you had
before is given to you again • I wouldn’t lend him
anything, you’ll never get it back.

get by
1 to have just enough money to pay for the things that
you need, but nothing more
68
• (often + on) I don’t know how he gets by on so little
money.

get down
1 to move your body so that you are sitting, kneeling, or
lying on the ground • ‘Get down! He’s got a gun. ’ • I’m
not going to get down on my knees and beg him to
come.

get in

1 to succeed in entering a place, especially a building # I

used Bob’s keys to get in.

2 to arrive at your home or at the place

3 to succeed in getting a place at a school, college, or

organization • He wanted to go to Oxford but he didn’t
get in.

get in sth or get sth in

1 to buy food or other supplies so that you have what
you will need » I must get some extra milk in at the
weekend.

get into sth

69
1 to become interested in an activity or subject, or to
start being involved in an activity • She’s been getting
into yoga recently. • How did you get into journal¬ ism?
2 to succeed in getting a place at a school, college, or
organization ® Did she get into university?

get off (sth)

1 to leave a bus, train, aircraft, or boat

get on (sth)
to go onto a bus, train, aircraft, or boat

get over sth

1 to begin to feel better after an experience that has made
you unhappy

get (sb) through sth (never passive) to deal with a

difficult or unpleasant ex¬ perience, or to help someone
do this • I don’t know how I got through the first couple
of months after Andy’s death.

get together (sb) or get (sb) together if two or more

people get together, or if someone gets two or more
people to¬ gether, they meet in order to do some¬ thing
or spend time together

get-together n [Cl informal an infor¬ mal meeting or

party • I suppose you’ll be having the usual family get-
together over Christmas.

get (sb) up
70
to wake up and get out of bed, or to make someone do
this • I had to get up at five o’clock this morning. • Can
you get the kids up?
get up
1 to stand up • The whole audience got up and started
clapping.

ginger up sth or ginger sth up

to make something more exciting or more interesting •
The problem is that it makes dull reading - I think we
ought to ginger it up somehow.

give away sth or give sth away

1 to give something to someone without asking for
payment • (often -f- to) I gave away my old pans to a
friend I

give-away n [C] something given free to a customer

give out sth or give sth out

1 to give something to a large number of people • I’ve
said I’ll give out leaflets for them in town. • One of the
government’s proposals is to give out condoms in high
schools.

give back sth or give sth back

to return something to the person who gave it to you • I
must give you back that book you lent me.

71
give in
to accept that you have been defeated and agree to stop
competing or fighting
• She knew she’d lost the argument but she wouldn’t
give in.

give up (sth) or give (sth) up

if you give up a habit [e.g. smoking, drinking] or give up
something un¬ healthy [e.g. cigarettes, alcohol], you
stop doing it or having it e I gave up smoking six months
ago.

give up on sb
to stop hoping that someone will do what you want them
to do • You ’re here at last. We’d almost given up on
you! (= we had started to think that you were not com¬
ing) • He’d been unconscious for so long that the doctors
had given up on him.

glory in sth
to enjoy something and be very proud of it • Other
people might not want such a fearsome reputation but
Davies seems to glory in it.

be glued to sth (always passive)

to be watching something [esp. televi¬ sion] with all
your attention • Everyone was glued to the TV set as the
election results came in.

go after sb
72
to follow or chase someone in order to try to catch them
• I got on my bike and went after him.

go against sth
if something goes against a rule or some¬ thing you
believe in, it does not obey it or agree with it

go ahead
1 to start to do something

go away
1 to leave a place

go back
1 to return to a place where you were or where you have
been before

go back to sth
1 to start doing something again that you were doing
before • She went back to work when her daughter was
two.

go back to sb
to start a relationship again with a person who you had a
romantic relationship with in the past

go beyond sth
to be much better, more detailed, more serious etc. than
something else

go by
73
1 if time goes by, it passes • As each month goes by, the
economic situation just gets worse. • Time went by and
hopes for the hostages’ safety began tofade. bygone adj
(always before noun) for¬ mal from the past • I don’t
have much pa¬ tience with the romanticizing of bygone
days. • The monarchy are just a relic of a bygone era.
2 to walk past • I’m just sitting here watch¬ ing the
world go by. (= watching a lot of people walk past)

go down
1 to become lower in level • House prices went down in
July following an increase in the previous two months.

to become worse in quality

if lights go down, they become less bright

when the sun goes down, it moves down in the sky until
it cannot be seen any more

if a ship goes down, it sinks

if an aircraft goes down, it falls out of the sky

if a computer goes down, it stops working

go for sth
1 to choose something • When you’re buy¬ ing a
computer, go for one with a lot of memory.

go in/into
74
 to enter a place
if an amount of time, money, or effort goes into a
product or an activity, it is used or spent creating that
product or doing that activity • Over $50 million has
gone into designing the new aircraft.

go off
1 if a bomb or gun goes off, it explodes or fires • Two
people were seriously injured when a bomb went off in
the main station.
if a warning device [e.g. alarm] goes off, it suddenly
makes a loud noise • The alarm went off in the middle of
the night.

go off with sb
to leave your husband, wife, or the person you are
having a romantic relation¬ ship with in order to have a
relationship with someone else • Apparently, he’s left his
wife and gone off with his next-door neighbour.

go on
to continue doing something

go out with sb
to have a romatic relationship with some¬ one • They’d
been going out together for years before they got
married. •How long have you been going out with him
now?

75
go through sth
to experience an unpleasant or difficult situation or event
• She went through ab¬ solute hell during her divorce.
to carefully examine the contents of something or a
collection of things in order to find something
to carefully read or discuss every part of something in
order to make sure that it is correct or acceptable

go together
1 (never in continuous tenses) if two types of thing or
people go together, they are usually found with each
other • People tend to think that politics and corruption
go together. • Hollywood and glamour went together
during the 1940s.
2 (never in continuous tenses) if two pieces of clothing
or two types of food go to¬ gether, they look or taste
good when you wear or eat them at the same time Do
you think that this blue shirt and these green trousers go
together? • Tomatoes and basil go together wonderfully.

go up
1 if an amount, rate, or standard goes up, it rises o The
government is trying to pre¬ vent interest ratesfrom
going up.

go up to sth
to reach as far as a particular place
• During the flood, the water went up to the top ofthe
bridge.

go with sth
76
1 if one thing goes with another, they suit each other or
they look or taste good to¬ gether

go with sth/sb (never passive) slightly in¬ formal

to accept a plan or an idea, or to support the person
whose ideas you agree with

go without (sth)
to not have something which you usually have

grab at sth
to quickly use or accept an opportunity to do or have
something • If I were you I’d grab at the chance to work
in the U.S.

gravitate to/towards sth/sb

to be attracted to something or someone, or to move in
the direction of something or someone • She does tend to
gravitate to¬ wards older men.

grow apart
if people who are good friends grow apart, they
gradually become less friend¬ ly, often because they do
not have the same interests and opinions any more

grow up
1 to gradually change from being a child to being an
adult

grown-up n [C] a child’s word for an adult • Daddy, why

are all the grown-ups laughing?
77
grown-up adj fully developed as an adult, or behaving or
appearing like an adult

guess at sth
to try to imagine something when you have little
knowledge or little experience of it • (often -i- question
word) There are no photographs of him so we can only
guess at what he looked like. • You can only guess at the
difficulties a blind person might encounter.

hack into sth

to get into someone else’s computer sys¬ tem without
permission in order to look at information or do
something illegal
• A student had managed to hack into some top-secret
government data.

hand in sth or hand sth in

to give something to someone in author¬ ity • Please

hand your passport in at the office, they will be returned
to you later. • The terrorists must hand in their weapons
ifthe peace process is to succeed.

hand out sth or hand sth out

1 to give something to each person in a group of people

handout n [C] a piece of paper that is given to people

who go to a talk or class and which has information on it
about the subject dealt with in the talk or class

78
hand over sth or hand sth over
to give something to someone else • The driver
wasforced to hand over the car keys and was left
standing on the roadside.

hand over (sth/sb) or hand (sth/sb) over

to give someone else responsibility for or control of
something or someone • (often + to) He announced his
decision to resign and hand over to his junior.

hang in/on American

informal to continue to try to do some¬ thing even
though it is very difficult

hang on
to hold something or someone tightly, usually in order to
stop yourself from fall¬ ing • Hang on tight, it’s going to
he a bumpy ride!

hang out (always -h adv/prep) informal to spend a lot of

time in a particular place, or to spend a lot of time with
some¬ one

hang out sth or hang sth out

to hang things that you have washed on a piece of string
outside so that they be¬ come dry • What a pain! - It’s
raining and I’vejust hung the washing out.

hang up

79
to end a telephone conversation, often suddenly, by
putting the part of the tele¬ phone that you speak into
back into its usual position

harp on informal
to talk continually about something in a way that other
people find boring or annoying • (usually + about) He
keeps harping on about declining standards in education.

heal over
if a wound heals over, new skin grows over it

heal up
if a wound or injury heals up, the injured part repairs
itself and it becomes healthy again

hear (sth) from sb

1 to receive news or information from someone, usually
by letter or telephone
• Have you heard from Peter recently?
• Please write soon. I look forward to hearing from you. •
You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.

heat up sth or heat sth up

to make food hot so that it can be eaten • I wasjust
heating up some soupfor lunch.

heat up
if a situation in which people are arguing or competing
with each other heats up, it becomes more serious or
more violent • United Nations forces were called in as
80
the conflict heated up. • As growth in the business slows,
competition is heating up.

help out (sb) or help (sb) out

to help someone, especially by giving them money or by
doing work for them

hide away sth or hide sth away

to put something in a secret place so that other people
cannot find it • I’ve got my own store of paper hidden
away in a drawer.
hide away
to go to a place where other people will not find you • I
thought I’d rent a cottage in the country and hide
awayfor a while.

hide out
to go to a secret place in order to escape from someone
who is looking for you
• (usually + adv/prep) The killer hid out in the mountains
as the police launched a nationwide search.
hideout n [C] a place where someone goes when they do
not want to be found

hinge on/upon sth (never in continuous tenses)

1 if one thing hinges on another, the first thing depends
on the second thing or is very influenced by it • The
prosecution’s case hinged upon the evidence ofa boy
who had witnessed the murder.

hoard up/away sth or hoard sth up

81
to collect a large amount of something so that you can
use it in the future • Many families are hoarding up
tinned goods after warnings ofpossiblefood shortages.

hold back sb/sth or hold sb/sth back

to prevent something from working ef¬ fectively, or to
prevent someone or some¬ thing from making progress

hold (sth) together

if a country, organization, or group of people hold
together, or if they are held together, they continue to
exist as a group even though it is difficult • Successive
rulers held the country to¬ gether by force.

hurry up
to do something more quickly

hype up sth or hype sth up

informal

immerse sb in sth
to involve someone completely in an ac¬ tivity or
subject • (usually passive) He is totally immersed in
family life and has no wish to work. • (sometimes
reflexive) At college, she immersed herself in the ideas
ofMill, Locke and Voltaire.

impact on/upon sth/sb slightlyformal to have a

noticeable effect on something or someone • Any
problems with the computers will impact on our
schedules.
82
• Falling export rates have impacted on the economy.

impose sth on/upon sb formal

to force a group of people to accept some¬ thing, or to
give someone a punishment

impose on/upon sb
to expect someone to do something for you or to spend
time with you when they do not want to or when it
causes them problems

improve on/upon sth

to do something in a better way or with better results
than when it was done be¬ fore

indulge in sth
to allow yourself to do or have something that you enjoy
• I indulged in some duty¬ free shopping at the airport. •
She was furious with her boss and indulged in fantasies
ofrevenge.

ink out sth or ink sth out

to cover words with ink so they cannot be read • Several
lines of the document were inked out.

