200 phrasal verbs 

with meanings
Phrasal
Meaning Example
Verb

To take action because of The police were ACTING ON a tip

Act on something like information from an informer and caught the
received. gang red-handed.

Perform something with actions They ACTED OUT the story on

Act out
and gestures.. stage.

My computer’s ACTING UP; I think I

Act up Behave badly or strangely.
might have a virus.

You have to ADD the VAT ON to the

Add on Include in a calculation.
price they give.

We ADDED UP the bill to check it

Add up To make a mathematical total.
was correct.

Affect- usually used in the

negative to show that something
Agree I feel terrible- that food didn’t
has had a negative effect,
with AGREE WITH my stomach.
especially is it makes you feel
bad.

The magazine is AIMED AT

Aim at To target.
teenagers.

Include something in a plan or You should ALLOW FOR delays

Allow for
calculation. when planning a journey.

The rules don’t ALLOW OF any

Allow of Make possible, permit.
exceptions.

He’s been ANGLING FOR an

Try to get something indirectly,
Angle for invitation, but I don’t want him to
by hinting or suggesting.
come.

Her mother was shocked when she

Answer To reply rudely to someone in
started ANSWERING her BACK and
back authority.
refusing to help.

Argue Beat someone in a debate, The teacher tried to ARGUE the girl
down discussion or argument. DOWN, but she couldn’t.

Persuade someone to drop the

Argue She ARGUED him DOWN ten
price of something they’re
down percent.
selling.
 If we can’t ARGUE our differences
Argue Argue about a problem to find a
OUT, we’ll have to take them to
out solution.
court.

Ask how someone is doing,

Ask
especially professionally and in He ASKED ABOUT my father.
about
terms of health.

Jenny rang earlier and ASKED

Enquire about someone’s health,
Ask after AFTER you, so I told her you were
how life is going.
fine.

Ask Ask a number of people for I have no idea, but I’ll ASK AROUND
around information of help. at work and see if anyone can help.

To invite somebody into your

Ask in Jon’s at the door.’ ‘ASK him IN.’
house.

He wanted to ASK her OUT but was

Ask out To invite someone for a date.
too shy.

They have ASKED us OVER for

Ask over Invite.
drinks on Friday.

Ask
Invite someone. We ASKED John ROUND for diner.
round

They AUCTIONED OFF their

Auction
Sell something in an auction. property as they were heavily in
off
debt.

Back The crowd BACKED AWAY when

Retreat or go backwards.
away the man pulled a knife.

Back Retract or withdraw your position She refused to BACK DOWN and
down or proposal in an argument. was fired.

Back Enter a parking area in reverse He prefers to BACK his car INTO the
into gear. garage.

The police told the protesters to

Back off Retreat.
BACK OFF.

He BACKED OUT two days before

Fail to keep an arrangement or
Back out the holiday so we gave the ticket to
promise.
his sister

Back out Fail to keep an agreement, She BACKED OUT OF the

of arrangement. agreement at the last minute.

Back up Make a copy of computer data. You should always BACK UP

 important files and documents so
that you won’t lose all your work if
something goes wrong with the
hardware.

Don’t bag out BAG OUT Australian

Bag out Criticise.
English.

Confuse or make things The new project has BALLED me

Ball up
complicated. UP- I have no idea what to do.

Persuade someone to drop the

Bargain I BARGAINED her DOWN to half
price of something they’re
down what she originally wanted.
selling.

Bash If you BASH your monitor ABOUT

Mistreat physically.
about like that, it won’t last long.

Break, damage or injure by The burglars BASHED the door IN to

Bash in
hitting. enter the house.

Write something quickly without I BASHED the essay OUT the night
Bash out
much preparation. before I had to hand it in.

The police ARE AFTER him

Be after Try to find or get.
because of the theft.

The next bus should BE ALONG in

Be along Arrive.
the next quarter of an hour or so.

She’s AWAY on business for three

Be away Be elsewhere; on holiday, etc..
weeks.

Be cut Be suitable, have the necessary She’s not CUT OUT FOR this kind of
out for qualities. work.

She was very CUT UP about coming

Be cut
Be upset. second as she thought she deserved
up
to win.

He’s BEEN DOWN since his partner

Be down Be depressed.
left him.

Be fed Be bored, upset or sick of

I AM FED UP of his complaints.
up something.

Be taken I WAS very TAKEN WITH the

Like something.
with performance- it was superb.

Be up Be out of bed. She’s not UP yet.

Bear She spotted him on the other side of
Move towards.
down on the room and BORE DOWN ON him.

