phrasal verb meaning example sentence

asksomebodyout invite on a date Brian asked Judy out to dinner

and a movie.
ask around ask many I asked around but nobody has
people the seen my wallet.
same question
add up tosomething equal Your purchases add up
to$205.32.
backsomethingup reverse You'll have to back up your car
so that I can get out.
backsomebodyup support My wife backed me up over my
decision to quit my job.
blow up explode The racing car blew up after it
crashed into the fence.
blowsomethingup add air We have to blow 50
balloons upfor the party.
break down stop functioning Our car broke down at the side
(vehicle, of the highway in the snowstorm.
machine)
break down get upset The woman broke down when
the police told her that her son
had died.
breaksomethingdown divide into Our teacher broke the final
smaller parts project down into three separate
parts.
break in force entry to a Somebody broke in last night
building and stole our stereo.
break intosomething enter forcibly The firemen had to break intothe
room to rescue the children.
breaksomething in wear something I need to break these
a few times so shoes inbefore we run next week.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
that it doesn't
look/feel new
break in interrupt The TV station broke in to report
the news of the president's death.
break up end a My boyfriend and I broke
relationship upbefore I moved to America.
break up start laughing The kids just broke up as soon
(informal) as the clown started talking.
break out escape The prisoners broke out of jail
when the guards weren't looking.
break out insomething develop a skin I broke out in a rash after our
condition camping trip.
bringsomebodydown make unhappy This sad music
is bringing me down.
bringsomebodyup raise a child My
grandparents brought me upafter
my parents died.
bringsomethingup start talking My mother walks out of the room
about a subject when my father brings upsports.
bringsomethingup vomit He drank so much that
he brought his dinner up in the
toilet.
call around phone many We called around but we weren't
different able to find the car part we
places/people needed.
callsomebodyback return a phone I called the company back but
call the offices were closed for the
weekend.
callsomethingoff cancel Jason called the
wedding offbecause he wasn't in
love with his fiancé.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
call onsomebody ask for an The professor called on me for
answer or question 1.
opinion
call onsomebody visit somebody We called on you last night but
you weren't home.
callsomebodyup phone Give me your phone number and
I will call you up when we are in
town.
calm down relax after You are still mad. You need
being angry to calm down before you drive
the car.
not care forsomebody/ not like (formal) I don't care for his behaviour.
something
catch up get to the same You'll have to run faster than that
point as if you want to catch up with
somebody else Marty.
check in arrive and We will get the hotel keys when
register at a we check in.
hotel or airport
check out leave a hotel You have to check out of the
hotel before 11:00 AM.
checksomebody/ look at The company checks out all new
somethingout carefully, employees.
investigate
check outsomebody/ look at Check out the crazy hair on that
something (informal) guy!
cheer up become She cheered up when she heard
happier the good news.
cheersomebodyup make happier I brought you some flowers
to cheer you up.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
chip in help If everyone chips in we can get
the kitchen painted by noon.
cleansomethingup tidy, clean Please clean up your bedroom
before you go outside.
come acrosssomething find I came across these old photos
unexpectedly when I was tidying the closet.
come apart separate The top and bottom come apartif
you pull hard enough.
come down withsomething become sick My nephew came down
withchicken pox this weekend.
come forward volunteer for a The woman came forward with
task or to give her husband's finger prints.
evidence
come fromsome place originate in The art of origami comes
fromAsia.
count onsomebody/ rely on I am counting on you to make
something dinner while I am out.
crosssomethingout draw a line Please cross out your old
through address and write your new one.
cut back onsomething consume less My doctor wants me to cut back
on sweets and fatty foods.
cutsomethingdown make We had to cut the old tree in our
something fall yard down after the storm.
to the ground
cut in interrupt Your father cut in while I was
dancing with your uncle.
cut in pull in too The bus driver got angry when
closely in front that car cut in.
of another
vehicle
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
cut in start operating The air conditioner cuts in when
(of an engine or the temperature gets to 22°C.
electrical
device)
cutsomethingoff remove with The doctors cut off his leg
something because it was severely injured.
sharp
cutsomethingoff stop providing The phone company cut off our
phone because we didn't pay the
bill.
cutsomebodyoff take out of a My grandparents cut my
will father off when he remarried.
cutsomethingout remove part of I cut this ad out of the
something newspaper.
