Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are combinations of words that perform the function of a verb. These combinations necessarily include a verb and either an adverb or a preposition (or both). They form one complete semantic unit because the words that comprise a phrasal verb together describe one action. For example:     

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentences
ask around	To ask the same question from many people	I have not seen him here but I will ask around. I am not sure if there are vacancies, but I will ask around the office.
add up to something	To equal/corroborate a fact	She explained why the work was not ready, but her story does not add up. The clues we found at the house and the museum must add up to something.
ask someone out	To invite someone on a date	I want to ask her out but she is dating someone.  I wish I could muster the courage to ask her out.
blow something up	To exaggerate	The girls in school always blow gossip up to huge proportions. My mother blows my achievements up in front of guests.
back someone up	To support	The captain will not back him up just because he is his son.  You may be wrong but I will back you up because you are my brother.
blow up	To explode	The army is going to blow up that building with a bomb. Our calculations were wrong and the rocket blew up just after liftoff.
break down	To stop functioning (usually for vehicle, machine, etc.)	The old train is certain to break down if it is not maintained properly. He was driving recklessly and the old car broke down.
break something down	To divide and subdivide	They broke the students down into groups of four.  The detective said they were still breaking the information down to make sense of it.
break into something	To enter forcibly/ interrupt	The newspaper reported a break-in at the bank. Last night, two thieves broke into the house next door.
break up	To end a relationship	A break up can lead to emotional trauma. After being together for five years they have decided to break up.
break out	To escape	The Taliban helped 500 inmates escape of the Afghan jail. Ten inmates broke out of prison in the southern town yesterday.
break out	To spread	There was a world panic when SARS broke out in China in 2002. The news about the adulterous affair will break out in tomorrow’s newspaper.
bring someone down	To upset someone or to make someone unhappy	The boss manages to bring down my mood every day. His pessimistic comments bring down the whole group.
bring someone up	raise a child	I was broke up in a conservative Hindu family. After being abandoned by his parents in Ghana he was brought up by an Italian couple.
bring up	To initiate a conversation on a subject	My sister walks out of the room when I bring up the subject of sports. I will bring up the issue of cleanliness in the meeting today.
call around	To phone different places/people	We called around but we could not find the spare part we needed. I have not seen him today but I will call around and inquire.
call someone back	To return a phone call	Please me back when you get this message. I could not answer your call earlier but I will call back shortly.
call something off	To abandon or cancel	The referee has decided to call off the game due to bad weather. They have decided to call off the wedding due to financial troubles.
call someone up	To phone someone	The boss wants you to call up the client now. She will call you up later to discuss the issue.
calm down	relax after being angry	It is going to be okay, please calm down. The crew asked us to calm down during turbulence.
catch up	To get to the same point as someone else/ or to work hard in order to equal with someone	You will have to walk faster if you want to catch up with Maya. You have studied a lot more and I need to catch up.
check in	To reach and register at a hotel or airport	When you arrive at the airport, you have to check in at the airline desk. At a hotel, check-in is normally required in order to obtain a room key.
check out	To leave a hotel	You will have to return the room when you check out of the hotel. Please ensure that you are in possession of all your belongings before checking-out of the hotel.
cheer up	Used as an expression to ask someone to be happy	She cheered up when she heard that the result was positive.  Cheer up, it is your birthday!
chip in	To contribute/help	If everybody chips in, we can get a bottle of the most expensive wine. I do not have enough money for a pizza so all of you need to chip in as well.
clean something up	To tidy a place	They need to clean up the platform because it is really dirty. You must clean up the room before the president arrives.
come across something	find unexpectedly	I came across these books when I was tidying the cupboard. While reading this book I came across new information regarding dinosaurs.
come apart	To separate/ fall down/ break down	The flimsy decorations came apart halfway through the celebrations. The group of friends came apart once they went to different colleges.
come down with something	To become sick	Her son came down with the flu last weekend. My throat is sore; I think I am coming down with a cold.
come forward	To support/ to take an initiative	The hospital is anxious for more donors to come forward. Who will come forward and take the responsibility?