The judge’s character may well

Bear on Influence, affect.
BEAR ON the final decision.

Confirm that something is Statistics BEAR OUT the

Bear out
correct. government’s positions on the issue.

How are you BEARING UP under

Bear up Resist pressure.
the strain?

Bear up Cope with something difficult or He’s BEARING UP UNDER the

under stressful. pressure.

Bear Please BEAR WITH me a moment

Be patient.
with while I finish this email.

The sun WAS really BEATING

Beat
Strong sunshine. DOWN and we couldn’t stay
down
outdoors.

The marathon runner barely BEAT

Beat out Narrowly win in competition.
OUT his rival at the tape.

The mugger BEAT him UP and stole

Beat up Attack violently.
his wallet.

Belong Be in the correct or appropriate Does this disc BELONG WITH those
with location with other items. on the shelf?

Bend I BENT DOWN to pick it up off the

Lower the top half of your body.
down floor.

Big up Exaggerate the importance. He BIGS himself UP all the time.

Bitch up Spoil or ruin something. I BITCHED UP the interview.

Black He BLACKED OUT and collapsed

Fall unconscious.
out on the floor.

Leave the ground- spaceship or The space shuttle BLASTED OFF on

Blast off
rocket. schedule yesterday.

I couldn’t drive here this morning

Park a car and obstruct another
Block in because someone had BLOCKED
car.
me IN.

Block off Obstruct an exit to prevent The police BLOCKED OFF the road
 people from leaving. after the murder.

Blow
Impress greatly. Her first novel BLEW me AWAY.
away

Blow When the wind forces something A tree was BLOWN DOWN in the
down to fall. storm.

Arrive, sometimes suddenly or He BLEW IN from Toronto early this

Blow in
unexpectedly. morning.

We were going to meet last night,

Blow off Not keep an appointment. but she BLEW me OFF at the last
minute.

The bomb BLEW UP without any

Blow up Explode.
warning.

Feel a negative emotion The anger BOILED UP in me when I

Boil up
strongly. saw what they had done.

Bone up I need to BONE UP ON my French

Study hard for a goal or reason.
on grammar for the test.

WE took a taxi from the airport to the

Book in Check in at a hotel.
hotel and BOOKED IN.

I CALLED him UP as soon as I got

Call up Telephone.
to a phone to tell him the news.

Calm Stop being angry or emotionally When I lose my temper, it takes

down excited. ages for me to CALM DOWN again.

Have an opposite effect on

The airport taxes CANCELLED OUT
Cancel something that has happened,
the savings we had made on the
out taking things back to the
flight tickets.
beginning.

Finish or complete, often with She CAPPED OFF the meeting with
Cap off
some decisive action. a radical proposal.

I don’t CARE FOR fizzy drinks; I

Care for Like.
prefer water.

The team got CARRIED AWAY

Carried Get so emotional that you lose when they won the championship
away control. and started shouting and throwing
things around.

Carry Make something progress. They hope the new management will
forward be able to CARRY the project
 FORWARD.

She CARRIED OFF the first prize in

Carry off Win, succeed.
the competition.

CARRY ON quietly with your work

Carry on Continue.
until the substitute teacher arrives.

Jane spent a long time looking at

Decide houses before she bought one, but
Choose, select.
upon eventually DECIDED UPON one
near her office.

Die Become quieter or inaudible (of The last notes DIED AWAY and the
away a sound). audience burst into applause.

When the parts of a plant above

Die back ground die, but the roots remain The plant DIES BACK in the winter.
alive.

It was on the front pages of all the

Die
Decrease or become quieter. papers for a few days, but the
down
interest gradually DIED DOWN.

I’m DYING FOR the weekend- this

Die for Want something a lot.
week’s been so hard.

Most of the elm trees in the UK DIED

Die off Become extinct. OFF when Dutch elm disease
arrived.

Some scientists say that the

dinosaurs DIED OUT when a comet
Die out Become extinct or disappear.
hit the earth and caused a nuclear
winter.

We were starving so we really DUG

Dig in Start eating greedily.
IN when the food finally did arrive.

She DUG INTO her handbag and

Dig into Reach inside to get something.
pulled out a bunch of keys.

Praise someone in an excessive She FAWNED OVER the inspectors

Fawn
way to get their favour or in the hope that they would give her
over
something from them. a good grade.

Eat a food as part of an animals The gecko FEEDS OFF mosquitoes

Feed off
diet. and other insects.

Feed on Give someone a particular food. He FEEDS his cat ON dry food.
 Give someone a lot of food to
She’s been ill for a fortnight so we’re
Feed up restore their health, make them
FEEDING her UP.
bigger, etc.