(usually with
scissors and
paper)
dosomebody/ somethingover beat up, He's lucky to be alive. His shop
ransack (BrE, was done over by a street gang.
informal)
dosomethingover do again (AmE) My teacher wants me to do my
essay over because she doesn't
like my topic.
do away withsomething discard It's time to do away with all of
these old tax records.
dosomethingup fasten, close Do your coat up before you go
outside. It's snowing!
dress up wear nice It's a fancy restaurant so we have
clothing to dress up.
drop back move back in a Andrea dropped back to third
position/group place when she fell off her bike.
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drop in/ by/ over come without I might drop in/by/over for tea
an appointment sometime this week.
dropsomebody/ somethingoff take somebody/ I have to drop my sister off at
something work before I come over.
somewhere and
leave them/it
there
drop out quit a class, I dropped out of Science
school etc because it was too difficult.
eat out eat at a I don't feel like cooking tonight.
restaurant Let's eat out.
end up eventually We ended up renting a movie
reach/do/decide instead of going to the theatre.
fall apart break into My new dress fell apart in the
pieces washing machine.
fall down fall to the The picture that you hung up last
ground night fell down this morning.
fall out separate from The money must have fallen
an interior outof my pocket.
fall out (of hair, teeth) His hair started to fall out when
become loose he was only 35.
and unattached
figuresomethingout understand, I need to figure out how to fit the
find the answer piano and the bookshelf in this
room.
fillsomething in to write Please fill in the form with your
information in name, address, and phone
blanks, as on a number.
form (BrE)
fillsomethingout to write The form must be filled out in
information in capital letters.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
blanks, as on a
form (AmE)
fillsomethingup fill to the top I always fill the water jug upwhen
it is empty.
find out discover We don't know where he lives.
How can we find out?
findsomethingout discover We tried to keep the time of the
party a secret, but
Samantha found it out.
getsomethingacross/ over communicate, I tried to get my
make point across/over to the judge
understandable but she wouldn't listen.
get along/on like each other I was surprised how well my new
girlfriend and my sister got
along/on.
get around have mobility My grandfather can get
aroundfine in his new wheelchair.
get away go on a We worked so hard this year that
vacation we had to get away for a week.
get away withsomething do without Jason always gets away
being noticed or withcheating in his maths tests.
punished
get back return We got back from our vacation
last week.
getsomethingback receive Liz finally got her Science
something you notes back from my room-mate.
had before
get back atsomebody retaliate, take My sister got back at me for
revenge stealing her shoes. She stole my
favourite hat.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
get back intosomething become I finally got back into my novel
interested in and finished it.
something
again
get onsomething step onto a We're going to freeze out here if
vehicle you don't let us get on the bus.
get oversomething recover from an I just got over the flu and now my
illness, loss, sister has it.
difficulty
get oversomething overcome a The company will have to close if
problem it can't get over the new
regulations.
get round tosomething finally find time I don't know when I am going
to do (AmE: get to get round to writing the thank
around you cards.
tosomething)
get together meet (usually Let's get together for a BBQ this
for social weekend.
reasons)
get up get out of bed I got up early today to study for
my exam.
get up stand You should get up and give the
elderly man your seat.
givesomebodyaway reveal hidden His wife gave him away to the
information police.
about
somebody
givesomebodyaway take the bride My father gave me away at my
to the altar wedding.
givesomethingaway ruin a secret My little sister gave the surprise
party away by accident.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
givesomethingaway give something The library was giving away old
to somebody books on Friday.
for free
givesomethingback return a I have to give these
borrowed item skates backto Franz before his
hockey game.
give in reluctantly stop My boyfriend didn't want to go to
fighting or the ballet, but he finally gave in.
arguing
givesomethingout give to many They were giving out free
people (usually perfume samples at the
at no cost) department store.
givesomethingup quit a habit I am giving up smoking as of
January 1st.
give up stop trying My maths homework was too
difficult so I gave up.
go aftersomebody follow My brother tried to go after the
somebody thief in his car.
go aftersomething try to achieve I went after my dream and now I
something am a published writer.
go againstsomebody compete, We are going against the best
oppose soccer team in the city tonight.
go ahead start, proceed Please go ahead and eat before
the food gets cold.