inquire into sth formal

to try to discover the facts about some¬ thing, or to try to
discover if something you want to do is possible « When
the authorities inquired into his background, they found
he had a criminal record. « We’re inquiring into the
possibility of buying the apartment we’re renting.
83
insist on/upon sth/doing sth
to demand something and to make it clear that you will
not accept anything else • She insisted on seeing her
lawyer.
• He insists on the freshest produce for his restaurant.

insure against sth

to do something in order to prevent some¬ thing
unpleasant from happening or from affecting you • You
need to take precau¬ tions to insure against possible
failure.
• They’d insured against rain by putting up a tent where
their guests could shelter.

interfere with sth

1 to prevent something from working ef¬ fectively or
from developing successfully
• He tried not to let his personal worries interfere with
his work. • She decided not to have children because
they would have interfered with her dancing career.

invest sth in sth

to use a lot of time or effort trying to achieve something
or trying to make something successful « We’ve all
invested a lot oftime in this project.

invite out sb or invite sb out

to ask someone to go with you to a place, for example a
restaurant or the cinema

84
• (often + for) I’ve been invited outfor din¬ ner by an
oldfriend ofmine.

invite over sb or invite sb over

to ask someone to come to your home
• We haven’t invited John’s parents over yet. • (often -i-
for) They invited us overfor Christmas dinner.

iron out sth or iron sth out

to find a way of solving small difficulties or problems, or
to find a way of ending a disagreement © We’re still
trying to iron out some problems with our computer sys¬
tem.

issue from swh formal

if something issues from a place, it comes out of that
place • I noticed a cloud of smoke issuing from the
chimney. • A terrible scream issuedfrom the room.

join in (sth)
to become involved in an activity with other people •
She watches the other kids playing but she never joins
in. • You all seemed to be having such a good time that I
thought I’djoin in thefun.

join up
if two organizations or groups of people join up, they
start working together, or they meet in order to go
somewhere or do something together • The two design
com¬ panies are planning to join up and create a new
range offootwear.
85
jot down sth or jot sth down
to write something quickly on a piece of paper so that
you remember it

jumble up sth or jumble sth up

to mix things together in an untidy way
• (usually passive) His clothes were all jumbled up in the
suitcase.

jump at sth
to eagerly accept a chance to do or have something

keep (sb) at sth

to continue working hard at something difficult or
something which takes a long time, or to make someone
continue to work hard • Learning a language is hard
work - you have to keep at it. • It was work that required
intense concentration and he kept us at it all afternoon.

keep away (sb/sth) or keep (sb/sth) away

to not go somewhere or near something, or to prevent
someone or something from going somewhere or near
something • (usually -I- from) There was a notice
warning people to keep awayfrom the edge of the cliff.

keep away sth or keep sth away

to prevent an illness from infecting you
• He takes garlic tablets every morning to keep colds
away.

86
keep back sth or keep sth back
1 to not tell someone everything you know about a
situation or an event that has happened • I suspected she
was keeping something back.

keep down sth or keep sth down

1 to stop the number, level, or size of some¬ thing from
increasing • The government are desperate to keep
inflation down. • I have to exercise to keep my weight
down.
• I’m trying to keep numbers down (= not invite many
people) as the room is quite small.

keep (sb/sth) off sth

to not go onto an area, or to stop someone or something
going onto an area
I wish she’d keep her dog off my lawn.

keep off sth or keep sth off (sth/sb) to stop something

from touching or harm¬ ing something or someone • She
wore a hat to keep the sun off. • He’d put a cloth over the
plates to keepflies offthefood.
keep (sb) off sth
1 to not eat, drink or use something that can harm you, or
to stop someone from eating etc. things that can harm
them
• I’m keeping off cheese and fatty food generally.

keep on doing sth

87
to continue to do something, or to do something again
and again • She kept on asking me questions the whole
time. • I keep on thinking I’ve seen him before
somewhere.

keep out (sb/sth) or keep (sb/sth) out to not go into a

place, or to stop some¬ thing from going into a place

keep up
1to go at the same speed as someone
to be able to understand or deal with something that is
happening or changing very fast

keep sth to yourself (always reflexive) to keep something

secret and not tell any¬ one else about it • She tends to
keep her opinions to herself.

kick in slightly informal

to start to have an effect, or to start to happen • We’re
still waiting for the air conditioning to kick in. • It takes
about halfan hourfor the tablets to kick in.

kick off
1 if a game of football or American football kicks off, it
starts • What time do they kick off

kick off (sth) informal

to start

kick out sh or kick sh out

88
to force someone to leave a place or an organization • If
he’s not paying his rent why don’t you just kick him
out?* (often + of) He was kicked out of college in the
second year.

kill off sth or kill sth off

1 to make it impossible for something to continue to
exist • The government had effectively killed off the
local coal industry by allowing cheap imports.

kneel down
to lower your body by bending your knees until one or
both of your knees are resting on the ground • We knelt
down to pray.

knit together (sth) or knit (sth) to¬ gether

to join together firmly so that the things that are joined
form a whole • Broken bones take time to knit together.

knock out sb or knock sb out

1 to make someone become unconscious or to make
someone fall asleep ® Those sleep¬ ing tablets knocked
me out for 15 hours.
• He was knocked out by a punch in the first round.
knockout adj (always before noun) ® The doctor gave
me some knockout pills. (= pUls to make me sleep)
knockout n [C] in a boxing match, the act of hitting the
other fighter so that they fall to the ground and are
unable to get up again within ten seconds

kowtow to sb
89
to be too eager to please or obey someone in authority •
He wants promotion but he's not prepared to kowtow to
people higher up in the company to get it.

lace up sth or lace sth up

to fasten shoes, boots, or a piece of cloth¬ ing by tying
the laces

ladle out sth or ladle sth out

1 to serve food [e.g. soup, stew] with a very large spoon
• She was busy ladling out the soup into bowls.

lag behind (sb)

to move so slowly when you are with a group of people
that you are behind them
to fail to achieve as much as someone or something else

land up (always -i- adv/prep/adj) informal to finally be in

a particular place, state, or situation, especially without
having planned it

lavish sth on/upon sth/sb slightly formal

to give a large amount of something [e.g. money,
attention] to something or some¬ one • Huge sums of
money were lavished on ambitious housing projects. •
She lav¬ ishes a lot ofattention on her pet dog.

lay aside sth or lay sth aside

1 to keep something [esp. money] so that you can use it
in the future

90
to stop doing or thinking about some¬ thing, especially
for a short period of time • Ellen was so opposed to the
plan that we decided to lay it aside for a while.
• He had laid aside all hopes ofever seeing them again.

lead off sth

if a room leads off another room, you enter it from the
other room

lead (sb) on to/onto sth (never passive) mainly British

&Australian if one action or event leads on to some¬
thing, it causes that thing to happen or exist, or it causes
or encourages someone to do that thing • It is hoped that
these discussions will lead on to an agreement between
the two countries.

Lead to
if an action or event leads to something, it causes that
thing to happen or exist
• The disagreement between the union and management
could lead to a strike.
• Reducing speed limits should lead to fewer road
deaths.

leak out
if secret information leaks out, people who should not
know this information find out about it • Details of the
contro¬ versial report had leaked out.

leave behind sth/sb or leave sth/sb behind

91
to leave a place without taking something or someone
with you, either because you have forgotten them or
because you can¬ not take them with you • We left in a
hurry and I must have left my keys behind.
■ • He wasforced to flee the country, leaving behind his
wife and son.

leave behind sth or leave sth behind

(sb)
1 if you leave behind an activity or situ¬ ation, you do
not do it or experience it any more C5 He used to drink
heavily but he’s left that behind him now. o She had
built up quite a large social circle and was sorry to be
leaving it all behind.

leave behind sb or leave sb behind

to make progress much faster than someone else • Japan
is leaving the rest of the world behind in technological
develop¬ ments.

left out adj (always after verb) if some¬ one feels left
out, they are unhappy be¬ cause they have not been
included in an activity or conversation • The older chil¬
dren went off to play upstairs and she felt left out.

leftovers n (plural) food that was pre¬ pared for a meal

but not eaten • I was eat¬ ing leftoversfrom the party for
days after¬ wards.

let down sb or let sb down

92
1 to disappoint someone by failing to do what you
agreed to do or what you were expected to do > I
promised to go to the party with Jane, and I can’t let her
down.
• Many farmers feel the government has let them down
badly in the negotiations.

let in sb/sth or let sb/sth in

to allow a person or animal to enter a room or building,
usually by opening the door for them # I knocked on the
door and Michelle let me in.

let off sb or let sb off

to not punish someone who has commit¬ ted a crime or
done something wrong, or to not punish someone
severely • I’ll let you off this time, but I don’t ever want
to catch you stealing again.

level off/out
1 if a rate or amount levels off, it stops rising or falling
and it stays at the same level • European exports have
now lev¬ elled off after soaring during the 1980’s. •
House prices are finally levelling out after the steepfalls
ofthe past two years.

lie down
to move into a position in which your body is flat,
usually in order to sleep or rest • She lay down on her
bed and cried. • I thought I might go upstairs and lie
downfor a while.

93
lie in
to stay in bed in the morning later than you usually do • /
like to lie in on the weekend. • I lay in till eleven o’clock
this morning.

lift off
if a spacecraft or aircraft lifts off, it leaves the ground

light up sth or light sth up

1 to shine light on something • We stood by the river and
watched the fireworks light up the night sky. • The
church looks beau¬ tiful at night when it is lit up.

lighten up sth or lighten sth up

to make a speech or piece of writing less serious ® He
needs a few jokes to lighten up his talk.

line up (sb/sth) or line (sb/sth) up to arrange people or

things in a row, or to stand in a row • The soldiers lined
their prisoners up against the wall.

link up (sth/sb) or link (sth/sb) up if two or more things

or people link up, or if you link them up, they form a
connec¬ tion so that they can operate or work to¬ gether
The govern¬ ment has encouraged British firms to link
up with foreign partners.

be littered with sth (always passive) if something is

littered with a particular type of thing, it has or contains
a lot of that thing • The book is littered with printing

94
errors. • Legal history is littered with cases of innocent
people being found guilty.

live by sth
if you live by particular rules or beliefs, these rules or
beliefs influence your be¬ haviour • These people have
decided not to live by society’s rules. • / always try to
live by what I believe in.

live for sth/sb

to believe that something or someone is the most
important thing or person in your life • Andrea just lives
for parties. • The couple livefor each other.

live on/off sth

to only eat a particular type of food • I lived off curries
and pizzas when I was a student.

live on sth
1 to have a particular amount of money in order to buy
the things you need • He and his family live on £70 a
week. • I had to take an eveningjob because we didn’t
have enough money to live on.

live out sth

1 to remain in a particular place or in a particular
condition until the end of your life • (usually -i-
adv/prep) It was sad that she had to live out her last years
in a nurs¬ ing home.

95
if you live out something that you want to do [e.g.
fantasy, ambition], you do it or
experience it • We dressed up in glamorous costumes
and lived out our fantasies for one night. • He was trying
to live out his own ambitions through his son.

live together
if two people live together, they live in the same house
and have a sexual rela¬ tionship with each other, but are
not married • They lived together for two years before
they got married.

live with sb
if one person lives with another, they live in the same
house and have a sexual rela¬ tionship with each other,
but are not married e How long did you live with Will
for?
live with sth
to accept a difficult or unpleasant situ¬ ation and
continue with your life while it exists ® For many years
the population had lived with the threat of war.

live up to sth
if someone or something lives up to people’s
expectations or a particular standard, they are as good as
they were expected to be • Did the trip live up to your
expectations? • He’s striving to live up to his reputation
as a world-class athlete.