Someone FELT me UP in the club

Feel up Touch sexually, grope.
as I was trying to get to the bar.

Feel up Feel capable of doing I’m so tired. I don’t think I FEEL UP

to something. TO going out tonight.

Get Nowadays, you need IT skills if you

Progress.
ahead want to GET AHEAD.

Get I work at home in the evening to

Move in front of.
ahead of GET AHEAD OF schedule.

Get It’s late; we must be GETTING

Leave.
along ALONG.

Stop doing something that has I GAVE UP taking sugar in tea and
Give up
been a habit. coffee to lose weight.

Hit on Have an idea. I suddenly HIT ON the solution

Stop someone from attacking or Chelsea couldn’t HOLD their

Hold off
beating you. opponents OFF and lost the game.

Could you HOLD ON for a minute;

Hold on Wait.
she’ll be free in a moment.

Hook up Meet someone. We HOOKED UP at the conference.

It took me ages to HUNT OUT the

Hunt out Search until you find something.
photos.

They have JACKED UP the price of

Jack up Increase sharply.
oil this month.

Apply or operate something Jack JAMMED ON the brakes when

Jam on
forcefully. the rabbit ran in front of his car.

Talk just for the point of talking That shows that your interest is not
Jaw
rather than having anything to in helping the student, but in
away
say. JAWING AWAY.

The show was getting stale so they

Make something more
Jazz up JAZZED it UP with some new
interesting or attractive.
scenes.

Keep Keep something near you. I KEEP a dictionary AROUND when

around I’m doing my homework.

She found the course hard but she

Keep at Continue with something difficult. KEPT AT it and completed it
successfully.

Keep Don’t allow someone near Medicines should always be KEPT

away something. AWAY from children.

Keep The police told the crowd to KEEP

Maintain a safe distance.
back BACK from the fire.

Plan things to fit or suit people or Promotions are KEYED TO people’s

Key to
situations. abilities.

Make someone excited or

Key up The noise got us KEYED UP.
nervous.

Kick We KICKED the idea ABOUT at the

Discuss.
about meeting.

Her hayfever didn’t feel half as bad

When a drug starts to take
Kick in once the antihistamines had
effect.
KICKED IN.

The family KICKED the au pair OUT

when they found out that she was
Kick out Expel.
planning to move to work for another
household.

Knock We KNOCKED OFF early on Friday

Finish work for the day.
off to avoid the rush hour queues.

Lash Secure something with ropes or We LASHED the tarpaulin DOWN to

down cords. stop the wind blowing it away.

He LASHED INTO them for messing

Lash into Criticise someone strongly.
thins up.

He LASHED OUT and broke the

Lash out Suddenly become violent.
man’s nose.

They LAID ON a buffet lunch at the

Lay on Organise, supply.
conference.

They LAID OUT thousands of

Lay out Spend money.
pounds on their wedding reception.

Let in Allow someone to enter. The doorstaff didn’t LET him IN the
nightclub because he was wearing
 jeans.

The judge LET him OFF with a fine

Let off Not punish. rather than a prison sentence since it
was his first offence.

We have LINED UP a lot of

Line up Arrange events for someone.
meetings for them.

Link up Connect, join. The train LINKS UP the cities.

Follow a belief system to guide

Live by He tries hard to LIVE BY the Bible.
your behaviour.

If I fail the test and everyone else

Live Stop being embarrassed about
passes, I’ll never be able to LIVE it
down something.
DOWN.

It’s hard to LIVE WITH the pain of a

Live with Accept something unpleasant.
serious illness.

Enter a restricted area on a I had forgotten my password and

Log in
computer system. couldn’t LOG IN.

Enter a restricted area of a I LOGGED INTO the staff intranet to

Log into
computer system. check my email.

When she’d finished working on the

Log off Exit a computer system. spreadsheet, she LOGGED OFF
and left the office.

He entered his password for the

Log on Enter a computer system.
college intranet and LOGGED ON.

Danny closed the programs and

Log out Exit a computer system. LOGGED OUT when it was time to
go home.

Consult a reference work

I didn’t know the correct spelling so I
Look up (dictionary, phonebook, etc.) for
had to LOOK it UP in the dictionary.
a specific piece of information..

He MAGICKED the bill AWAY and

Magic Make something disappear
paid for us all before I could get my
away quickly.
wallet out.

Make The police MADE AFTER the stolen

Chase.
after car.

Make Steal. The thieves MADE AWAY WITH the

away
with painting.

I thought you weren’t coming, so I

Make it Arrive or get a result.
was really pleased you MADE IT.

