phrasal verb meaning example sentence

asksomebodyout invite on a Brian asked Judy out to

date dinner and a movie.
ask around ask many I asked around but nobody
people the has 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 Our car broke down at the
functioning side of the highway in the
(vehicle, 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 Somebody broke in last night
a building and stole our stereo.
break intosomething enter forcibly The firemen had to break
intothe room to rescue the
children.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
breaksomething in wear I need to break these
something a shoes inbefore we run next
few times so week.
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
(informal) soon 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 This sad music
unhappy is bringing me down.
bringsomebodyup raise a child My
grandparents brought me up
after my parents died.
bringsomethingup start talking My mother walks out of the
about a room when my father brings
subject 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
different weren't able to find the car
places/people part we needed.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
callsomebodyback return a I called the
phone call company back but the offices
were closed for the weekend.
callsomethingoff cancel Jason called the
wedding offbecause he wasn't
in love with his fiancé.
call onsomebody ask for an The professor called on me
answer or for question 1.
opinion
call onsomebody visit We called on you last night
somebody 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 I don't care for his behaviour.
something (formal)
catch up get to the You'll have to run faster than
same point as that if you want to catch
somebody up with Marty.
else
check in arrive and We will get the hotel keys
register at a when 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
somethingout carefully, new employees.
investigate
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
check outsomebody/ look at Check out the crazy hair on
something (informal) that guy!
cheer up become She cheered up when she
happier heard the good news.
cheersomebodyup make happier I brought you some flowers
to cheer you up.
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
unexpectedly photos when I was tidying the
closet.
come apart separate The top and bottom come
apartif you pull hard enough.
come down become sick My nephew came down
withsomething withchicken pox this
weekend.
come forward volunteer for a The woman came
task or to give forward with her husband's
evidence finger prints.
come fromsome place originate in The art of origami comes
fromAsia.
count onsomebody/ rely on I am counting on you to
something make dinner while I am out.
crosssomethingout draw a line Please cross out your old
through address and write your new
one.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
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
something fall our 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
cut in start operating The air conditioner cuts
(of an engine in when the temperature gets
or electrical to 22°C.
device)
cutsomethingoff remove with The doctors cut off his leg
something because it was severely
sharp injured.
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 I cut this ad out of the
of something newspaper.
(usually with
scissors and
paper)
dosomebody/ beat up, He's lucky to be alive. His
somethingover ransack (BrE, shop was done over by a
informal) street gang.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
dosomethingover do again My teacher wants me
(AmE) 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
clothing have to dress up.
drop back move back in Andrea dropped back to third
a place when she fell off her
position/group bike.
drop in/ by/ over come without I might drop in/by/over for
an tea sometime this week.
appointment
dropsomebody/ take I have to drop my sister off at
somethingoff somebody/ work before I come over.
something
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
restaurant tonight. Let's eat out.
end up eventually We ended up renting a movie
reach/do/deci instead of going to the theatre.
de
fall apart break into My new dress fell apart in the
pieces washing machine.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
fall down fall to the The picture that you hung up
ground last 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
become loose out when he was only 35.
and
unattached
figuresomethingout understand, I need to figure out how to fit
find the the piano and the bookshelf in
answer this room.
fillsomething in to write Please fill in the form with
information in your name, address, and
blanks, as on phone number.
a form (BrE)
fillsomethingout to write The form must be filled out in
information in capital letters.
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
understandabl but she wouldn't listen.
e
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
get along/on like each I was surprised how well my
other 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
vacation that we had to get away for a
week.
get away withsomething do without Jason always gets away
being noticed withcheating in his maths
or punished tests.
get back return We got back from our
vacation last week.
getsomethingback receive Liz finally got her Science
something notes back from my room-
you had mate.
before
get back atsomebody retaliate, take My sister got back at me for
revenge stealing her shoes. She stole
my favourite hat.
get back intosomething become I finally got back into my
interested in novel and finished it.
something
again
get onsomething step onto a We're going to freeze out here
vehicle if you don't let us get on the
bus.
get oversomething recover from I just got over the flu and now
an illness, my sister has it.
loss, difficulty
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
get oversomething overcome a The company will have to
problem close if it can't get over the
new regulations.
get round tosomething finally find I don't know when I am going
time to do to get round to writing the
(AmE: get thank you cards.
around
tosomething)
get together meet (usually Let's get together for a BBQ
for social this 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
to the altar my wedding.
givesomethingaway ruin a secret My little sister gave the
surprise party away by
accident.
givesomethingaway give The library was giving
something to away old books on Friday.
somebody for
free
givesomethingback return a I have to give these
borrowed item skates backto Franz before
his hockey game.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
give in reluctantly My boyfriend didn't want to go
stop fighting to the ballet, but he
or arguing finally gave in.
givesomethingout give to many They were giving out free
people perfume samples at the
(usually at no department store.
cost)
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
somebody after the thief in his car.
go aftersomething try to achieve I went after my dream and
something now I am a published writer.
go againstsomebody compete, We are going against the
oppose best 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
place get my lunch.
go out leave home to We're going out for dinner
go on a social tonight.
event
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.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
go over visit I haven't seen Tina for a long
somebody time. I think I'll go over for an
nearby 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
time schools.