96
liven up (sth) or liven (sth) up to become more
interesting and exciting, or to make something become
like this
• The party livened up as soon as Bob arrived. • We’re
trying to think of ways in which we can liven up this
book cover.
liven up (sb) or liven (sb) up to become more energetic
or cheerful, or to make someone feel this way • Take that
gloomy look off your face and liven up! • Ted’sjokes
soon livened the kids up.

load up (sth) or load (sth) up to put a lot of things into a

vehicle or ma¬ chine • Ifyou bring the car up to the door,
we’ll start loading up.

lock away sth or lock sth away

to put something in a safe place and lock the door so that
no one else can get it • He locks his gun away at night. •
Her jewel¬ lery was locked away in a safe.

lock away sb or lock sb away

to put someone in prison or in a hospital for people who
are mentally ill
• Dangerous criminals need to be locked awayfrom
society.
lock yourself away (always reflexive) to go to a room or
building where you can be alone, usually so that you can
work
• Fm going to have to lock myselfaway in the library to
get this essay written.

97
lock in sb or lock sb in
to prevent someone from leaving or en¬ tering a room or
building by locking the door • As a punishment she
would take him up to his bedroom and lock him in.

lock out sb or lock sb out

1 to prevent someone from entering a building by
locking the door • He broke into the house because his
girlfriend had locked him out.
to prevent workers from entering their place of work
until they agree to particu¬ lar conditions given by the
employer
• Management has threatened to lock out the workforce
if they do not accept the pro¬ posed changes.
lockout n (C/U) • A series of lockouts ended with the
workers’ acceptance of the new terms.

lock up (sth) or lock (sth) up

to lock all the doors and windows of a building when
you leave it • Don’t forget to lock up when you leave. •
It’s my respon¬ sibility to lock up the shop at night.

log in
log into/onto sth
to connect a computer to a system of com¬ puters by
typing your name, usually so that you can start working •
Log in using your own name andpassword.

log off (sth)

to stop a computer being connected to a computer
system, usually when you want to stop working • Could
98
you all log offfor five minutes, please? * Log off the
system and then shut down.

log out
to stop a computer being connected to a computer
system, usually when you want to stop working • (often -
1- of) There was a problem and everyone had to log out
of the system.

look after sb/sth

to take care of someone or something by doing what is
needed to keep them well or in good condition • Do you
think you could look after the cat while we’re away?

look ahead
to think about what will happen in the future and plan for
these events « Like any company, we’ve got to look
ahead and plan for the future. • We’re trying to look
ahead and see what our options are.

look around/round (swh)

to walk through a building or around a place and look at
the things in it • 7didn’t have time to look round the
shops. • It’s such a beautiful city, it’s a shame we didn’t
have more time to look around.

look at sth
1 to read something quickly and not very carefully •
Would you mind looking at my report before I submit it?

look back
99
to think about or remember something that happened in
the past • When I look back, I’m amazed that I coped so
well after his death. •

look down on sb/sth

to think that someone is less important than you, or to
think that something is not good enough quality for you
to use

look for sth/sb

to try to find something or someone, either because you
have lost them or because you need them • Have you
seen my gloves? I’ve been looking for them all week. • I
was looking for Andy. Do you know where he is? • How
long have you been lookingfor ajob?

look forward to sth/doing sth

to feel pleased and excited about some¬ thing that is
going to happen • We’re really looking forward to seeing
Andy again. • I’m not looking forward to Christmas this
year.

look into sth

to discover and examine the facts about a problem or
situation • Police are reported to be looking into the case.
• We’re looking into the possibility of merging the two
departments.

look out sth or look sth out (never passive) British &
Australian to search for and find something • I’ll look
out the recipe and send it to you.
100
lookout n [C] a person who is watching for danger • The
lookout was standing on the corner while the two men
broke into the store.
lookout n [C] a high place where a per¬ son can look at
what is happening in the area around them, especially in
order to watch for any danger • There’s a lookout at the
top ofthe cliff.

look through sth

1 to carefully examine the contents of something or a
collection of things in order to find something • I’ve
looked through her drawers but I can’t find the letter. •
Why don’t you look through these files and see ifthe
document’s there?

look up sth or look sth up

to look at a book or computer in order to find a piece of
information • Can you look up the French word for
‘marrow’?
• I’m not sure what his number is. You’ll have to look it
up in the telephone direc¬ tory.

loosen up slightly informal

loosen up (sth) or loosen (sth) up to prepare your body

muscles for a phys¬ ical activity by stretching and doing
simple exercises

lump together sth/sb or lump sth/sb together

101
to consider that two or more different things or people
belong to the same group, or to combine different things
or people to make one group • (usually pas¬ sive)
American and Canadian authors tend to be lumped
together in the same category. • Children of varying
abilities are lumped together in one class.
to start to feel less embarrassed and to become more
relaxed when you are with other people

may·juh
major in sth American & Australian to study something
as your main subject at university • She
match up
1 if two pieces of information match up, they are the
same and this shows that the information is likely to be
correct • They both described what had happened that
night but their stories didn’t quite match up.
2 to be as good as something or someone else • (usually -
i- to) Nothing that he wrote after this point ever quite
matched up to his early work.

match up sb/sth or match sb/sth up to find someone or

something that will be suitable for a particular person,
activity, or purpose • (usually -i- with) They look at your
interests and they try to match you up with someone
suitable.

make up sth or make sth up

102
1to say or write something that is not true [e.g. excuse,
report, story] in order to de¬ ceive someone • I’d made
up some story majored in French at Middlebury.

made-up adj • We gave ourselves made- up names.

mark off sth or mark sth off

1 to separate an area by putting something around it •
The police had marked off the area where the body
wasfound with white tape.
2 to put a symbol next to something on a list, or to draw
a line through something to show that it has been dealt
with

marry up (sth) or marry (sth) up if two things marry up,

or if you marry them up, they match or join together • /
listened to the film in German whilst reading the English
subtitles, but the two versions didn’t seem to marry up.

measure sb/sth against sb/sth

to judge someone or something by comparing them with
someone or something else • Our city’s transport
problems are minor when measured against capitals like
London and New York.

measure out sth or measure sth out

to take a small amount of something from a larger
amount, first weighing or meas¬ uring it in order to
make sure that it is the right amount • Measure out
300grams offlour and place in a bowl with the egg yolks.

103
measure up (sth) or measure (sth) up to find the exact
size of something, for example a window or a room
We need new curtains for that window ifyou could
measure it up some time.

meet up
1 to meet another person in order to do something
together • We quite often meet up after work and go for a
drink.
if roads or paths meet up, they join at a particular place •
(often + with) This path meets up with the main road at
the bridge.

meet with sb mainly American

to have a meeting with someone in order to discuss or
arrange something • Brown has met with the senator
several times in recent weeks to discuss the proposals. •
Each student meets with an advisor at the beginning
ofthe school year.

merge in/into sth

if something merges into its surround¬ ings, it looks
similar to them so that you do not notice it • Her dark
form merged into the night.

mess up (sth) or mess (sth) up

to spoil or damage something, or to do something badly •
You don’t want to mess up your career.

minister to sb/sth formal

104
to care for someone who is ill or who needs help • The
church has always played a major role in ministering to
the poor and sick. • I spent the weekend in a five-star
hotel and a crowd of hotel staff ministered to my every
need.

miss out
to not do or get something that you would enjoy or that
would be good for you, or to not have something that
other people have •

mist over
if your eyes mist over, they become filled with tears
which stop you from seeing clearly • Her eyes mist over
as she starts to talk about her son.

mist over/up
if something made of glass [e.g. wind¬ screen, window,
glasses] mists over, it becomes covered with very small
drops of water so that you cannot see through it easily •
You’ll need to turn the carfan on to stop the windscreen
misting over.

mix up sth/sb or mix sth/sb up to confuse two people or

things by think¬ ing that one person or thing is the other
person or thing • Kim and Wendy were almost identical
as children and I often used to mix them up.

to combine different substances together, especially

food, so that they become one substance • And the next

105
thing you do is you put the chocolate, butter and egg in a
bowl and mix them all up.

mix-up n [C] a mistake caused by confu¬ sion which

prevents something from being done or causes
something to be done incorrectly

moon over sb
to spend aU your time thinking about someone that you
love • He spent most of the summer mooning over some
girl he’d met on the beach.

mop up (sth) or mop (sth) up

to use a cloth to remove a liquid that has been dropped or
that has spread • I was just mopping up the milk that you
spilt in the kitchen.
to eat the small amount of soup or sauce which remains
on a plate or in a dish by using a piece of bread to lift up
the liquid

move away
to leave the place or area where you live and go and live
in another place • The vil¬ lage’s population hasfallen
sharply in the past ten years as young people have
moved away.

move in move into sth

1 to begin living in a new house or area
• They’ve made a lot of alterations to the house since
they moved in.

106
move on
1 to leave the place where you have been staying and go
somewhere else • I’d been in Paris long enough and
thought it was time to move on.
2 to start doing a new activity • After three years
working as a junior reporter, she was ready to move on. •
(often -1- to) We’re about to move on to the second
stage of the project.
3 to become better or more advanced • Fashion
photography hasn’t really moved on since the 1950s. •
(often -1- from) You can now phone abroad in seconds -
things have really moved on from the days
When you had to wait hours to be connected.

muddle up sb/sth or muddle sb/sth up

to confuse two people or things in your mind • (usually
passive) The two older brothers look very similar and I
get them muddled up.

mug up (sth) or mug (sth) upBritish informal

to quickly try to learn the main facts about a subject,
especially before an exam

mull over sth or mull sth over

to think carefully about something for a long time, often
before making a decision

nail down sb or nail sb down

to make someone give you exact details or a decision
about something

107
narrow down sth or narrow sth down
to make something [e.g. list, choice, op¬ tion] smaller
and clearer by removing the things that are less
important

nod off informal

to fall asleep when you do not intend to go to sleep • I
nodded off just before the end ofthefilm.

note down sth or note sth down

to write words or numbers, often so that you do not
forget them

occur to sb
if a thought or idea occurs to you, it comes into your
mind e (often + that) It didn’t occur to me that he might
be offend¬ ed.

offer up sth or offer sth up

if you offer up a prayer or a sacrifice (= something
offered to God in a ceremony), you pray to God or you
sacrifice some¬ thing

open into sth

if a room or door opens into a room or other space, it
opens in the direction of that place • The door opened
into a tiny hallway. • Their bedroom opens into the
bathroom.

open out
108
if a road or path opens out, it becomes wider

open up (sth) or open (sth) up

1 to open the door of a building, often by unlocking it

open up
1 to start to talk more about yourself and your feelings

order sb about/around
to tell someone what they should do all the time • You
can’t just come in here and start ordering people around.

pack up (sth) or pack (sth) up

to collect your things together and put them into bags or
boxes, especially when you have finished doing
something • I just need a few minutes to pack up my
equipment, and then we can leave. • I got to the market
just as it was closing and everyone was packing up.

page through sth American

to turn the pages of a book or magazine and look at them
quickly, usually without reading them

pair off
if two people pair off, they start a roman¬ tic
relationship

pair up
to join another person for a short time in order to do
something • (often -i- with) We had to pair up with
another person for a couple ofthe activities.
109
parcel up sth or parcel sth up British to wrap something
and make it into a par¬ cel • Parcel up those tins and
we’ll send them offtomorrow.

partition off sth or partition sth off

to separate one part of a room from an¬ other using a
thin wall or a piece of glass

pass around/round sth or pass sth around/round

to offer something to each person in a group of people
thought it would be nice to have some chocolates to pass
round.

pass away
1 to die • She passed away peacefully in her sleep.

pass by (sb/swh)
to go past a person or place without stop¬ ping

pass down sth or pass sth down

to teach or give something to someone who will be alive
after you have died

pass on stb or pass stb on

1 to tell someone something that someone else has told
you • (often + to) Did you pass on my message to
Jeremy? • They were in possession of vital information
which theyfailed to pass on to the police.
2 to give something to someone else
110
• (often + to) Could you pass it on to Laura when
you’vefinished reading it?
3 to teach your skiUs or knowledge to younger people •
(often + to) One of the pleasures of being a teacher is
being able to pass on your knowledge ofa subject.
4 if someone passes on a disease or phys¬ ical quality to
their child, their child also has it • (often -i- to) It is
thought that these cancer-causing genes can be passed on
to the next generation. • In the past, people with diseases
that could be passed on were often advised not to have
children.
5 to give a disease to another person or animal ® (often -
i- to) Scientists are wor¬ ried that BSE can be passed on
to humans.
• The virus can be passed on through physical contact.