go back return to a I have to go back home and get
place my lunch.
go out leave home to We're going out for dinner
go on a social tonight.
event
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
go out withsomebody date Jesse has been going out
withLuke since they met last
winter.
go oversomething review Please go over your answers
before you submit your test.
go over visit somebody I haven't seen Tina for a long
nearby time. I think I'll go over for an
hour or two.
go withoutsomething suffer lack or When I was young, we went
deprivation without winter boots.
grow apart stop being My best friend and I grew
friends over apartafter she changed schools.
time
grow back regrow My roses grew back this
summer.
grow intosomething grow big This bike is too big for him now,
enough to fit but he should grow into it by next
year.
grow out ofsomething get too big for Elizabeth needs a new pair of
shoes because she has grown
out of her old ones.
grow up become an When Jack grows up he wants to
adult be a fireman.
handsomethingdown give something I handed my old comic
used to books down to my little cousin.
somebody else
handsomething in submit I have to hand in my essay by
Friday.
handsomethingout to distribute to a We will hand out the invitations
group of people at the door.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
handsomethingover give (usually The police asked the man
unwillingly) to hand over his wallet and his
weapons.
hang in stay positive Hang in there. I'm sure you'll find
(informal) a job very soon.
hang on wait a short Hang on while I grab my coat
time (informal) and shoes!
hang out spend time Instead of going to the party we
relaxing are just going to hang out at my
(informal) place.
hang up end a phone He didn't say goodbye before
call he hung up.
holdsomebody/ prevent from I had to hold my
somethingback doing/going dog backbecause there was a cat
in the park.
holdsomethingback hide an emotion Jamie held back his tears at his
grandfather's funeral.
hold on wait a short Please hold on while I transfer
time you to the Sales Department.
hold ontosomebody/ hold firmly Hold onto your hat because it's
something using your very windy outside.
hands or arms
holdsomebody/ somethingup rob A man in a black mask held the
bank up this morning.
keep on doingsomething continue doing Keep on stirring until the liquid
comes to a boil.
keepsomethingfromsomebody not tell We kept our relationship fromour
parents for two years.
keepsomebody/ somethingout stop from Try to keep the wet dog out of
entering the living room.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
keepsomethingup continue at the If you keep those results up you
same rate will get into a great college.
letsomebodydown fail to support I need you to be on time.
or help, Don't let me down this time.
disappoint
letsomebody in allow to enter Can you let the cat in before you
go to school?
log in (or on) sign in (to a I can't log in to Facebook
website, because I've forgotten my
database etc) password.
log out (or off) sign out (of a If you don't log off somebody
website, could get into your account.
database etc)
look aftersomebody/ take care of I have to look after my sick
something grandmother.
look down onsomebody think less of, Ever since we stole that
consider inferior chocolate bar your dad
has looked down on me.
look forsomebody/ something try to find I'm looking for a red dress for
the wedding.
look forward to something be excited I'm looking forward to the
about the future Christmas break.
look intosomething investigate We are going to look into the
price of snowboards today.
look out be careful, Look out! That car's going to hit
vigilant, and you!
take notice
look out forsomebody/ be especially Don't forget to look out
something vigilant for forsnakes on the hiking trail.
looksomethingover check, examine Can you look over my essay for
spelling mistakes?
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
looksomethingup search and find We can look her phone
information in a number up on the Internet.
reference book
or database
look up tosomebody have a lot of My little sister has always looked
respect for up to me.
makesomethingup invent, lie about Josie made up a story about why
something we were late.
make up forgive each We were angry last night, but
other we made up at breakfast.
makesomebodyup apply cosmetics My sisters made me up for my
to graduation party.
mixsomethingup confuse two or I mixed up the twins' names
more things again!
pass away die His uncle passed away last night
after a long illness.
pass out faint It was so hot in the church that an
elderly lady passed out.
passsomethingout give the same The professor passed the
thing to many textbooks out before class.
people
passsomethingup decline (usually I passed up the job because I am
something afraid of change.
good)
paysomebodyback return owed Thanks for buying my ticket.
money I'll pay you back on Friday.
pay forsomething be punished for That bully will pay for being
doing mean to my little brother.
something bad
picksomethingout choose I picked out three sweaters for
you to try on.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
pointsomebody/ indicate with I'll point my boyfriend out when
somethingout your finger he runs by.