come from somewhere	To originate in	He resides in Brazil although he comes from Spain. Most of the stench comes from the open drain behind the house.
count on someone/something	To rely on a person or thing	Can I count on you to complete this essay by tonight? I could not complete the task so I am counting on you to do it.
cross something out	To draw a line through something	Kindly cross out your old telephone number and write the new one. That word is wrong and you need to cross it out as soon as possible.
cut back on something	To use or consume less of something	My financial advisor has asked me to cut back on unnecessary expenditure. We need to cut back on driving since the price of petrol is at an all-time high.
cut into	To interrupt in between something or someone	He cut into the argument with a point of his own. He asked if could cut in on the dance between Tim and me.
cut something off	To cut something with something sharp	The butter is frozen. Cut off a small blob and let it rest outside so that it melts faster. He cut off a small piece from the large slab of cheese using a knife.
cut something off	To stop providing/to break all relations with someone	The cable company cut off our connection because we did not pay our bill. After he was convicted, his family decided to cut him off.
cut something out	To remove pieces or part of something	She looked over the article and cut the introduction out and rewrote it.  She cut a piece out of the chunk of cheese and placed it on the counter.
do something over	To do something again	You sang the wrong words this time; we will have to do it over. My homework assignment was unacceptable, so my teacher asked me to do it over.
do away with something	To dispose of or discard something	It is time to do away with all these old files. My mother asked me to do away with all the unusable toys.
dress up	To be dressed in a fancier or better way than normal	The party is at a fancy restaurant so we need to dress up appropriately. I was asked to dress up for the mayor’s party.
drop back	To move back in a position	He dropped back to fifth position because he fell off his motorcycle. The coach asked the attacking players to drop back.
drop in/by/over	To come without an appointment	I thought I’d drop in and say hi. I was surprised when she dropped in unannounced at midnight.
Drop someone/something off	To take someone/something somewhere and leave them/it there	Can you drop me off at the bus stop? I will drop him off at the train station before reaching the venue.
drop out	To quit a class, school, etc.	He dropped out of the chess club because it was too difficult for him. She dropped out of college but managed to set up her own company.
eat out	To eat outside of home, usually in a restaurant	I eat out almost five days a week. I do not feel like cooking today so let’s eat out?
end up	To do/to eventually reach/to decide	If you do not work, you will end up on the streets. He studied history at college but ended up working at a bank.
fall apart	To break into pieces	This wall will fall apart if we do not use cement. The house of cards stood for a minute but then fell apart.
fall down	To fall on the ground/ to fall off from somewhere to the ground	If he does not walk carefully on the ledge, he will fall down. He was walking carelessly and thus, fell down.
fall out	To separate	The veteran cricketer has fallen out of favour. The coach and the player had a fall out and the latter decided to quit.
figure something out	To study/understand	She needs to figure out what the problem is. We need to figure out the route before commencing the trek.
fill something in	To write information in a form, etc.	Fill in the blank spaces and submit the sheet. You must fill in the form in order to obtain a ticket.
fill something up	To fill something completely or to the top	I want you to fill up the tank with diesel. She wanted to fill up the entire glass with wine.
find out	To search/discover	How do I find out where he lives? I need you to find out whether he is lying or not.
get something across/over	To communicate	He is a good orator and has no problem getting his message across. He could not get across the message.
get along/on	To like each other	One must get along with their colleagues. It is about time you buried the hatchet and got along with each other
get away	To go on a vacation or a leave	They are planning a romantic get away for their anniversary. We have not travelled in a while so we are planning a getaway this summer.
get away with something	do something (usually something wrong) without being noticed or punished	He will not get away with an abusive remark like that. You cannot steal cars in broad daylight and expect to get away with it.
get back	To return	She did not get back home until 5 o’clock. The boss needs you to get back from the Bahamas and complete the report.
get back at someone	To retaliate/to take a revenge	My brother got back at me for eating his piece of cake. After being humiliated in public, she decided to get back at her with ruthless intent.
get on something	To step onto something	The train was full so we could not get on. To reach the chandelier, you must get on the stool.