pass out
1 to become unconscious • It was so hot in the stadium
that I thought I was going to pass out.

pass over stb or pass stb over

to avoid discussing a particular subject, or to ignore
something that someone has said
Yes, well, we’ll pass over that last comment.

patch up sth or patch sth up

1 to try to improve your relationship with someone after
an argument

pay back sb/sth or pay sb/sth back

111
to pay someone the money that you owe them • Pay me
back another time. I don’t need the money just now.

pay off sth or pay sth off

if you pay off a debt [e.g. loan, mortgage, overdraft], you
pay back all the money you owe • Fm planning to pay
off my bank loan within five years.

pay off
if something that you have done to try to achieve
something pays off, it is success¬ ful • I was pleased to
hear about your job offer - all that hard work has
obviously paid off

peck/pick at sth
to eat small quantities of food without any enthusiasm •
She only pecked at her food -1 think she’s upset about
something.

pension off sb or pension sb off

if an organization pensions off someone who has worked
for a long time, it makes them leave their job and it gives
them their pension (= money paid to someone who is too
old to work) • The company has decided to pension off
all members of staffover the age of55.

pertain to sih formal to be connected with a particular

subject, event, or situation • The charges against him
pertain to a series of illegal deals he made in 1992. •A

112
reward has been offered for information pertaining to the
incident.

phase out sth or phase sth out

to gradually stop using or supplying something • Sweden
is planning to phase out its nuclear reactors by the year
2010.

pick on sb
to choose one person from a group of people to criticize
or treat unfairly, espe¬ cially when they are smaller or
weaker than you • He was picked on at school because
he was much smaller than the other kid

pick out sth/sb or pick sth/sb out

1 to choose one thing or person or several things or
people from a large group • She picked out a pink shirt
for me to try on.
• Over 200 people applied for the job and we had to pick
out eight to interview.

pick up sth/sb or pick sth/sb up

1 to lift something or someone by using your hands • I
bent over to pick up my pen which hadfallen on the
floor.
to collect someone who is waiting for you, or to collect
something that you have left somewhere or that you have
bought ® I’m just off to pick Stella up from the station. •
Could you pick up my dry cleaning while you’re in
town?
113
if you pick up a way of speaking or behav¬ ing [e.g.
accent, habit], you start to speak or behave in that way,
usually because you have spent time in a particular place
or with particular people • Parents who smoke should
discourage their children from picking up the habit. • I
picked up a Canadian accent while I was living in
Toronto.

to get an infectious iUness from someone or something •

Children pick up infections easily. • I picked up a bug
while I was travelling in north Africa.
9 if a device picks up a signal or pro¬ grammes
broadcast by a radio station, it receives them • Antennas
around the top of the ship picked up the radar signals.

10to become aware of a smell, or to notice something

that someone has left which can help you to find them •
Police dogs picked up the scent of the two men from
clothes they had left behind. • I lost their trail by the
stream but picked it up again shortly afterwards.
11 to notice a mistake in a piece of writing
• If there are any errors, the copy editor should pick them
up

pickup n [C] mainly American a small vehicle with an

open part at the back in which goods can be carried a
pickup truck

pick up (sth) or pick (sth) up

114
to start something again [e.g. story, rela¬ tionship] from
the point where you had stopped • He picked up the story
at the point where Jill had been rushed to hos¬ pital. • /
hoped that when Peter came back from the States, we’d
just pick up where we left off. (= start our relationship
again)

pick up
1 if something [e.g. business, economy, trade] picks up,
it improves or increases after a bad period • Business is
finally picking up after the recession.

if a vehicle or ship picks up speed or steam, it starts to go

faster • The train picked up speed as it came out of the
tun¬ nel.

pile up (sth) or pile (sth) up

1 to become a pile, or to make a lot of things into a pile
by putting them on top of each other • I hadn’t done the
dishesfor a while and plates were starting to pile up in
the sink. • Just pile the books up and leave them on the
table.
2 if something unpleasant [e.g. work, bills, losses] piles
up, or if you pile it up, you get more and more of it • The
bills are starting to pile up and I just can’t pay them. •
Both companies have piled up huge losses this year.

pin down sb or pin sb down

1 to make someone give you exact details or a decision
about something • (often -i- to) Paul says he’ll come and

115
visit in the spring but I haven’t managed to pin him
down to a date yet.

pin down sth or pin sth down

1 to understand something completely, or to describe
something accurately • (often -I- question word) Without
proper re¬ search, it’s hard to pin down what the long-
term effects of this drug are.

pin up sth or pin sth up

to fasten something [e.g. picture, photo, notice] to a wall
using a pin • She’d pinned up a photo of her boyfriend
next to her bed.

plan ahead
to make decisions or plans about some-
t
thing you wiU do or something that might happen in the
future • The new system allows schools to plan ahead. •
I’m not very good at planning ahead.

plan on doing sth

to intend to do something • Are you plan¬ ning on
staying long in Berlin? • We’d planned on catching the
early train.

play along
to pretend to agree with someone, or to do what someone
wants for a short time, in order to get something from
them or to avoid making them angry

116
play with sb/sth
to treat a person or their feelings in a way that is not
serious, for example by pre¬ tending to love them • He’s
not serious about her at all - he’s just playing with her.

plug into/in sth

1 if a piece of electrical equipment plugs into a supply of
electricity or another piece of electrical equipment, it
works by being connected to that supply of electri¬ city
or that piece of equipment • So where does the
microphone plug into the tape recorder? • Does it need
batteries or does it plug into the wall socket?

plunge into sth

to suddenly become very involved in an activity ® Two
months before his exams he suddenly plunged into his
studies.

point out sb/sth or point sb/sth out

to make a person notice someone or something, usually
by telling them where they are or by holding up one of
your fingers towards them ® (often + to) If you see her
you must point her out to me. • I’d made one or two
mistakes that she pointed out to me.

point out sth or point sth out

to tell someone a fact that they did not already know,
especially one that is important in the present discussion
or situation • (often + that) I pointed out that long term
this would undoubtedly cost us more. • He was careful to
point out the possible disadvantages of the new system.
117
point to/towards sth
if something points to or towards a fact or event, it
makes it seem likely that the fact is true or that the event
will happen • They don’t know for certain but the evi¬
dence points to suicide. • All the indicators arepointing
towards a June election.

polish up sth or polish sth up

1 to practise and improve your skills or your knowledge
of something that you learned in the past but have partly
forgot¬ ten 3 / really must polish up my Italian before
we go to Rome.
2 to rub something with a piece of cloth in order to make
it shine o Those old silver candlesticks would be lovely
ifyou polished them up.

pop up slightly informal

if something pops up, it suddenly ap¬ pears, often when
you are not expecting it • He’s one ofthose actors who
pops up time and again on the television. • A message
just popped up on my screen saying fatal error’.

post up sth or post sth up

to put a notice on a wall so that it can be seen by a lot of
people • Company an¬ nouncements are usually posted
up on the notice-board.

pour down
to rain heavily • Take an umbrella - it’s pouring down. •
The rain’s pouring down. downpour n [C] a sudden,
118
heavy fall of rain • (usually singular) The streets were
flooded after the downpour.

pour into swh

to arrive or enter somewhere in very large numbers e
As soon as the gates opened, visitors started pouring in.
• Letters have poured in congratulating us on our
success. • Over 20,000 refugees have poured into the
region.
pour out
to leave a place in large numbers • (usually -I- adv/prep)
The game had just finished andpeople were pouring out
ofthe stadium. • The crowd poured out into the street.

pour sth into sth

to provide a lot of money for something over a long
period • He’s poured so much money into the company.

pour out sth or pour sth out

to fill a glass, cup etc. with a drink • I’ll wait till the tea’s
a little stronger before I pour it out.

pour out sth or pour sth out

if you pour out your feelings or thoughts, you talk very
honestly about what is making you sad e She listened
quietly while he poured out his troubles.

press forward
to continue doing something in a deter¬ mined way,
usually in order to bring it to a more advanced stage
119
press on
to continue doing something in a deter¬ mined way

pretend to sth formal

to say that you have a particular quality even though this
may not be true • (usually negative) I don’t pretend to
any great skill as an orator.

prey on/upon sth

if an animal preys on another animal, it catches it and
uses it as its food • Spiders prey onflies and other small
insects.
prey on/upon sb
to hurt or deceive a particular group of people, especially
people who are weak and can easily be hurt or deceived

pride yourself on/upon sth/doing sth (always reflexive)

to be proud of a quality that you have or something that
you do • I’ve always prided myself on being reasonably
self- sufficient. ® They pride themselves on the speed
and reliability of their delivery service.

print out (sth) or print (sth) out

to produce a printed copy of a document that has been
written on a computer • I’ve just printed out the first
draft of my essay.

printout n [C] a Can you get me a print¬ out of the latest

sales figures?

120
pull off sth or pull sth off
to succeed in doing or achieving some¬ thing difficult •
It’s a clever plan and if he pulls it off he’ll earn a lot of
money. • So you’re going to Madrid all expenses paid.
How did you pull that off?

pull over
to drive a car to the side of the road in order to stop • I
was looking for some¬ where to pull over so I could
have a look at the map.
pull over sb/stb or pull sb/stb over if the police pull
someone who is driving a car over, they order them to
drive the car to the side of the road and stop • I was
pulled over by the police and asked to show my driving
license.

pull yourselftogether(always reflexive) to become calm

after being so angry or upset that you were unable to
behave in a sensible way • (often an order) Pull yourself
together, now. There’s no point in crying.

pump in sth or pump sth in pump sth into sth

to give a lot of money to a plan or org¬ anization • The
government has pumped in billions of dollars over the
last three years. • New investors were being encour¬
aged to pump capital into the company.

pump up sth or pump sth up

1 to fill something with air by using a pump © I must
remember to pump up the tyres on my bike.

121
push aside sth/sb or push sth/sb aside
to decide to forget about or ignore some¬ thing or
someone • We can’t just push these problems aside - we
have to deal with them. • Annie felt that she was being
pushed aside in favour of a younger mem¬ ber ofstaff

push over sb/stb or push sb/stb over to push someone or

something so that they fall to the ground • One of the big
kids pushed him over.

push up sth or push sth up

to increase the amount, number, or value of something •
Increases in indirect taxes willpush inflation up.

put aside sth or put sth aside

1 to save money for a particular purpose
• Sheputs aside £100 a monthfor clothes.
to keep something so that you can use it later • Pour half
of the milk into the mix¬ ture andput the rest asidefor the
sauce.

put away sth or put sth away

1 to put something in the place where it is usually kept •
I’ll wash and dry the dishes, ifyou put them away. •
Shefolded up the towels and put them away in the
cupboard.
2 to save an amount of money • I try to put a little away
every month.

put back sth or put sth back

1 to put something where it was before it was moved
122
put down sb/sth or put sb/sth down to put something or
someone that you are holding onto the floor or onto an¬
other surface • I’ll just put my bag down - it’s rather
heavy.

put down sb or put sb down

1 to make someone feel stupid or unimpor¬ tant by
criticizing them • Why do you have to put me down in
front of everyone like that? • (sometimes reflexive) You
put yourselfdown too much.

put forward sth or put sth forward

1 to state an idea or opinion, or to suggest a plan, so that
it can be considered or dis¬ cussed • A number of
theories have been put forward about the possible causes
of cancer.