grow back regrow My roses grew back this
summer.
grow intosomething grow big This bike is too big for him
enough to fit now, 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
adult wants to be a fireman.
handsomethingdown give I handed my old comic
something books down to my little
used to cousin.
somebody
else
handsomething in submit I have to hand in my essay by
Friday.
handsomethingout to distribute to We will hand out the
a group of invitations at the door.
people
handsomethingover give (usually The police asked the man
unwillingly) to hand over his wallet and
his weapons.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
hang in stay positive Hang in there. I'm sure you'll
(informal) find 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
relaxing we are just going to hang
(informal) out at my 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 Jamie held back his tears at
emotion his grandfather's funeral.
hold on wait a short Please hold on while I
time transfer you to the Sales
Department.
hold ontosomebody/ hold firmly Hold onto your hat because
something using your it's very windy outside.
hands or arms
holdsomebody/ rob A man in a black
somethingup mask held the bank up this
morning.
keep on doingsomething continue Keep on stirring until the
doing liquid comes to a boil.
keepsomethingfromsomeb not tell We kept our
ody relationship fromour parents
for two years.
keepsomebody/ stop from Try to keep the wet dog out of
somethingout entering the living room.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
keepsomethingup continue at If you keep those
the same rate results up you 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 chocolate bar your dad
inferior has looked down on me.
look forsomebody/ try to find I'm looking for a red dress for
something the wedding.
look forward to something be excited I'm looking forward to the
about the Christmas break.
future
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
vigilant, and hit you!
take notice
look out forsomebody/ be especially Don't forget to look out
something vigilant for forsnakes on the hiking trail.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
looksomethingover check, Can you look over my essay
examine for spelling mistakes?
looksomethingup search and We can look her phone
find number up on the Internet.
information in
a reference
book or
database
look up tosomebody have a lot of My little sister has
respect for always looked up to me.
makesomethingup invent, lie Josie made up a story about
about why we were late.
something
make up forgive each We were angry last night, but
other we made up at breakfast.
makesomebodyup apply My sisters made me up for
cosmetics to my graduation party.
mixsomethingup confuse two I mixed up the twins' names
or 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 I passed up the job because I
(usually am afraid of change.
something
good)
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
paysomebodyback return owed Thanks for buying my ticket.
money I'll pay you back on Friday.
pay forsomething be punished That bully will pay for being
for doing mean to my little brother.
something
bad
picksomethingout choose I picked out three sweaters
for you to try on.
pointsomebody/ indicate with I'll point my
somethingout your finger boyfriend out when 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
somebody substitute
feel stupid teacher down because his
pants 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.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
putsomethingon put clothing/ Don't forget to put on your
accessories new earrings for the party.
on your body
run intosomebody/ meet I ran into an old school-friend
something unexpectedly at the mall.
run oversomebody/ drive a vehicle I accidentally ran over your
something over a person bicycle in the driveway.
or thing
run over/ rehearse, Let's run over/through these
throughsomething review lines one more time before the
show.
run away leave The child ran away from
unexpectedly, home and has been missing
escape for three 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
organize meeting up with the president
of the company.
setsomebodyup trick, trap The police set up the car thief
by using a hidden camera.
shop around compare I want to shop around a little
prices before I decide on these
boots.
show off act extra He always shows off on his
special for skateboard
people
watching
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
(usually
boastfully)
sleep over stay You should sleep over tonight
somewhere if the weather is too bad to
for the night drive home.
(informal)
sortsomethingout organize, We need to sort the
resolve a bills outbefore the first of the
problem month.
stick tosomething continue You will lose weight if
doing you stick to the diet.
something,
limit yourself
to one
particular
thing
switchsomethingoff stop the The light's too bright. Could
energy flow, you switch it off.
turn off
switchsomethingon start the We heard the news as soon
energy flow, as we switched on the car
turn on radio.
take aftersomebody resemble a I take after my mother. We
family are both impatient.
member
takesomethingapart purposely He took the car
break into brakes apartand found the
pieces 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.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
takesomethingoff remove Take off your socks and
something shoes and come in the lake!
(usually
clothing)
takesomethingout remove from Can you take the
a place or garbage out to the street for
thing me?
takesomebodyout pay for My
somebody to grandparents took us out for
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
(often + to, youth, I wish I had studied
sometimes + harder.
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.
turnsomethingdown decrease the Please turn the
volume or TV down while the guests are
strength here.
(heat, light
etc)
turnsomethingdown refuse I turned the
job down because I don't
want to move.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
turnsomethingoff stop the Your mother wants you
energy flow, to turnthe TV off and come
switch off 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?
volume or This is my favourite song.
strength
(heat, light
etc)
turn up appear Our cat turned up after we
suddenly put posters up all over the
neighbourhood.
trysomethingon sample I'm going to try these
clothing 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/ increase the You can warm your feet up in
somethingup temperature front of the fireplace.
warm up prepare body I always warm up by doing
for exercise sit-ups before I go for a run.
wear off fade away Most of my make-up wore
offbefore I got to the party.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence
work out exercise I work out at the gym three
times a week.
work out be successful Our plan worked out fine.
worksomethingout