get over something	To recover/overcome	The stock market is slowly getting over the recession. You need to get over the fact that he stole your bicycle.
get together	To meet	Do you want to get together this Saturday? Let’s get together at the mall this weekend.
get up	To stand/get out of bed	Please get up, this seat is reserved for ladies. You are not allowed to sit there, so, kindly get up.
give something away	To reveal/give something for free/donate	The ice cream company is giving away free scoops tomorrow. Before dying, he had pledged to give away half his money to charity.
give something back	To return	You must give the bone back to the dog. You have her mobile phone and need it give it back to her.
give in	To unwillingly stop fighting or arguing	The dictator finally gave in to the mounting pro-democracy protests. After arguing for over two hours, I decided to give in to her demands.
give up	To stop trying	This exam is really difficult and I think I am going to give up. Never give up, never surrender!
go after someone	To follow someone	The big dog is going to go after the cat. The police decided to go after the criminal after he had robbed a bank.”
go after something	To try to achieve something	My father always encouraged me to go after my goals. She is really working hard going after the top prize.
go against someone or something	To oppose	Does he really want to go against the policies of the company? You cannot go against the coach and expect to remain with the team.
go ahead	To proceed/start/initiate something	The General wants us to go ahead with the plan. The centre has asked the states to go ahead with FDI in the retail sector.
go back	To return to a place	This place is very dangerous; I suggest you go back home. He needs us to go back to the office and collect his belongings.”
go out	To leave home to go out for an occasion, etc.	Let’s go out for dinner tonight to celebrate your promotion! I will go out in the evening to watch the play.
go out with someone	To date someone	Tim has wanted to go out with Mary for a long time now. She is going out with two boys at the same time.
go over something	To pay a visit to someone/something nearby	It’s great that Hari has moved next door; I can just go over to his place whenever I’m bored! She is going over to his place later tonight.
go over	To check or review	Here are your insurance papers, please go over them carefully so that you know all the details. We need to go over this brochure and select a location for the meeting.
grow apart	To end a friendship	We used to be great friends, but after college we began to grow apart. We were good friends but grew apart after graduating from college.
grow up	To become an adult	It is always hard for parents when their children grow up. The puppy was tiny when they found it but it grew up to be a huge dog.
grow out of something	To get too big for something, usually a piece of clothing	I will buy a new pair of trousers if and when I grow out of this pair. I have gained weight and grown out of the pants I purchased last summer.
grow into something	To grow big enough to fit	Initially he had some trouble at the new office, but things went smoothly after he grew into his role. She has become taller and grown into the dress.
hand something down	To give something used to someone else	When I was a child, I was handed down my brother’s clothes.  Please hand down your old books to underprivileged children.
hand something out	To distribute to a group of people	The party members were spreading their propaganda by handing out fliers.  The boss is going to hand out a list of responsibilities to everybody today.
hand something over	To give (usually unwillingly)	The thieves asked us to hand over all our belongings. The landlord requested us to hand over the keys to the apartment.
hang in	To stay strong and positive	When my friend was diagnosed with cancer, all I could say to him was, “Don’t lose hope. Hang in there.” Don’t lose heart, hang in there!
hang on	To wait for a short time	Hang on, let me get ready and then we can leave. Hang on, I’m coming too!
hang out	To spend time relaxing or chilling out	My friends and I generally hang out at malls. Let’s hang out at the bar after work tonight.
hang up	To end a phone call	When I get angry with someone on the phone, I simply hang up. I did not wish to talk to him anymore so I decided to hang up the phone.
Hold someone/something back	To prevent from doing/going	If you have a complaint, don’t hold back; you cannot fix the problem if you do not voice it.  You must hold him back from committing such a dangerous stunt.
hold something back	To hide an emotion/to be stopped by something or someone	He was a great athlete, but he was held back from succeeding by his parents, who wanted him to study instead. He held back his tears even though he was distraught.
hold on	To wait for a short time	She asked the taxi driver to hold on while she located her wallet. He has asked you to hold on to his book until he returns.
keep on doing something	continue doing	He asked them to keep on working while he looked around. The musicians kept on playing even though it was raining.
keep something from someone	To not tell/not do/to keep a secret	Why do you keep secrets from me? You have a wonderful voice so you must not keep from singing.