put in sth or put sth in

put sth into sth/doing sth
if you put time, work, or effort into some¬ thing, you
spend a lot of time or effort doing it • We’ve all put a lot
of effort into this project and we want it to succeed.
• Jean put a lot of work into finishing her book, s Many
charities rely on volunteers

put off sth/doing sth or put sth off

to decide or arrange to do something at a later time •
(often -i- until) They had decided to put the wedding off
until her brother came home from abroad. • I’ve put off
talking to him about this for far too long.
123
put out sth or put sth out
1 to make a light stop shining by pressing a switch • I’m
rather tired - shall we put the light out? ® Could you put
that torch out?
2 to make something that is burning [e.g. fire, cigarette]
stop burning • You’d better put your cigarette out before
Terry sees it.
• Ben grabbed the fire extinguisher and put thefire out.

put sb through sth

1 to make someone experience or do some¬ thing
unpleasant or difficult © Doctors are reluctant to put her
through the ordeal of another operation,

put together sth or put sth together

1 to put the parts of something in the correct place and
join them to each other
• Sally helped me put my futon together.
• I’ve knitted the entire sweater - I’ve Just got to put the
thing together now.
2 to prepare a piece of work by collecting several ideas
and suggestions and organ¬ izing them a We’ve put
together a proposal which we want to put before the
committee.
3 to make a group or team by choosing sev¬ eral people
• A team is being put together to carry out investigatory
work.

quarrel with sth

to disagree with an idea, statement, or decision
124
queue up British & Australian
to stand in a line in order to wait for something • (often +
to do sth) We queued up to get ticketsfor the concert.

quieten down (sb/sth) or quieten (sb/sth) down British to

become quieter or calmer, or to make a person or animal
become quieter or calm¬ er • Come on, quieten down
now please everyone. • The speaker attempted to quiet
down the audience.

ramp sth up or ramp up sth

to increase the speed, power, cost or amount of
something • The company has ramped up production of
its new sports car. • He’s started to ramp up the number
ofmiles he is running each day

reach out (sth) or reach (sth) out to stretch your arm in

front of your body, usually in order to get or touch
some¬ thing • (often -I- to do sth) She reached out to
grab him but it was too late..

reach out to sb
1 to offer help and support to someone • The rich have to
reach out to the poor.
2 to ask someone for help or support • But I reached out
to you and you just weren’t there.

read over/through sth or read sth over/through

to read something from the beginning to the end in order
to find any mistakes or to understand it better
125
refer to sb/sth
1 to talk about or mention someone or something
if writing or information refers to some¬ one or
something, it describes or is about that person or thing •
The figures below refer to UKsales alone.
refer to sth
to read something in order to get infor¬ mation • Refer to
the users’ guide if you have any problems. • She spoke
for an hour without once referring to her notes.

rejoice in sth formal

to be very happy about something • We all rejoice in
your success and wish you every happiness in thefuture.

relate to sth
1 to be connected to a particular subject, or to be about a
particular subject

relieve sb of sth
1 formal to take a problem away from someone • I was
glad to be relieved of the responsibilityfor making that
decision.

rely on/upon sth/sb

1 to need something or someone in order to survive, be
successful, or work correctly
• This organization relies entirely on voluntary
donations.

remind sb of sb/sth (never in continuous tenses)

126
to cause someone to think of someone or something •
Something in his face really reminded me of an old
boyfriend of mine.

rent out sth or rent sth out

if you rent out something that you own [e.g. house], you
allow someone to pay you money so that they can use it
® They rent out one floor of their apartment.

report back
to give someone information about some¬ thing that they
asked you to find out about • (often -t- on) I’ve been
asked to report back on what goes on at the meet¬ ing.

report to sb
if you report to someone at work, that person is your
boss

resort to sth/doing sth

to do something bad in order to achieve what you want,
often because it is the only thing you can do to achieve it
• / had to resort to threats to get my money back.

rest on/upon sth

to depend on something, or to be based on something •
The prosecution’s case rests almost entirely on the
evidence ofa convict¬ ed criminal. • Christianity rests on
the beliefthat Jesus was the son of God.

result in sth

127
to cause something to happen, or to make a situation
exist • Last year in the Philippines, earthquakes and tidal
waves resulted in the deaths of more than 6000 people.

revert to sth/doing sth

1 to start talking about a subject that you were talking
about before • Why does the conversation have to revert
to money all the time? • We reverted to talking about
babies again.
2 to go back to a previous condition or ac¬ tivity,
especially a worse one • Only one of the former
prisoners reverted to crim¬ inal behaviour.

revolve around/round sth/sb

if an activity or conversation revolves around something
or someone, that thing or person is the main reason for
the activ¬ ity, or the main subject of the conversa¬ tion •
The conversation revolved mainly round the problems of
childcare, o Her life revolves around her husband and six
chil¬ dren.

ring up (sb) or ring (sb) up mainly British & Australian

to telephone someone

rise above sth

to be much better or more successful than other people
or other things of the same kind

roll out sth or roll sth out

128
1 to make an uncooked food mixture [e.g. pastry] flat
and thin by rolling a tube¬ shaped object over it and
pressing it down

roll up sth or roil sth up

1 to wrap something around itself to make the shape of a
tube or ball • Could you roll up that string for me? • She
rolled up her sleeping bag as soon as she got up.

be rooted in sth (always passive)

to be based on something, or to be caused by something
• Children’s education should be rooted in their own
culture and heritage. • His prejudices are all rooted in
ignorance.

rough out sth or rough sth out

if you rough out a drawing or an idea, you draw or write
the main parts of it without showing the details • I’ve
roughed out a little playfor the children to perform.

rub out sth or rub sth out

to remove writing from something by rubbing it with a
piece of rubber or with a cloth • It’s in pencil so you can
rub it out ifyou need to.

round off sth or round sth off

to make something that is pointed or sharp into a

smooth, curved shape by rubbing it • He used a special
machine to round off the corners ofthe old table.

129
to reduce a number to the nearest whole or simple
number

rule out sb/sth or rule sb/sth out to decide that something

or someone is not suitable for a particular purpose, or to
decide that something is impossible
• I’m afraid we can’t rule out the possibil¬ ity that she
may have the disease. • The police had not ruled him out
as a suspect.

run after sb/sth

to chase someone or something that is moving away
from you • I ran after him with a pile ofpapers that he’d
left behind
• Our dog’s too lazy to run after cats.

run away
1 to leave somewhere by running

to avoid dealing with a problem or diffi¬ cult situation

run away with sb

1 to secretly leave a place with someone in order to live
with them or marry them, especially when other people
think this is wrong • She ran away with him when she
wasjust seventeen.

run down sb or run sb down

130
to hit someone with a vehicle and injure or kill them •
(usually passive) He was run down as he was crossing
the road.
become reduced in size, numbers, or resources.
gradually deteriorate in quality or condition.

run out
1 to use all of something so that there is none left •
Could you get some more milk? We’re about to run out.

run over sb/sth or run sb/sth over

to hit someone or something with a ve¬ hicle and drive
over them, injuring or killing them • (usually passive) He
was run over and killed.

run up
to run to where a person is
(often + to) She ran up to me and put this package in my
hands.

saddle up (sth) or saddle (sth) up to put a saddle (= a seat

made of leather) on a horse so that you can ride it • We
saddled up and set off down the path. • I asked him to
saddle up the pony.

be sandwiched between sb/sth

(always passive) informal to be in a small space in the
middle of two people or things

save up (sth) or save (sth) up

131
to keep money so that you can buy some¬ thing with it
in the future

save up sth or save sth up

to collect and keep similar things so that you can use
them in the future ® Once you’ve saved up 50 tokens,
the supermarket will give you £5 offyour shopping.

scare away/off sb/sth or scare sb/sth away/off

to make a person or animal so frightened that they go
away

scoop out sth or scoop sth out

to remove something that is inside some¬ thing else by
using a spoon or your curved hand • Cut the tomato in
half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

scout about/around/round (swh) to look in different

places in order to try to find something • Go and scout
around and see if you can find some matches.
• (often + for) We scouted about Edin¬ burghfor a
suitable house to rent.

scream out sth or scream sth out

to shout something loudly because you are frightened,
angry, or excited • He screamed out ‘Stop!’ and ran into
the street.

screw up (sth) or screw (sth) up infor¬ mal

to make a mistake, or to damage or spoil something

132
scribble down sth or scribble sth down
to write something very quickly on a piece of paper • I
scribbled down his address in the back ofmy diary.

seal up sth or seal sth up

to fasten something so that nothing can get in or out • He
sealed the parcel up with sticky tape. • The dirt and noise
from the traffic was so bad that we had to seal up the
windows.

search out sb/sth or search sb/sth out

to look for someone or something for a long time until
you find them • While I was in Australia, I searched out
my cousin who 1 hadn’t seenfor 20 years.

secure sth against sth/sb

1 to prevent a place from being attacked or from being
entered illegally • A wall was built around the village to
secure it against attack. • We need to secure the building
against intruders.

see off sb or see sb off

1 to go to the place that someone is leaving from in order
to say goodbye • My par¬ ents came to the airport to see
me off.

see sth through

to continue doing a job or activity until it is finished,
especially when it is difficult
• The course would take me three years to complete, but
I was determined to see it through.
133
seek out sb/sth or seek sb/sth out to look for someone or
something for a long time until you find them « She tried
to seek out her real mother when she dis¬ covered she
was adopted. « Many shoppers are now seeking out
environmentally- friendly products.

sell off sth or sell sth off

1 to sell all or part of a business • The com¬ pany
announced that it would be selling off its hotel business.

sell out
1 if a shop sells out, it has no more of a par¬ ticular
product available to buy • (often -t- of) Book stores had
sold out of the new edition within a few hours. • I went
to the local shop to get some milk but they’d sold out.

separate off/out sth or separate sth off

to remove something from a large group of things • The
infected cattle were separ¬ ated offfrom the rest ofthe
herd.

set about sth/doing sth

to start doing something, especially some¬ thing that
uses a lot of time or energy • I got home and
immediately set about clean¬ ing the house.

set aside sth or set sth aside

1 to use something, especially time or money, for one
purpose and no other pur¬ pose • (often -t- to do sth) I
set aside halfan hour every evening to hear Erika read.
134
set back sb/sth or set sb/sth back
to make something happen more slowly. or to make
something happen later than it should happen • A war
would inevit¬ ably set back the process ofreform

setback n [C] • We’ve suffered a number of setbacks

since the start of the project.
• The knee injury is the latest in a series of setbacksfor
the 23-year old player.

set off
to start a journey

set out
to start a journey
to start an activity, especially when you have already
decided what you want to achieve

outset n [singular, the start or beginning of

something] • We knew from the outset that it wasn’t
going to be easy.

set up sth or set sth up

1 to start a company or organization
2. to make arrangements so that something can happen
or exist ® Could we set up a meetingfor some time
next week? ® Afund has been set upfor the victims
ofthe earth¬ quake.
set-up n [C] • (usually singular) It’s im¬ portant that
clients see that you have a professional set-up.
135
settle down
1 to start living in a place where you in¬ tend to stay for
a long time, usually with the same partner, especially
after a period in which you have travelled a lot or
changed partners • Eventually I’d like to settle down and
have a family, but not yet. • When he meets the right
person he’ll settle down, you’ll see.
2 to start to feel happy and confident with a new
situation • It took him a while to get used to his new
school but I think he’s set¬ tled down now. • Has she
settled down in her newjob?

settle (sb) down

to become quiet and calm or to make someone do this •
The kids were so excited that it took me over an hour to
settle them down again. • Come on children, stop
chatting and settle down, please! • The office was pretty
hectic before Christmas but things seem to have settled
down now.

settle for sth

to accept something, often something that is not exactly
what you want, or is not the best • It looks like she’ll
probably have to settle for second place.

settle (sb) into sth

to begin to feel relaxed and happy in a new home, job, or
school ® When we’ve settled in you’ll have to come
round for dinner. • How’s your new place? Are you

136
settling in okay? • It always takes a while to get settled
into a newjob.

settle on/upon sth

to agree on a decision @ Have they settled on a name for
the baby yet? • We still haven’t settled on a place to
meet.

sew up sth or sew sth up

1 to close or repair something by sewing the edges
together

shake up sth or shake sth up

1 to mix things inside a container by mov¬ ing the
container quickly up and down • You just put oil,
vinegar and lemon juice in a jar, shake them up and
you’ve got an instant salad-dressing.

shake up sb or shake sb up
1 if an unpleasant experience shakes some¬ one up, it
makes them feel shocked and upset • She was quite
shaken up by the accident.

sharpen up (sb/sth) or sharpen

(sb/sth) up
to improve something, especially by working hard or
practising a lot • / need to sharpen up my game before I
take Mark on at tennis. • He’s taking a course in pub¬ lic
speaking so that should sharpen him up.

shine out
137
1 to shine brightly • The lights ofthe chapel shone out
through the misty gloom.
2 if a person or a quality shines out, that person or
quality is noticeable because they are very good • It’s a
strong cast but one or two actors in particular shine out.

ship off sb/sth or ship sb/sth off to send someone or

something to a place in a ship • (usually + to) In those
days British convicts were often shipped off to Australia.

shoot down sb or shoot sb down

to kill or injure someone by firing a bullet at them,
especially when they cannot defend themselves • Five
protesters were shot down by police during the anti-
government demonstration.

shoot up
1 if the number, amount, or rate of some¬ thing shoots
up, it increases very quickly
• The number of university students in Britain has shot
up in the past few years.
• House prices in the area have shot up recently.

shop around
to compare the price and quality of the same item or
service from different shops or companies before
deciding which one to buy • (sometimes for) I shopped
around for my computer and ended up paying $200 less
than David. • Mortgage- hunters should shop around for
the best deal on interest rates.