putsomethingdown put what you You can put the
are holding on groceries downon the kitchen
a surface or counter.
floor
putsomebodydown insult, make The students put the substitute
somebody feel teacher down because his pants
stupid were too short.
putsomethingoff postpone We are putting off our trip until
January because of the
hurricane.
putsomethingout extinguish The neighbours put the
fire outbefore the firemen arrived.
putsomethingtogether assemble I have to put the
crib togetherbefore the baby
arrives.
put up withsomebody/ tolerate I don't think I can put up
something withthree small children in the
car.
putsomethingon put clothing/ Don't forget to put on your new
accessories on earrings for the party.
your body
run intosomebody/ something meet I ran into an old school-friend at
unexpectedly the mall.
run oversomebody/ drive a vehicle I accidentally ran over your
something over a person bicycle in the driveway.
or thing
run over/ throughsomething rehearse, Let's run over/through these
review lines one more time before the
show.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
run away leave The child ran away from home
unexpectedly, and has been missing for three
escape days.
run out have none left We ran out of shampoo so I had
to wash my hair with soap.
sendsomethingback return (usually My letter got sent back to me
by mail) because I used the wrong stamp.
setsomethingup arrange, Our boss set a meeting up with
organize the president of the company.
setsomebodyup trick, trap The police set up the car thief by
using a hidden camera.
shop around compare prices I want to shop around a little
before I decide on these boots.
show off act extra He always shows off on his
special for skateboard
people
watching
(usually
boastfully)
sleep over stay You should sleep over tonight if
somewhere for the weather is too bad to drive
the night home.
(informal)
sortsomethingout organize, We need to sort the
resolve a bills outbefore the first of the
problem month.
stick tosomething continue doing You will lose weight if you stick
something, limit to the diet.
yourself to one
particular thing
switchsomethingoff stop the energy The light's too bright. Could
flow, turn off you switch it off.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
switchsomethingon start the energy We heard the news as soon as
flow, turn on we switched on the car radio.
take aftersomebody resemble a I take after my mother. We are
family member both impatient.
takesomethingapart purposely break He took the car brakes apartand
into pieces found the problem.
takesomethingback return an item I have to take our new
TV backbecause it doesn't work.
take off start to fly My plane takes off in five
minutes.
takesomethingoff remove Take off your socks and shoes
something and come in the lake!
(usually
clothing)
takesomethingout remove from a Can you take the garbage out to
place or thing the street for me?
takesomebodyout pay for My grandparents took us out for
somebody to go dinner and a movie.
somewhere
with you
tearsomethingup rip into pieces I tore up my ex-boyfriend's letters
and gave them back to him.
think back remember When I think back on my youth, I
(often + to, wish I had studied harder.
sometimes +
on)
thinksomethingover consider I'll have to think this job
offer over before I make my final
decision.
throwsomethingaway dispose of We threw our old
furniture awaywhen we won the
lottery.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
turnsomethingdown decrease the Please turn the TV down while
volume or the guests are here.
strength (heat,
light etc)
turnsomethingdown refuse I turned the job down because I
don't want to move.
turnsomethingoff stop the energy Your mother wants you to turnthe
flow, switch off TV off and come for dinner.
turnsomethingon start the It's too dark in here.
energy, switch Let's turnsome lights on.
on
turnsomethingup increase the Can you turn the music up? This
volume or is my favourite song.
strength (heat,
light etc)
turn up appear Our cat turned up after we put
suddenly posters up all over the
neighbourhood.
trysomethingon sample clothing I'm going to try these jeans on,
but I don't think they will fit.
trysomethingout test I am going to try this new brand
of detergent out.
usesomethingup finish the The kids used all of the
supply toothpaste up so we need to buy
some more.
wake up stop sleeping We have to wake up early for
work on Monday.
warmsomebody/ somethingup increase the You can warm your feet up in
temperature front of the fireplace.
warm up prepare body I always warm up by doing sit-
for exercise ups before I go for a run.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
wear off fade away Most of my make-up wore
offbefore I got to the party.
work out exercise I work out at the gym three times
a week.
work out be successful Our plan worked out fine.
worksomethingout make a We have to work out the total
calculation cost before we buy the house.