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

people the nobody has seen my
same wallet.
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

functioning the side of the highway
(vehicle, in the snowstorm.
machine)

break down get upset The woman broke

down when the police
told her that her son had
died.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

breaksomethingdown divide into Our teacher broke the

smaller final project down into
parts three separate parts.

break in force entry Somebody broke in last

to a night and stole our
building stereo.

break intosomething enter The firemen had

forcibly to break intothe room to
rescue the children.

breaksomething in wear I need to break these

something shoes inbefore we run
a few next week.
times so
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

relationshi upbefore I moved to
p America.

break up start The kids just broke

laughing up as soon as the clown
(informal) started talking.

break out escape The prisoners broke

out of jail when the
guards weren't looking.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

break out develop a I broke out in a rash

insomething skin after our camping trip.
condition

bringsomebodydown make This sad music

unhappy is bringing me down.

bringsomebodyup raise a My
child grandparents brought m
e upafter my parents
died.

bringsomethingup start My mother walks out of

talking the room when my
about a father brings upsports.
subject

bringsomethingup vomit He drank so much that

he brought his
dinner up in the toilet.

call around phone We called around but we

many weren't able to find the
different car part we needed.
places/peo
ple

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.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

call onsomebody ask for an The professor called

answer or on me for question 1.
opinion

call onsomebody visit We called on you last

somebody 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

being need to calm
angry down before you drive
the car.

not care not like I don't care for his

forsomebody/ (formal) behaviour.
something

catch up get to the You'll have to run faster

same point than that if you want
as to catch up with Marty.
somebody
else

check in arrive and We will get the hotel

register at keys when we check in.
a hotel or
airport

check out leave a You have to check out of

hotel the hotel before 11:00
AM.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

checksomebody/ look at The company checks

somethingout carefully, out all new employees.
investigate

check outsomebody/ look at Check out the crazy hair

something (informal) on that guy!

cheer up become She cheered up when

happier she heard the good
news.

cheersomebodyup make I brought you some

happier 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 find I came across these old

acrosssomething unexpecte photos when I was
dly tidying the closet.

come apart separate The top and

bottom come apartif you
pull hard enough.

come down become My nephew came down

withsomething sick withchicken pox this
weekend.

come forward volunteer The woman came

for a task forward with her
or to give husband's finger prints.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

evidence

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

through old address and write
your new one.

cut back onsomething consume My doctor wants me

less to cut back on sweets
and fatty foods.

cutsomethingdown make We had to cut the old

something tree in our
fall to the yard down after the
ground storm.

cut in interrupt Your father cut in while I

was dancing with your
uncle.

cut in pull in too The bus driver got angry

closely in when that car cut in.
front of
another
vehicle

cut in start The air conditioner cuts

operating in when the temperature
(of an gets to 22°C.
engine or
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

electrical
device)

cutsomethingoff remove The doctors cut off his

with leg because it was
something severely injured.
sharp

cutsomethingoff stop The phone company cut

providing off our phone because
we didn't pay the bill.

cutsomebodyoff take out of My grandparents cut my

a will father off when he
remarried.

cutsomethingout remove I cut this ad out of the

part of newspaper.
something
(usually
with
scissors
and paper)

dosomebody/ beat up, He's lucky to be alive.

somethingover ransack His shop was done
(BrE, over by a street gang.
informal)

dosomethingover do again My teacher wants me

(AmE) to do my
essay over because she
doesn't like my topic.

do away discard It's time to do away

withsomething with all of these old tax
records.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

dosomethingup fasten, Do your coat up before

close you go outside. It's
snowing!

dress up wear nice It's a fancy restaurant

clothing so we have to dress up.

drop back move back Andrea dropped back to

in a third place when she fell
position/gr off her bike.
oup

drop in/ by/ over come I might drop

without an in/by/over for tea
appointme sometime this week.
nt

dropsomebody/ take I have to drop my

somethingoff somebody/ sister off at work before
something I come over.
somewhere
and leave
them/it
there

drop out quit a I dropped out of Science

class, because it was too
school etc 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

reach/do/de movie instead of going
cide to the theatre.

fall apart break into My new dress fell

 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

pieces apart in the washing

machine.

fall down fall to the The picture that you

ground hung up last night fell
down this morning.

fall out separate The money must

from an have fallen outof my
interior pocket.

fall out (of hair, His hair started to fall

teeth) out when he was only
become 35.
loose and
unattached

figuresomethingout understand I need to figure out how

, find the to fit the piano and the
answer bookshelf in this room.

