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ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb;

the combination creates a meaning different from the original verb.

idiom-a-day
phrasal verb crossword

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Phrasal
Meaning Example
Verb
respect or obey. (the law, a If you want to stay at this school, you must abide by
A abide by decision, a rule) the rules.
account
explain, give a reason I hope you can account for the money you spent!
for

add up make sense, seem reasonable Her story just doesn't add up.

have the same opinion as

agree with I agree with you. I think she deserves the award too.
somebody else.
take into consideration, You'd better leave early to allow for traffic
allow for
include in a calculation jams.
answer
reply rudely Don't answer back your mother!
back
make a formal request for
He applied for the job he saw advertised in the
apply for something
newspaper.
(job, permit, loan etc.)
avail When the company is privatized, you should avail
take advantage of something (an
(oneself) yourself of
opportunity)
of the opportunity and buy some shares.

back move backwards, in fear or

B When he saw the dog, he backed away.
away dislike
Local authorities backed down on their plans to
back down withdraw, concede defeat
demolish the building.
M) give support or M) If I tell the boss we've got too much work, will you
back up encouragement back me up?
2) make a copy of (file, program, 2) It is recommended to back up all files in a secure
 etc.) location.

black out faint, lose consciousness When he fell off the horse he blacked out.
The area was blocked off during the
block off Separate using a barrier.
demonstration.
M) The terrorists said the bomb would blow up at 9
M) explode;
blow up o'clock.
2) be destroyed by an explosion
2) The car blew up but luckily there was nobody in it.
boil down
be summarized as The problem boils down to a lack of money.
to
M) go out of order, cease to M) John's car broke down so he had to take the bus.
break
function 2) The parents broke down when they heard the bad
down
2) lose control of one's emotions news.
break into enter by force Burglars broke into the house around midnight.

break out start suddenly Rioting broke out as a result of the strike.

break out
escape from a place by force Three prisoners broke out of jail.
of
come to an end (marriage, After her marriage broke up, Emma went to live in
break up
relationship) London.

bring up raise (a child) She stopped working in order to bring up her children.

brush up improve, refresh one's Mary had to brush up on her Spanish before going to
on knowledge of something South America.
meet by accident or Pedro bumped into his English teacher at the
bump into
unexpectedly supermarket.
M) stop (something) working
M) The fuse has burnt out.
burn out 2) become exhausted from over-
2) Tom will burn himself out if he doesn't slow down.
working
butt in (on
sthg)
interrupt impolitely It's rude to butt in on a conversation like that!

C call back return a phone call I'll call you back as soon as possible.

call off cancel The meeting was called off because of the strike.
call
I now call upon the President to address the
on/upon formally invite or request
assembly.
sby
become more relaxed, less
calm down He was angry at first but he eventually calmed down.
angry or upset

carry on continue He carried on gardening in spite of the rain.

M) do something as specified M) The plan was carried out to perfection.

carry out (a plan, an order, a threat) 2) Tests are carried out to determine the efficiency of a
2) perform or conduct (test, new drug.
 experiment)

For security reasons you have to check in two hours

check in register at a hotel or airport
before your flight.
M) Is Mr. Blair still at the hotel? No, he checked out
M) pay one's bill and leave (a this morning.
check out hotel)
2) I don't know if the address is still valid. I'll check it
2) investigate out.
clam up refuse to speak When the teacher arrived she clammed up.

clamp The government has decided to clamp down on

act strictly to prevent something
down on smoking in public places.
close stop operating (company, When the factory closed down, the employees lost
down restaurant, cinema). their jobs.
M) Julie came across some photographs of her
M) find by chance
come grandparents in the attic.
2) appear, seem, make an
across 2) The candidate came across as a dynamic person
impression
during the interview.
come The police have asked any witnesses to come
present oneself
forward forward.
come up
be faced with or opposed by The project came up against a lot of criticism.
against
M) stop working M) The car conked out on the motorway.
conk out 2) stop or fall asleep (from 2) He was so exhausted, he conked out in
exhaustion) front of the TV.
count on rely or depend on (for help) I'm counting on the taxi driver to find the theatre.

remove by drawing a line In some exercises, you are asked to cross out the
cross out
through incorrect word.
cut down
reduce in number or size The doctor told him to cut down on cigarettes.
on
M) remove using scissors M) She cut out a picture in a magazine.
cut out
2) stop doing something 2) I'm going to cut out eating between meals.

handle, take care of (problem, The manager is good at dealing with difficult
D deal with
situation) customers.

die down calm down, become less strong When the applause died down, she started to sing.