138
shout out (sth) or shout (sth) out to suddenly say
something in a loud voice • / turned round in surprise as
someone in the crowd shouted out my name.

show sb around/round (swh)

to go with someone to a place that they have not visited
before and show them the interesting parts • Let me
know when you’re coming to Boston and I’ll show you
around. •

show off
to try to make people admire your abil¬ ities or
achievements in a way which other people find annoying
• He was the kind ofkid who was always showing offto
his classmates. • You’rejust showing off. show-off n [C]
slightly informal

show up
1 informal to arrive, especially at a place where people
are expecting you
if something shows up, it can be seen clearly or easily

shut down (sth) or shut (sth) down

1 if a factory or business shuts down, or if someone shuts
it down, it closes and stops working
if a machine shuts down or someone shuts it down, it
stops operating

shut yourself in (sth) (always reflexive) to go into a room

and shut the door so that no one else can enter

139
shut out sth or shut sth out
1 to prevent a sound or light from being heard or seen •
Could you close the cur¬ tains and shut out some light? •
These windows shut out most ofthe traffic noise.
2 to stop yourself from thinking about something or from
feeling an emotion, usually because it causes you to
suffer • You’ve got to deal with these feelings - you
can’t just shut them out. • There are memories

shut (sb) up
to stop talking or making a noise, or to make someone do
this • (often an order) (informal) Just shut up and get on
with your work!

shy away from sth/doing sth

to avoid doing something, usually be¬ cause you are
afraid or you lack the confi¬ dence to do it • He tends to
shy awayfrom anything that involves public speaking.

sign in (sb) or sign (sb) in

to write your name or someone else’s name in a book
when you arrive in a building, especially a club, office,
or hotel
• Visitors please sign in at reception. • I’d better sign you
in since you ’re no longer a member.
sign in
to type your name, and usually a secret word, onto a
computer screen so that you can start using a computer
system
• Before you can look at your account details online, you
must sign in.
140
sign off (sth)
1 to give a final message at the end of a letter or a
television or radio programme
• It’s getting late so I’d better sign off now.

sing along
to sing a piece of music while someone else is singing it
or while it is being broadcast or performed • (often -i-
with) She was singing along with the car radio.

sit back
1 to relax in a chair so that your back is against the back
of the chair • You sit back and relax - you’ve been
working all day.
2 to wait for something to happen without making any
effort to do anything yourself ® You can’t just sit back
and wait for job offers to come to you.

sit down
1 to move your body so that the lower part of it is resting
on a seat or on the ground

slacken off
to become slower or less active

slam down sth or slam sth down

to put something down with a lot of force.

sleep in

141
to sleep longer in the morning than you normally do • /
like to sleep in on Satur¬ days.

slice off/up sth or slice sth off (sth)

to remove something by cutting it • She sliced off a piece
of the sausage and hand¬ ed it to me.

slim down
to become thinner ® He’s really slimmed down over the
lastfew months.

slip away
if a period of time slips away, it seems to pass quickly

slip by
1 if a period of time slips by, it seems to pass quickly

slip in sth or slip sth in

to add a remark to your conversation or speech in a
quick, informal way that does not attract too much
attention © Did you notice the way she managed to slip
in a ref¬ erence to her famous brother? ® I usually slip
in one or two jokes during a talk just to liven things up a
bit.

slouch about/around (swh)

to behave in a lazy way, doing very little • There were
the usual gang of youths slouching around the town
square

slow down
142
to become less physically active than you were before

slow down (sb/sth) or slow (sb/sth) down

to become slower, or to make something or someone
slower

smarten up (sb/sth) or smarten (sb/ sth) up

to make a person or a place look tidier

smash up sth or smash sth up

to badly damage or destroy something by hitting it many
times • A load offootball fans had come in and smashed
the place up

smell out sth or smell sth out

if an animal smells something out, it finds that thing by
smelling • I bet your dog could smell those rabbits out.

sniff out sth or sniff sth out

if a dog used by the police or army sniffs out hidden
drugs or explosives, it finds them by smelling them •
Customs officers used dogs to sniffout the drugs which
were hidden in the truck.

smile on sth
to accept behaviour that is slightly bad because you do
not think it important and because you like the person
who is responsible for it • Americans had tended to smile
on the misdemeanours of their presidents.

smoke out sb/sth or smoke sb/sth out

143
to force a person or animal to come out of a place by
filling it with smoke

soak up sth or soak sth up

1 if a dry substance soaks up a liquid, it ab¬ sorbs it
2to enjoy the effects of an experience • We arrived early
at the popfestival to soak up the atmosphere.

sort out sth or sort sth out

1 to successfully deal with a problem or difficult
situation
to separate one type of thing from a group of things

speak out
to publicly express your opinions, espe¬ cially in order
to criticize or oppose someone or something

outspoken adj if someone is out¬ spoken, they express

their opinions even though other people might be
offended by them

speak up
1 to publicly express your opinions about something or
someone, especially in order to support them

speed up (sth) or speed (sth) up

to happen or move more quickly, or to make something
happen or move more quickly

144
spell out sth or spell sth out
to say or write the letters that form a par¬ ticular word in
their correct order

spill out
1 to flow or fall out of a container

spill over (sth)

if the liquid in a container spills over, it flows over the
edge of the container

spill out (sth) or spill (sth) out

if you spill out an emotion or if emotion spills out, you
express it, usually by talk¬ ing in an uncontrolled way •
He listened quietly as she spilled out all her anger and
despair.

spit out sth or spit sth out

1 to get rid of something in your mouth by blowing it out
• I took a bite of the melon and then spat out the seeds.
2 to say something in a very angry way
• He spat the word out like a bullet.

split off (sth) or split (sth) off

if something splits off, or if someone splits something
off, it becomes separated from something else • Small
pieces ofrock split off as she touched the cave walls.
• The company has announced plans to split off its
chemicals division.
split off
145
to stop belonging to a particular group or political party
and form a separate one

split up (sth) or split (sth) up to divide into smaller parts

or groups, or to divide something into smaller parts or
groups • (often + into) The class was too big so we split
up into two smaller groups.
• The railway network was split up in preparationfor
privatization.
split up
if two people who are married or who have a romantic
relationship split up, they end their marriage or
relationship

spread out
1 if a group of people spread out, they move away from
each other so that there is a wide space between them •
We spread out and began to search through the woods.
• Ifyou spread out more, you won’t get in each other’s
way.
2 (never in continuous tenses) if a town or city spreads
out, it covers a large area
• The city centre is quite small but the sub¬ urbs spread
outfor miles.

sprout up
if a large number of things sprout up, they suddenly
appear or begin to exist
• New office buildings seem to be sprouting up all over
the city.

146
spy on/upon sb/sth
to watch someone or something secretly in order to
discover information about them

Stack up sth or stack sth up

to arrange things in a tall pile • If you stack the dishes up
by the sink. I’ll do them later. • She stacked up a pile of
logs by the garage wall.

Stand by
1 to wait and be ready to do something or to help

stand aside
1 to leave a job or position so that someone else can do it
instead • It’s time he stood aside and let his son take over
the com¬ pany.

Stand for sth

if a group of people stand for a set of ideas, they support
those ideas, or if something stands for a particular idea, it
represents that idea • The party stands for low taxes and
the private ownership of industries. * The United States
is often thought to standforfreedom ofspeech.

Stand out
1 to be much better than other similar things or people •
(sometimes -i- among) Two books stand out among the
dozens re¬ cently published on the Royal Family.

147
outstanding adj extremely good, or of a very high
standard

stand up
1 to rise from a sitting or lying position to a standing
position

stand up for sth/sb

to defend something that you believe is important [e.g.
principle, right], or to de¬ fend a person who is being
criticized
• She always stands up for what she be¬ lieves in. •

start off (sth) or start (sth) off

to start happening, or to make something start happening
• (often -i- with) She started off the meeting with a report
on the sales conference. • I’m going to start off by saying
thank you all for coming here this evening.
start off (always -i- adv/prep)
1 to start a life, existence, or profession in a particular
way • (often + as) He started off as a door-to-door
salesman and look where he is now. • It started off as a
bit of joke but then people started taking it seriously.
2 to start a journey

start over American

to start doing something again from the beginning
because you did not do it well the first time • This is just
full of errors - I’m going to have to start over.

148
Start up (sth) or start (sth) up 1 if a business or other
organization starts up, or if someone starts one up, it is
cre¬ ated and starts to operate • Many small businesses
started up in the 1980’s to cater to this growing market.

start-up n [C] • (usually singular) After its successful

start-up, the company imme¬ diately began lookingfor
ways to expand.
2 if a vehicle or engine starts up, or if some¬ one starts it
up, it starts to work • The car wouldn’t start up this
morning

stay ahead
to continue to be more advanced and suc¬ cessful than
other people • (often -h of) We are always looking for
new ways to stay ahead ofour competitors.

stay away
to not go to a place • (often -i- from) People are staying
away from the beaches because of the oil pollution. • He
had been warned to stay away.

stay away from sth

to avoid something that has a bad effect on you • I think
he should stay awayfrom drugs ofany sort.

Stay out
1 to not come home at night, or to come home late • I’ve
got to be up early in the morning so I don’t want to stay
out too late.

149
2 if workers who are on strike (= not work¬ ing because
of an argument with their employer) stay out, they
continue to refuse to work • The miners are prepared to
stay out until their demands are met.

Stay out of sth

to not become involved in a discussion or an argument

stay over
to spend the night somewhere instead of returning to
your home or continuing your journey « We’ve got an
extra room so you can stay over any time.

Stay up
to go to bed later than usual ® Rosie was allowed to stay
up till eleven o’clock.

step aside
to leave your job or position, especially so that someone
else can do it • 7 think they’re hoping that he’ll step
aside so that a younger man can take over.

step forward
to offer to help

step in
to get involved in an argument or a diffi¬ cult situation,
in order to try to stop it or to deal with it

stick to sth

150
to limit yourself to doing or using one particular thing
and not change to any¬ thing else • I’m sticking to my
original plan.

stitch up sth or stitch sth up

1 to stitch together the two parts of some¬ thing that
have come apart • It took ten minutes for the nurse to
stitch up my finger.
2 to complete a business agreement • (usually passive) I
reckon we’ll get the deal stitched up by lunch time.