fillsomething in to write Please fill in the form

information with your name,
in blanks, address, and phone
as on a number.
form (BrE)

fillsomethingout to write The form must be filled

information out in capital letters.
in blanks,
as on a
form (AmE)

fillsomethingup fill to the I always fill the water

top jug upwhen it is empty.

find out discover We don't know where he

 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

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/ communic I tried to get my

over ate, make point across/over to the
understand judge but she wouldn't
able listen.

get along/on like each I was surprised how well

other my new girlfriend and
my sister got along/on.

get around have My grandfather can get

mobility aroundfine in his new
wheelchair.

get away go on a We worked so hard this

vacation year that we had to get
away for a week.

get away do without Jason always gets away

withsomething being withcheating in his
noticed or maths tests.
punished

get back return We got back from our

vacation last week.

getsomethingback receive Liz finally got her

something Science
you had notes back from my
before room-mate.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

get back atsomebody retaliate, My sister got back

take at me for stealing her
revenge shoes. She stole my
favourite hat.

get back become I finally got back

intosomething interested into my novel and
in finished it.
something
again

get onsomething step onto a We're going to freeze

vehicle out here if you don't let
us get on the bus.

get oversomething recover I just got over the flu

from an and now my sister has
illness, it.
loss,
difficulty

get oversomething overcome The company will have

a problem to close if it can't get
over the new
regulations.

get round finally find I don't know when I am

tosomething time to do going to get round
(AmE: get to writing the thank you
around cards.
tosomethin
g)

get together meet Let's get together for a

(usually for BBQ this weekend.
social
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

reasons)

get up get out of I got up early today to

bed study for my exam.

get up stand You should get up and

give the elderly man
your seat.

givesomebodyaway reveal His

hidden wife gave him away to
information the police.
about
somebody

givesomebodyaway take the My

bride to father gave me away at
the altar my wedding.

givesomethingaway ruin a My little sister gave the

secret surprise party away by
accident.

givesomethingaway give The library was giving

something away old books on
to Friday.
somebody
for free

givesomethingback return a I have to give these

borrowed skates backto Franz
item before his hockey game.

give in reluctantly My boyfriend didn't want

stop to go to the ballet, but
fighting or he finally gave in.
arguing
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

givesomethingout give to They were giving

many out free perfume
people samples at the
(usually at department store.
no 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 I went after my dream

achieve and now I am a
something published writer.

go againstsomebody compete, We are going against the

oppose best soccer team in the
city tonight.

go ahead start, Please go ahead and eat

proceed before the food gets
cold.

go back return to a I have to go back home

place and get my lunch.

go out leave home We're going out for

to go on a dinner tonight.
social
event

go out withsomebody date Jesse has been going

 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

out withLuke since they

met last winter.

go oversomething review Please go over your

answers before you
submit your test.

go over visit I haven't seen Tina for a

somebody long time. I think I'll go
nearby over for an hour or two.

go withoutsomething suffer lack When I was young,

or we went without winter
deprivation boots.

grow apart stop being My best friend and

friends I grew apartafter she
over time changed schools.

grow back regrow My roses grew back this

summer.

grow intosomething grow big This bike is too big for

enough to him now, but he
fit should grow into it by
next year.

grow out ofsomething get too big Elizabeth needs a new

for 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
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

used to cousin.
somebody
else

handsomething in submit I have to hand in my

essay by Friday.

handsomethingout to We will hand out the

distribute invitations at the door.
to a group
of people

handsomethingover give The police asked the

(usually man to hand over his
unwillingly) wallet and his weapons.

hang in stay Hang in there. I'm sure

positive you'll find a job very
(informal) soon.

hang on wait a Hang on while I grab my

short time coat and shoes!
(informal)

hang out spend time Instead of going to the

relaxing party we are just going
(informal) to hang out at my place.

hang up end a He didn't say goodbye

phone call before he hung up.

holdsomebody/ prevent I had to hold my

somethingback from dog backbecause there
doing/going was a cat in the park.

holdsomethingback hide an Jamie held back his

emotion tears at his
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

grandfather's funeral.

hold on wait a Please hold on while I

short time transfer you to the Sales
Department.

hold ontosomebody/ hold firmly Hold onto your hat

something using your because it's very windy
hands or outside.
arms

holdsomebody/ rob A man in a black

somethingup mask held the
bank up this morning.

keep on continue Keep on stirring until

doingsomething doing the liquid comes to a
boil.

keepsomethingfromso not tell We kept our

mebody relationship fromour
parents for two years.

keepsomebody/ stop from Try to keep the wet

somethingout entering dog out of the living
room.

keepsomethingup continue at If you keep those

the same results up you will get
rate into a great college.

letsomebodydown fail to I need you to be on time.