Keep someone/something out	To stop someone or something from entering at a place	The insects must be kept out at all costs. The gate has been installed to keep out stray dogs.
keep something up	To continue at the same rate	Keep up the good work! Keep up this speed for the rest of the journey and we will reach on time.
let someone down	To disappoint someone	You can rely on her; she will never let you down. You have let me down with this disappointing performance.
let someone in	To permit to enter	Please lock the door and do not let anybody in. Yes, he is a guest so please let him in.
look after someone/something	To take care of	Nurses are supposed to look after patients. I need you to look after my dog while I’m away.
look down on someone	To belittle someone/ to consider someone inferior to oneself	She always looks down on her staff and treats them badly. A lot of people look down on them because they are poor.
look for someone/something	To try to find	Do you want to look for the pen we lost yesterday? Let us look for the ball in the garage.
look forward to something	To be excited about some future plan, etc.	Are you looking forward to tonight’s football match? I am really looking forward to the weekend!
look into something	To investigate	We are going to look into the price of cars today. They need to look into the matter carefully in order to avoid a lawsuit.
look out	To be careful	Don’t forget to look out for mosquitoes in the swamp. Look out for speeding buses on the highway.
look out for someone/something	To be extra careful or vigilant	The guide told them to look out for pickpockets in the marketplace. Look out for hurricane alerts on the island at this time of the year.
look something over	To check/examine	Give the document a look over for errors. The teacher wants the student to look over his answers once again.
look up to someone	To respect someone immensely	I look up to my sister because she is a wonderful human being. I look up to my coach because he was a great sportsman.
make something up	To lie about something	When asked why I hadn’t done my homework, I made up a story about having done it but forgotten that that day was the day of submission. You must stop making up stories because we know you are lying.
make up	To forgive each other	He returned my money very late, but tried to make up for it by treating me to lunch. He is taking her out to dinner to make up for being at work on their anniversary.
make someone up	To apply cosmetics	She was so nervous she almost went on stage without any make up. That actor uses a lot of make up before shooting a scene.
mix something up	To get confused	We got through most of the show without any mix ups, but right at the end the lead actor forgot one of his lines. The experienced striker pounced on a defensive mix-up to fire home into an open goal.
pass away	To die	I took two weeks off work because my grandfather passed away. Our dog had been ill for a few months and passed away last night.
pass out	To lose consciousness	It was so hot in the examination hall that one of the students passed out for a couple of minutes. He walking in the sun and passed out due to the heat.
pay someone back	To return the owed money	There should be no money issues between friends, so when I lend money to my friends I tell them they can pay back whenever it is convenient for them. You can borrow money now but you must pay back within a week.
pay for something	To be punished for doing something bad	It is my policy to pay for everything when I am out on a date. The police swore that the terrorist would pay for destroying the building.
pick something out	To choose	I always let my mother pick out my clothes, because she has excellent taste. The concierge at the hotel helped us pick out a nice restaurant.
Point someone/something out	To point or indicate using your finger	I tried to give the tourists directions orally, but they couldn’t understand me, so I pointed out the turning they were supposed to take. I have asked the professor to point out all the mistakes in my assignment.
put something off	To postpone	I was very tired that day, so I put off the meeting till after the weekend. The boss has asked us to put off our lunch plan to a later hour.
put something together	To assemble	We had to put together the presentation in 2 days. The different parts have been provided in order to put together this mountain bike.
put up with someone/something	To bear or tolerate something or someone	My roommate told me to move out, saying, “I can’t put up with your irresponsible ways anymore!” The company is not going to put up with inappropriate behaviour at the workplace.
put something on	To wear a dress/accessories on your body	I did not need to put on the t-shirt to know it was too big for me. Pick out a dress, put it on, and decide whether you like it or not.