The shops are closed so we'll have to do without

do without manage without
drag on last longer than expected
write (contract, agreement,
draw up
document)
M) wear elegant clothes
dress up
2) disguise oneself
sugar.
We expected a short speech but it dragged
on and on!
An agreement was drawn up and signed by the two
parties.
M) Do people dress up to go to the opera in your
country?
2) Children love to dress up at Halloween.
 visit, usually on the way I sometimes drop in to see my grandparents on my
drop in
somewhere way home from school.
M) deliver someone or something M) I'll drop you off at the bus stop if you like.
drop off
2) fall asleep 2) Granddad often drops off in front of the TV.
She decided to go to art school then dropped out after
drop out leave school without finishing
the first term.

reduce, become less severe or

E ease off slow down After Christmas the workload generally eases off.
(pain, traffic, work)
M) eliminate differences of M) After a long discussion they managed to even out
even out opinion. their differences.
2) become level or regular 2) The road was evened out to make it safer.

fall Our planned boat trip fell through because of the

F fail; doesn't happen
through storm.
I'm trying to figure out how to assemble the
figure out understand, find the answer
bookshelves.
complete (a form/an Please fill out the enclosed form and return it
fill out
application) as soon as possible.
I'm going to call the cinema to find out what time the
find out discover or obtain information
film starts.
The advertising campaign will focus on the quality of
focus on concentrate on something
the product.
We'll have to figure out a way to deliver the goods
figure out understand; find a solution
faster.

G get at imply What exactly are you trying to get at?

get away escape The robbers got away in a black car.

get by manage to cope or to survive It's difficult to get by on a low salary.

get in enter How did the burglar get in?

get into
enter How did the burglar get into the house?
(+noun)
M) leave (bus, train, plane) M) You should get off the bus at Trafalgar Square.
get off
2) remove 2) She can't get the stain off her sweater.

get on board (bus, train, plane) You can pay when you get on the bus.

get on with
continue to do; make progress Be quiet and get on with your homework.
(something)
 get on
(well) with have a good relationship with I get on very well with my colleagues.
(somebody)
get out leave How did he get out?

get out of
leave How did he get out of the house?
(+noun)
Some husbands manage to get out of doing any
get out of avoid doing something
housework.
recover from (illness,
get over My grandmother had pneumonia but she got over it.
disappointment)

get rid of eliminate It's difficult to get rid of old habits.

get
meet each other Let's get together for lunch on day.
together

get up rise, leave bed I usually get up at 7 o'clock.

give up stop doing something Sarah gave up smoking 5 years ago.

go through experience Pete went through a lot of pain after the accident.

spend one's childhood; develop;

grow up He grew up in a small village in the mountains.
become an adult

All application forms must be handed in before the

H hand in submit (report, homework)
end of the month.
Samples will be handed out at the end of the
hand out distribute
demonstration.
spend time in a particular
Where does he hang out these days?
hang out place,
Who does he hang out with?
or with a group of friends
hang up end a phone conversation "Don't hang up. I haven't finished yet."

hit at aim a blow at He hit at the wasp with the newspaper.

When he was attacked by the others, the boy
hit back retaliate; reply to an attack
hit back.
hit find unexpectedly or by
She hit upon an idea for her new collection.
on/upon inspiration
- 'Hold on please. I'll put you through to Mr.
-wait Brown."
hold on
-grip tightly - She held on to the railing as she crossed
the bridge.
hurry up be quick, act speedily Hurry up! We'll miss the bus.
 resolve by discussion, eliminate The meeting tomorrow will be an opportunity to iron
I iron out
differences out difficulties.

J join in participate She was too shy to join in the game.

- John was in the Army and Tom joined up
-engage in, become a
as soon as he left school.
join up member of
- The two groups of tourists joined up at the
- meet and unite with
hotel.
I jotted down the address while watching the
jot down take quick notes
programme on TV.