support or Don't let me down this
help, time.
disappoint

letsomebody in allow to Can you let the

 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

enter cat in before you go to

school?

log in (or on) sign in (to I can't log in to

a website, Facebook because I've
database forgotten my password.
etc)

log out (or off) sign out (of If you don't log
a website, off somebody could get
database into your account.
etc)

look aftersomebody/ take care I have to look after my

something of sick grandmother.

look down think less Ever since we stole that

onsomebody of, chocolate bar your dad
consider has looked down on me.
inferior

look forsomebody/ try to find I'm looking for a red

something dress for the wedding.

look forward be excited I'm looking forward

to something about the to 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

vigilant, going to hit you!
and take
notice
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

look out forsomebody/ be Don't forget to look out

something especially forsnakes on the hiking
vigilant for trail.

looksomethingover check, Can you look over my

examine essay for spelling
mistakes?

looksomethingup search and We can look her phone

find number up on the
information Internet.
in a
reference
book or
database

look up tosomebody have a lot My little sister has

of respect always looked up to me.
for

makesomethingup invent, lie Josie made up a story

about about why we were late.
something

make up forgive We were angry last

each other night, but we made
up at breakfast.

makesomebodyup apply My
cosmetics sisters made me up for
to my graduation party.

mixsomethingup confuse I mixed up the twins'

two or names again!
more
things
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

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 The

same thing professor passed the
to many textbooks out before
people class.

passsomethingup decline I passed up the job

(usually because I am afraid of
something change.
good)

paysomebodyback return Thanks for buying my

owed ticket.
money I'll pay you back on
Friday.

pay forsomething be That bully will pay

punished for being mean to my
for doing little brother.
something
bad

picksomethingout choose I picked out three

sweaters for you to try
on.

pointsomebody/ indicate I'll point my

somethingout with your boyfriend out when he
finger runs by.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

putsomethingdown put what You can put the

you are groceries downon the
holding on kitchen counter.
a surface
or floor

putsomebodydown insult, The students put the

make substitute
somebody teacher down because
feel stupid 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.

putsomethingon put Don't forget to put

clothing/ on your new earrings for
accessorie the party.
s on your
body

run intosomebody/ meet I ran into an old school-

something unexpecte friend at the mall.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

dly

run oversomebody/ drive a I accidentally ran

something vehicle over your bicycle in the
over a driveway.
person or
thing

run over/ rehearse, Let's run

throughsomething review over/through these lines
one more time before
the show.

run away leave The child ran away from

unexpecte home and has been
dly, escape missing for three days.

run out have none We ran out of shampoo

left so I had to wash my hair
with soap.

sendsomethingback return My letter got sent

(usually by back to me because I
mail) 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

prices little before I decide on
these boots.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

show off act extra He always shows off on

special for his skateboard
people
watching
(usually
boastfully)

sleep over stay You should sleep

somewhere over tonight if the
for the weather is too bad to
night drive home.
(informal)

sortsomethingout organize, We need to sort the

resolve a bills outbefore the first
problem of the 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.

energy Could you switch it off.
flow, turn
off

switchsomethingon start the We heard the news as

energy soon as we switched
flow, turn on the car radio.
on
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

take aftersomebody resemble a I take after my mother.

family We are both impatient.
member

takesomethingapart purposely He took the car

break into brakes apartand found
pieces the problem.

takesomethingback return an I have to take our new

item 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

something shoes and come in the
(usually lake!
clothing)

takesomethingout remove Can you take the

from a garbage out to the
place or street for me?
thing

takesomebodyout pay for My

somebody grandparents took us ou
to go t for dinner and a movie.
somewhere
with you

tearsomethingup rip into I tore up my ex-

pieces 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
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

sometimes studied 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 Please turn the

the volume TV down while the
or strength guests are here.
(heat, light
etc)

turnsomethingdown refuse I turned the

job down because I
don't want to move.

turnsomethingoff stop the Your mother wants you

energy to turnthe TV off and
flow, come for dinner.
switch off

turnsomethingon start the It's too dark in here.

energy, Let's turnsome
switch on lights on.

turnsomethingup increase Can you turn the

the volume music up? This is my
or strength favourite song.
(heat, light
etc)

turn up appear Our cat turned up after

 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

suddenly we 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 We have to wake

sleeping up early for work on
Monday.

warmsomebody/ increase You can warm your

somethingup the feet up in front of the
temperatur fireplace.
e

warm up prepare I always warm up by

body for doing sit-ups before I go
exercise for a run.

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 Our plan worked

successful out fine.
 phrasal verb meaning example sentence

worksomethingout make a We have to work out the

calculation total cost before we buy
the house.