run into someone/something	To meet someone unexpectedly	I ran into an old friend from college the other day. It was a pleasant surprise when I ran into him at the mall the other day.
run over someone/something	To drive a vehicle over a person or thing	Your toy is broken because I ran over it with my car. The truck accidently ran over a cat on the highway.
run away	To leave unexpectedly/ to escape	The bride had run away with someone else on the wedding day. The children made a plan to run away from home to join the circus.”
run out	To have nothing left of something	They ran out of sandwiches at the cafe. She couldn’t make tea as they had run out of milk.
send something back	To return	I sent back the steak because it raw. This product is not what we had ordered and we are going to send it back.
set something up	To arrange/organize	They want to set up a lemonade stall at the fair. The government needs to set up a commission for the riot victims.
set someone up	To trick/trap someone or something	The hunter set the lion up for the trap but it escaped. The people at the bank were part of a set up by the police to catch the criminal.
show off	To act boastfully when people watch	He wants to show off his house by illuminating it. Most people simply love to show off their wealth in front of their friends.
sleep over	To stay somewhere out of home, for the night	Jack is planning a sleepover at his place on his birthday.  The first sleepover at a friend’s place can be a big deal for some children.
sort something out	To organise/ to resolve a situation	You may want the lawyers to sort the issue out. We need to sort out these cards and arrange them according to size.
stick to something	To continue doing something	You will not lose weight if you do not stick to the diet. Most people do not stick to the same job for a long period.
switch something off	To turn off	Could you switch the light off please? Please switch off the television before going to bed.
switch something on	To turn on	He turned the machine on again and it stopped making a noise. Grandmother wants you to switch on the radio for her.
take something back	To return something	I need to take my money back from him. He can keep my bag for now but I’m going to take it back tomorrow.”
take off	To start flying	I feel that the most thrilling part of any plane journey is when it takes off. The plane finally took off after taxiing for twenty minutes.
take something off	To remove something (usually items of clothing)	I was about to take off my clothes when I realised there was someone else in the room. I want you to take this off the list and include that instead.
take something out	To remove from a place	She took out some money from the safe. Please take out the garbage after dinner.
take someone out	To take someone out with yourself and also to pay for them	My girlfriend was very depressed because she had lost her job so I took her out for dinner. On the last day of college the professor took the students out for lunch.
tear something up	To rip something into pieces	My boss simply tears up the articles he doesn’t like. The cat tore up the newspaper.
think back	To recall or remember	Whenever I think back to my school days, tears of nostalgia come to my eyes. Think back to the time when we were at the beach.
think something over	To consider	You must think this job offer over before taking a decision. This is my proposal, think it over, and let me know.
throw something away	To trash something or to dispose of	I like that bag, please do not throw it away. These dirty clothes need to be thrown away.
turn something down	To decrease the volume	I want to turn down the volume. The old man has asked me to turn down the volume.
turn something down	To refuse	He asked her to marry him but she turned him down. He turned down the offer from ABC Corporation.
turn something off	To switch off	He turned off the lights before going to bed. Please turn off the fans when you leave.
turn something on	To switch on	She forgot to turn on the charger so her cell stayed off. He asked her to turn on the coffee machine.
try something out	To test	Do you want to try out this new shampoo? Most people refrain from trying out a new cuisine.
use something up	To use something entirely or to finish all	I get very tense when my friends come over because they use up all my supplies. I cannot print this page because all the ink in the printer has been used up.
wake up	To stop sleeping	I generally wake up at about 7 in the morning. You need to wake up early in the morning for karate practice.
warm up	To prepare the body for exercise	It is a good idea to warm up before engaging in strenuous physical activity. It is essential to warm up a little before swimming.
wear off	To diminish in quality because of frequent use	The difference between superior and inferior products is that the latter wear out much more quickly. The sole of this old shoe has worn out.
work out	To exercise	My lifestyle has gotten so sedentary since I joined the office that I have signed up for daily work outs at the gym. Only a few people take gym memberships to actually work out.
work out	To be successful with something	I really hope that things work out for you. This job will work out only if I can get my own office