Stock/store up
to buy a lot of something, often food or drink • (often +
on) We’d better stock up onfoodfor the holidays.

stop by (swh) (same as drop by or drop in)

to visit a person or place for a short time, usually when
you are going somewhere else • I thought I might stop by
on my way home as I haven’t seen you for ages. • I’ve
got to stop by the bank.

stop over
1 to stop somewhere for a period of time when you are
on a long journey • We stopped over in Los Angeles for
two nights on the way to New Zealand. stopover n [C] •
Our tickets to Australia included a two-night stopover in
Singa¬ pore.

strap sb into sth

151
to fasten someone into a seat using a strap • The kids
need strapping into their seats in the back.

stretch out
if an area of land stretches out, it con¬ tinues over a long
distance • On either side of usfields stretch outfor miles.
Stretch out
to lie with your arms and legs spread out in a relaxed
way • He stretched out on the sofa infront ofthe TV.

Strike back
to attack someone who has attacked you

strike out sth or strike sth out

to draw a line through something that you have written,
usually because it is wrong

String up sth or string sth up

to fasten something, especially a decor¬ ation, to two
points so that it hangs high in the air • We put tables and
chairs in the garden and strung up coloured lights in the
trees.

Strip off (sth) or strip (sth) off

to remove a piece of clothing or all the clothes that you
are wearing • She stripped off and stepped into the
shower.
• It was so hot-that he stripped off his shirt.

152
struggle on
to continue doing something which is dif¬ ficult

stumble across/on/upon sth/sb

to discover something by chance, or to meet someone by
chance

subject sb/sth to sth

to make someone experience something unpleasant, or to
treat something in a very severe way • (usually passive)
While he was in prison, he was subjected to frequent
beatings. •

subscribe to sth formal

to have a particular belief or opinion • I certainly don’t
subscribe to the view that women are necessarily more
moral than men.

succeed in sth/doing sth

to achieve something that you have been trying to get or
do • She succeeded in get¬ ting herselfelected as mayor.
• He’sfinally succeeded in his ambition to learn how to
fly-

swarm with sb/sth

if a place swarms with people or insects, it is full of large
numbers of people or in¬ sects which are all moving
about e (usually in continuous tenses) St Mark’s Square
in Venice is always swarm¬ ing with tourists in the
summer.

153
sweeten sb up or sweeten up sb
to make someone happier and friendlier towards you, so
that they are more likely to give you something or do
something you want • I was trying to sweeten Dad up
before I asked himfor a loan

swell up
1 if a part of your body swells up, it be¬ comes larger or
rounder than usual, often because of an illness or injury .

switch around/round sth or switch sth around/round

to move two or more things so that each of them is now
in the place that one of the others was in before o You’ve
switched the furniture around in here.

switch off (sth) or switch (sth) off to turn off an

electrical device [e.g. light, radio] or an engine by using
a switch
• Could you switch that light off?

switch on (sth) or switch (sth) on to turn on an electrical

device [e.g. light, radio] or an engine by using a switch

switch off
to stop giving your attention to some¬ thing or someone
• When he starts going on about his emotional problems
I just switch off. s> Most people in stressful jobs find it
difficult to switch off when they come home.

switch over

154
1 to change from one method, product, or situation to
another • (usually + to) We’ve switched over to low fat
milk. • They’re switching over to a new computer
system.
to change from one television or radio station to another
• (often + to) I’ll switch over to the news after this.

tail away/off
if someone’s voice tails away or off, it be¬ comes
quieter and then stops •

tail off
to decrease in amount or level • Profits tailed off towards
the end of the year.

take away sth or take sth away

1 to remove something from where it was and put it
somewhere else A waiter came to take our plates away.

to make a particular quality or feeling disappear • It

really takes my appetite away ifsomeone smokes during
a meal.

if you take away something [e.g. memory, impression,

message] from an event or performance, you remember
or think about that thing after the event or per¬ formance
has finished • The impression I took away from the
conference was that it had been rather badly organized. •
So what message are you supposed to take away at the
end ofthefilm?

155
6 British & Australian to buy food in a shop or restaurant
and eat it somewhere else
• I’d like a hamburger and chips to take away, please.

take back sth or take sth back

1 to return something to the person or org¬ anization that
you borrowed or bought it from • I’ve got to take my
library books back before January 25th. • I might take
this coat back and get a larger size.
2 if a shop takes back goods that it has sold to you, it
agrees to give you money or goods for them because
they are damaged or unsuitable ' They won’t take back
any¬ thing that looks as if it’s been worn.

to admit that something you said was wrong • I take back

everything I said about George - he’s been really nice to
me recently.

take down sth or take sth down

to remove something that is fixed to a wall
to remove a large temporary structure from a place by
separating it into pieces and taking the pieces away •
We’ll take the tent down after we’ve had lunch.

to unfasten and lower your trousers with¬ out removing

them completely • He took down his trousers and
showed me his scars.

take off sth or take sth off

156
1 to remove something, especially some¬ thing that you
are wearing • She took off her clothes and stepped into
the shower.

to spend time away from your work • I’m taking Friday

off to get one or two things done around the house. ^ He
needs to take some time off and get some rest.
take off
1 if an aircraft, bird, or insect takes off, it moves from
the ground and begins to fly
to suddenly become successful or popular

talk over sth or talk sth over

to discuss a problem or situation, espe¬ cially before
making a decision about it
• (often -I- with) I’d like to talk things over with my wife
first, e I’ll talk it over with Marty and see what he thinks.
take on sb or take sb on

to compete against someone or fight someone I might

take you on at tennis some time. • The government took
on the unions and won.

take on sth or take sth on

1 to accept a particular job or responsibil¬ ity and begin
to do what is needed ® She’s just taken on too much
work.

take over (sth) or take (sth) over

157
to start doing a job or being responsible for something
that someone else was doing or was responsible for
before you
• (often -I- from) Who’ll be taking over from Cynthia
when she retires?

take over sth or take sth over

1 to get control of a company by buying most of its
shares (= the equal parts into which the ownership of the
company is divided) ; The company he worksfor was
recently taken over. • British Airways has taken over two
subsidiary airlines.

take up sth or take sth up

1 to start doing a particular job or activity
• He’s taken up golf in his spare time.
• Have you ever thought of taking up act¬ ing?

tape up sth or tape sth up

1 to fasten a box or parcel by putting tape (= a narrow
length of sticky material) around it • I’ve taped up the
box so the lid won’t come off.

taper off
to gradually become less By September the burst in
spending seemed to be taper¬ ing off

team up
if two or more people team up, they form a group in
order to do something together • (usually + with) I
teamed up with Brendanfor the doubles tournament.
158
tear apart sth or tear sth apart
1 to pull something violently so that it breaks into two or
more pieces e A dog can tear a rabbit apart in seconds.
2 to destroy a building or room e The blast had torn the
building apart.
3 to destroy something that was united [e.g. party,
country, family] by dividing it into two or more parts
that fight or argue with each other Ethnic rivalries
threaten to tear this country apart. ^ (often reflexive) He
left, depressed at the way that the party was tearing
itselfapart.
tear sb apart
to make someone feel very unhappy • I know that I’ll
never live with my kids and it tears me apart.

tear down sth or tear sth down

to destroy a building or other structure because it is not
being used or it is not
wanted any more • They’re going to tear down the old
hospital and build a block of offices. - The statue had
been torn down in the revolution.

tear up sth or tear sth up

1 to tear something, especially paper or cloth, into a lot
of small pieces

tense up
if you tense up or your muscles tense up, your muscles
stiffen because you are not relaxed c I couldfeel myself
tense up as he touched my neck.
159
tensed up adj (always after verb)
• You’re all tensed up-I canfeel it in your shoulders.

test out sth or test sth out

to test a theory or new idea by seeing how it works in a
practical situation or by finding out what other people
think of it • The new procedures are being tested out in
three different hospitals.

thin down sth or thin sth down

to add water or another liquid to some¬ thing to make it
less thick ^ If the soup is too thick, thin it down a bit
with some water or vegetable stock.

thin down informal

if a person thins down, they become less fat • He’s
thinned down a lot since I last saw him.

thin out
if a large number of people or things thin out, they
become fewer in number - The crowds thin out as you
travel further south. • As the land sloped down to the
river, the trees began to thin out.

thin out sth or thin sth out

to remove some plants from an area to make more space
for the other plants to grow, or to remove part of a plant
so that it becomes stronger and grows more quickly • I
thinned out the strawberry plants in early spring.

think ahead
160
to think carefully about what might happen in the future,
or to make plans for things you want to do in the future •
Just concentrate on what you’re doing now and try not to
think too far ahead.

think over sth or think sth over

to think carefully about an idea or plan before making a
decision

think up sth or think sth up

to create an idea or plan by using your imagination and
intelligence • I really don’t want to go tonight and I’m
trying to think up an excuse.

thirst for sth literary

to want something very much • She thirstedfor adventure
and excitement.

thrive on sth
to enjoy a particular situation or condi¬ tion that other
people find difficult or un¬ pleasant [e.g. stress,
pressure] and to deal with it successfully • He was an
excep¬ tional leader who thrived on pressure. • Don’t
worry about Kate - she thrives on hard work.

throw away sth or throw sth away

1 to get rid of something because you do not want or
need it any more I’m going to throw away those
magazines if you’ve finished reading them. • These
potatoes are past their best - I’d better throw them away.

161
throwaway adj (always before noun) a throwaway
product is a product which you use once or for a short
time and then throw away e We were given some wine
in a throwaway plastic bottle. ■ We’re living in a
throwaway society. (- a society in which products are not
made to last a long time)

throw yourself into sth (always reflex¬ ive)

to start doing something with a lot of enthusiasm and
energy She’s really thrown herself into this newjob
ofhers.

tidy up (sth) or tidy (sth) up mainly British & Australian

to make a room or a group of things tidy by putting
things in the correct place

tie down sth/sh or tie sth/sb down to fasten something or

someone in a par¬ ticular position, especially by using
ropes
• (sometimes -i- to) They tied him down to the bed so he
couldn’t escape.

tie up sb/sth or tie sb/sth up to tie a part of a person or

animal’s body with a rope so that they cannot move or
escape • The security guard was left tied up in a
cupboard. *I tied the dog up while I went into the shop.

tighten up sth or tighten sth up

to fasten something that holds one thing to another [e.g.
screw, bolt, strap] more firmly

162
tip over (sth) or tip (sth) over
if something tips over, or if you tip it over, it falls onto
its side • As I stood up I tipped my cup ofcoffee over.

tire out sb or tire sb out

to make someone very tired

topple over
to fall to the ground because of not being very well
balanced or because of being pushed Those books look
as if they’re going to topple over any minute.

toss up
to decide which person or team can do something or
have something by throw¬ ing a coin into the air and
guessing which side of the coin will be on top when it
lands

total up sth or total sth up

to add numbers or amounts together in order to get a
total

touch up sth or touch sth up

to improve something by making small changes or
additions • I’mjust going to go and touch up my make-
up. • The paint¬ work needs touching up in places.

toughen up (sb) or toughen (sb) up to become stronger

and more able to deal with problems, or to make
someone be¬ come this way •

163
track down sb/sth or track sb/sth down
to find someone or something after searching for them in
many different places I’m trying to track down one of
my old school friends. • They’ve finally managed to
track down that book I wanted.

trade in sth or trade sth in

to give something as part of the payment for something
else • (usually for) He recently traded in his jeep for a
new Mercedes.

trade off sth or trade sth off

to accept something that you do not want in order to
have something else that you want • (often + against)
Buying in the sales often means trading off lower prices
against restricted choice.

trade-off n [C] • (often + for) For some car owners, lack

of space is an acceptable trade-offfor a sporty design. (=
they will accept the lack of space because they like the
design)

trust in sth/sb formal

to believe in something or someone com¬ pletely • Trust
in God.