K keep on continue doing something It told him to be quiet but he kept on making noise.

stay at the same level as

keep up
someone or Bill walks so fast it's difficult to keep up with him.
with
something

kick off begin, start The football match kicked off at 3 o'clock.

L leave out omit, not mention The child's name was left out of the report.

You promised to come to the party, so don't let me

let down disappoint
down!

look after take care of A babysitter looks after the children when they go out.

look ahead think of the future It's time to forget the past and look ahead.

look He tends to look down on anyone who is not

consider as inferior
down on successful.
look on be a spectator at an event Billy didn't take part in the fight. He just looked on.

look for try to find something Jane went to the shops to look for a pair of shoes.

look
await or anticipate with pleasure I look forward to seeing you soon.
forward to
look up He was a wonderful teacher and many
admire
to students looked up to him.
 make fun The old lady dresses so strangely that the
M laugh at/ make jokes about
of kids make fun of her.
Some employees make up excuses when they arrive
make up invent (excuse, story)
late for work.
mistake one thing or person for I don't know my neighbours' names yet. I keep mixing
mix up
another them up.
You've bought a new house? When are you moving
move in arrive in a new home or office
in?.
leave your home/office for My neighbour is leaving. He's moving out next
move out
another one. Saturday.

N nod off fall asleep My grandfather often nods off in front of the television.

note down write something I'll call the station and note down the departure times.

leave a system or decide not to I enjoy tennis but I'm so busy I had to opt out of the
O opt out
participate tournament.
The boy owned up. He said he kicked the ball
own up admit or confess something
through the window.

P pass away die The old lady passed away peacefully.

pass out faint She passed out when she heard the bad news.

I'll lend you 20¼ provided you pay me back before the
pay back reimburse
end of the week.

put off postpone, arrange a later date The meeting was put off because of the strike.

put on turn on, switch on Could you put on the light please?

put out extinguish It took a long time to put out the fire.

accommodate, give somebody a We can put you up if you'd like to come for a week-
put up
bed end.

pick up collect somebody I'll pick you up at the station when you arrive.

indicate/direct attention to
point out She pointed out the mistake.
something

R rely on count on, depend on, trust Don't worry. You can rely on me. I can keep a secret.
 rule out eliminate The police ruled out political motives.

escape from a place or suddenly

run away He ran away from home at the age of fourteen.
leave
meet by accident or
run into Sophie ran into Maria at the shopping centre.
unexpectedly (also: bump into)
run out of have no more of something. What a nuisance! We've run out of coffee.

S set off start a journey; Early Saturday morning we set off for the ski slopes .

set up start a business She set up her own company M0 years ago.

shop It's always wise to shop around before buying

compare prices
around anything.

show off brag or want to be admired There's David showing off in his new sports car!

We expected David to come but he didn't

show up appear/arrive
show up.
shut up
(impolite) be silent, stop talking Oh shut up, you idiot!

sit down take a seat Please come in and sit down.

stick up
defend It's important to stick up for one's principles.
for

resemble, in appearance or
T take after character Jamie really takes after his dad.

take care
look after I'll take care of your plants while you're away.
of

take off leave the ground The plane took off at 6 a.m.

Business is good so the company is taking on extra

take on hire or engage staff
staff.
reprimand/criticize The teacher told her off for not doing her
tell off
severely homework.
think over consider I'll have to think over the proposal before I decide.

wear something to see if it suits

try on I'm not sure about the size. Can I try it on?
or fits

turn down refuse I couldn't turn down an offer like that!

 finish a product (so that there's
U use up none left)
The kids have used up all the toothpaste.

express confidence in, or

V vouch for guarantee something You can give the keys to Andy. I can vouch for him.

W watch out be careful Watch out! There's a car coming.

M) become unusable M) Julie wore out her shoes visiting the city.
wear out
2) become very tired 2) At the end of the day Julie was worn out.
M) do physical exercise M) I work out twice a week at the gym club.
work out 2) find a solution or calculate 2) It's expensive but I haven't worked out the exact
something cost yet.
wipe off clean (board, table). The teacher asked Lee to wipe off the board.

phrasal verb quiz phrasal verb crossword

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