try for sth

to try to get something that you really want • Aren’t you
going to try for that job in the sales department? •
Apparently they’d been trying for a baby for over two
years.
164
try out sth or try sth out
to test something in order to find out if it works or to
decide whether you like it
• They’re trying out a new security system at the bank. •
We’re going to try out a new restaurant tonight

tumble down
if a building or wall tumbles down, it falls to the ground

tumble over
to fall to the ground • He lost his balance and tumbled
over

tune in
to turn on the radio or television in order to listen to or
watch a particular pro¬ gramme • Don’tforget to tune in
next week for another exciting episode!

turn down sb/sth or turn sb/sth down

to refuse an offer or request

turn in sth or turn sth in

1 to give something back to an organiza¬ tion or person
in authority

turn off sth or turn sth off

to touch a switch so that a machine or a piece of
electrical equipment stops work¬ ing, or to stop the flow

165
or supply of some¬ thing [e.g. water, electricity] • Make
sure you turn offall the lights before you leave.
• We turned the water off at the mains when the pipes
burst. • Can you turn the TVoff before you go to bed?

turn on sth or turn sth on

1 to touch a switch so that a machine or a piece of
electrical equipment starts to work, or to start a flow or
supply of something [e.g. water, electricity]

turn out
1 to happen in a particular way or to have a particular
result
My trip to London didn’t turn out quite as planned,

turnover n [singular] the total amount of money made by

a company or business in a particular period of time •
Green & Butler have an annual turnover of about £80
million.

turn up sth or turn sth up

1 to increase the amount of something, es¬ pecially
sound or heat, that is produced by a machine [e.g.
television, radio, oven]
• Can you turn up the television a little -1 can hardly
hear it. • Turn the oven up to 200 degrees.
if someone turns up somewhere, they ar¬ rive at that
place

type out/up sth or type sth out/up

166
to produce a copy of something you have written by
typing it into a computer or by using a typewriter • I
drafted a letter and Aileen typed it outfor me.

use up sth or use sth up

to finish a supply of something • Don’t use up all the
milk - we need some for breakfast. • The earth’s
resources are being used up at an alarming rate.

venture on/upon sth formal

to try to do something difficult or danger¬ ous

vie for sth

to compete for something

wait up
to stay awake because you are expecting someone to
arrive

wake up (sb) or wake (sb) up

1 to become conscious after sleeping, or to make
someone do this • I woke up with a dreadful headache.

walk away
to stop being involved in a situation that is difficult to
deal with or that does not give you any advantages ®
(usually -f- from) You can’t walk away from a five- year
relationship just because you’re hav¬ ing afew problems.

warm up (sth/sb) or warm (sth/sb) up

167
to become warmer, or to make something or someone
warmer • The room warms upfairly quickly once the
heating is turned on. • Increased emissions of carbon
diox¬ ide are causing the Earth to warm up. • A hot cup
oftea will soon warm you up.

warm-up n [C] • Stretching exercises form part of the

warm-up

warm up
1 to practise an activity for a short time before a
performance, or to compete in a sports competition as a
way of practising before an important competition

wash away stb or wash stb away

if water [e.g. rain, flood] washes some¬ thing away, it
carries it away • Whole villages were washed away in
the floods.
• Heavy rain had washed away most ofthe soil.

wash out sth or wash sth out

1 to clean the inside of a container with a liquid ® Wash
thepan out with detergent.
2 to wash a dirty piece of clothing or cloth e He washed
his socks out in the hotel sink.

watch out for sth

to be careful to notice something, espe¬ cially something
that might cause you problems e Drivers were told to
watch out for black ice on the road. • Vegetarians should
watch out for animal fat in bis¬ cuits.
168
be wedded to sth (always passive) to believe strongly
that an idea or system is right and to be very unwilling to
change it • The party is still wedded to the idea ofhigh
taxation.

weigh down sb or weigh sb down

if you are weighed down by a problem or difficulty, you
are worrying a lot about it • (usually passive -i- by) I
thought she looked older somehow, weighed down by all
her responsibilities.

wipe up sth or wipe sth up

to remove a substance, usually a liquid, with a cloth ®
Can you wipe up that mess on the kitchenfloor?

work at sth/doing sth

to try hard to achieve something or im¬ prove something
• You have to work at a marriage. • She needs to work at
increas¬ ing her typing speed.

work on/upon sth

1 to spend time working in order to pro¬ duce or repair
something* She’s based in the lab, working full-time on
a cure for AIDS. • Pete loves working on old cars.
2 to try hard to improve something • His dancing
technique is good, but he needs to work on hisfitness.

work out sth or work sth out

1 to do a calculation to get an answer to a mathematical
question * Can you work out the total cost ofthe trip?
169
to think carefully about how you are going to do
something and to make a plan or decision

to exercise in order to improve the strength or

appearance of your body • I work out in the gym twice a
week.
workout n [C] • This 40 minute workout is designed to
tone up your leg muscles.

work towards sth

to try hard to achieve something

wrap up sth or wrap sth up

1 to cover something in paper, cloth, or other material,
especially in order to give it to someone as a present or
in order to protect it
to complete an activity, especially suc¬ cessfully

wrestle with sth

1 to try very hard to deal with a difficult problem or
decision • This government is wrestling with difficult
economic prob¬ lems.

write down sth or write sth down

to write something on a piece of paper so that you do not
forget it

write up sth or write sth up

to write something on paper or on a com¬ puter in a
complete or final form, often using notes you have made
• Have you written up that report yet? • He spent two
170
years doing research for his thesis and a year writing it
up.

yell out (sth) or yell (sth) out

to suddenly shout something in a loud voice, especially
to get someone’s atten¬ tion

unhappy

Each time he became ill again, it tore her apart.

annoyed

Don’t let him wind you up.

happy

cheered up a lot. Kate perked up/brightened

waking and sleeping

• to stay in bed later than usual

He’s had a busy week, why don’t you just let him sleep
in.
I usually lie in until about midday on a Sunday.
• to go to bed later than usual Don’t stay up too late
watching TV.
• to stay awake because you are waiting for someone to
return

171
I don’t know what time I’ll be back, so don’t wait upfor
me.

jobs around the house

• to clean plates, pans etc. you have used for cooking or
eating
Leave those. I’ll wash everything up later.
• to quickly wash the inside of some¬ thing with clean
water
She took her mug over to the sink and rinsed it out.
• to dry washed plates and dishes using a cloth
Can you come and dry up/wipe up for me?
• to make a place clean and tidy
I hope you ’re going to clear up this mess before you go
out.
• to make a place clean and tidy after someone else has
made it dirty
I seem to spend my whole time clearing up after my
sons.

controlling emotions
• to stop feeling angry, upset or excited Calm down and
tell us what happened. Come on, have a drink of water
and try to pull yourself together.
• to begin to feel better after an unhappy experience
It took him afew days to get over the dis¬ appointment.

losing control
• to be so excited that you do not control what you say or
do
He admits he got a bit carried away.
172
• to feel suddenly extremely surprised or afraid
We’re all a bitfreaked out by the attacks and don’t like to
go out alone.
• to be unable to control your feelings and start to cry
She broke down in tears when she saw the pictures.

getting
dressed and undressed
• to put a piece of clothing onto your body
He put on his coat and walked towards thefront door

• to remove a piece of clothing

I can’t wait to get home and take these boots off.
• to remove all or most of your clothes It was such a hot
day, the kids stripped offandjumped in the lake..

getting ill

Manypatients die ofinfectionspicked up in hospital.

• to give a disease to someone Malaria is passed on by
mosquitoes.

to become unconscious
My father passes out at the sight of blood.
I blacked out and the next thing I remember is waking up
in hospital.

medical treatment
• to take care of someone who is ill She was very well
cared for/looked after while she was in hospital

173
recovering
• to get rid of an illness
She’d been taking drugs to fight off/shake offa cold.
• to feel better after an illness or injury He’s only just got
over a serious ankle injury.
• (of an illness) to go away
Most of the symptoms should clear up within a couple
ofdays.
• (of a cut or an injury) to repair itself and become
healthy again
Ifyou keep it clean, it should heal up by itself

repairing
• to repair something
He was fixing his motorbike up in the back yard.

• to divide something into its separate parts/ to put the

parts of something in the correct place
He enjoys taking things apart and putting them back
together again.
• to spend time working to repair some¬ thing
He’s out on in the garage working on the car.

talking more and less

• used to ask someone to speak more loudly
Sorry, can you speak up? It’s a really bad line.
• used to tell someone to tell you some¬ thing
Well, spit it out! What did she say to you?
• used to tell someone to be quiet
Can you keep your voice down, please? People are
trying to study
174
• to be connected with something
All the paperwork pertaining to the case was lost in a
fire.

• to obey a rule or reach a necessary standard

All members must adhere to a national code of practice.

to compete in an election for an official position

Shefirst stoodfor Parliament in 2001.

to defend something you believe is important

We need someone who will stand up for the rights of
working people.

to create a new rule, law, etc.

The state brought in a law banning smoking in public
buildings.

fitness and exercise

burn offafew kilos

team sports

The match kicks offat midday.

reading
• to read something from beginning to end
Can you read through/look through thisfor me?
175
• to read something quickly without studying the details
He began skimming through the reports on his desk.

to look in a book or on a computer to find a piece of

information
It’s sometimes difficult to look phrasal verbs up in a
dictionary.

learning
• to learn something new by practising it rather than
being taught it
Martin quickly picked up the language.

• to practise a skill or knowledge you have forgotten

We’ll have to brush up on our Spanish before Jose
arrives.

writing
• to write something down on a piece of paper, especially
so you remember it Did you take down/note down/write
down the title of that book?
e to write something down quickly on a piece of paper
Can youjot downyour e-mail addressfor me?
• to write down the main parts of an idea without
showing details
You should have the outlinefor the project roughed out
by next week.
• to write something in its complete or final form,
especially from notes
You should write up your results and hand them in
before Monday.
176
• to write something on paper, especial¬ ly in a clear or
complete way
Write out a list of questions you would like to askfirst.

177
technology
starting and finishing
• to connect a piece of electrical equip¬ ment to the
electricity supply
Is the printer plugged in?
• to put electricity into a piece of equip¬ ment which
has batteries
I need to charge up my mobile. o to touch a switch
so that a piece of equipment starts working He
powered up his laptop to check his e- mail.
She sat down at her desk and switched on/turned on
her computer.
• to type in your name, a password, etc to start using
a computer system You’ll need a user ID to log
in/log on to the university network.
Once you’ve signed in/signed on you’ll have access
to the database.
• to finish using a computer system Make sure you
log off/log out so other users can’t access your data.
Can you check that all the computers have been shut
down?
• to touch a switch so that a piece of equipment stops
working
He switched off/turned off the TV and went upstairs
to bed.
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using a computer
• to put information into a computer using a
keyboard
Type in/Key in the customer’s name and address.
• to make a copy of something you have written by
typing it into a computer She went home to type up
her handwrit¬ ten notes.
• to make a printed copy of something on a computer
I’vefinished my assignment, I’ve just got to print it
out and hand it in.
• to make an image on a screen larger and more
detailed or smaller and less detailed
Click here to zoom in or zoom out.

problems
© to suddenly stop working We couldn’t do
anything because the sys¬ tem had gone down.

He managed to hack into the Pentagon’s computer

system
• to make a copy of computer informa¬ tion so that
you do not lose it
We back up data regularly in case ofany problems.

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new ideas
• to think of a plan or an idea
Who came up with/thought up the name for the
band?
• to come to your mind
It occurred to me that they might need somewhere to
stay.

planning
to make plans for the future
You can avoid many of these problems by
planning ahead.
She was already thinking ahead to the winter.

to expect something to happen and prepare for it

We didn’t reckon on/bargain for quite so many
people turning up.

making decisions
• to think carefully about something before making a
decision
Why don’t you think it over and let me know next
week?
180
It’s an idea he’s been mulling over for some time
now.
to make a list of choices smaller by removing less
important ones
I went through the options and nar¬ rowed it down
to three.

(of a plane) to land on the ground

We expect to touch down in New York around 12.30
local time.

181