Make it Try to compensate for doing He tried to MAKE IT UP TO her, but

up to something wrong. she wouldn’t speak to him.

What do you MAKE OF your new

Make of Understand or have an opinion.
boss?

They MADE OFF when they heard

Make off Leave somewhere in a hurry.
the police siren.

Mix sources of audio, video or She MASHED UP the songs into a

Mash up
other computer sources.. single track.

Melt Heat something solid, especially They MELTED the gold statue
down metal, until it becomes liquid. DOWN and turned it into gold bars.

The children were MESSING

Mess Not be serious, not use
ABOUT with the TV remote control
about something properly.
and broke it.

I always MIX those two sisters UP

Mix up Confuse. because they look so like each
other.

Move They MOVED INTO the house as

Start living in a place.
into soon as it was ready.

Could you MOVE UP and let me sit

Move up Move to make space.
down?

Nail They are having trouble NAILING

Succeed in getting, achieve.
down DOWN the contract.

Name Give someone a name to I was NAMED AFTER my uncle who

after remember another person. died in the war.

I am not sure which university to

Narrow Remove less important options
apply to, but I have NARROWED my
down to make it easier to choose.
list DOWN to three.

I’m going to NERD OUT and not go

Nerd out Play safe and avoid taking a risk.
on the river trip.

I OPTED FOR an endowment

Opt for Choose.
mortgage and lost a lot of money.
 Choose to be part or a member If you want them to notify you of
Opt in
of something. updates, you have to OPT IN.

Choose to be a member or part

Opt into I OPTED INTO the scheme.
of something.

The UK OPTED OUT of a lot of EU

Choose not to be part of
Opt out legislation on working hours and
something.
conditions.

Pack in Stop doing something. I’m trying to PACK IN smoking.

His boss PACKED him OFF to a

Pack off Send someone away.
regional office.

Pack out Fill a venue. The stadium was PACKED OUT.

Pack up Stop doing something. You should PACK UP smoking.

Pad I’m too tired to come home; can I

Sleep somewhere for the night.
down PAD DOWN here tonight?

Make a text longer by including I couldn’t think of much to write, so I

Pad out extra content, often content that PADDED the essay OUT with a few
isn’t particularly relevant. lengthy quotes.

Pal Be friendly and spend time with

We PALLED AROUND at university.
around someone.

We PALLED UP when I started

Pal up Become friends.
working with her.

Sadly, Georgia’s uncle PASSED

Pass
Die. AWAY yesterday after a short
away
illness.

Pass I felt awful when the teacher started

Return.
back to PASS BACK the exam papers.

I was just PASSING BY when I saw

Pass by Go past without stopping.
the accident.

I tried to PATCH things UP after the

Patch up Fix or make things better. argument, but they wouldn’t speak to
me.

Pay I PAID BACK the twenty pounds I’d

Repay money borrowed.
back borrowed.

Pay off Produce a profitable or Their patience PAID OFF when he

 finally showed up and signed the
successful result.
contract.

Peel Leave a group by moving in a Some of the crowd PEELED AWAY

away different direction. to get out of the crush.

I PEGGED the washing OUT after it

Peg out Put washing outside to dry.
stopped raining.

They are PHASING IN the reforms

Phase in Introduce gradually.
over the next two years.

They have introduced a compact

Phase edition of the newspaper and are
Remove gradually.
out PHASING OUT the broadsheet
edition over the next few months.

I wasn’t very hungry so I just

Pick at Eat unwillingly.
PICKED AT my food.

While you’re in town, can you PICK

Pick up Collect. UP my trousers from the Dry
Cleaner?

The food was great, so I really

Pig out Eat a lot.
PIGGED OUT.

Work just keeps on PILING UP and I

Pile up Accumulate.
really can’t manage to get it all done.

Pin Discover exact details about The government can’t PIN DOWN
down something. where the leak came from.

The police tried to PIN the crime ON

Pin on Attach the blame to someone.
him.

Fix something to a wall, or other I PINNED the notice UP on the

Pin up
vertical surface, with a pin. board

He’s been PINING AWAY since his

Pine Suffer physically because of
wife died and is a shadow of his
away grief, stress, worry, etc.
former self.

Pipe Be quiet (often as an The lecturer asked the students to

down imperative). PIPE DOWN and pay attention.

At first, no one answered, then finally

Pipe up To speak, raise your voice.
someone PIPED UP.

Play Pretend to agree or accept I disagreed with the idea but I had to
along something in order to keep PLAY ALONG because everyone
 someone happy or to get more
else liked it.
information.

Play The children were PLAYING

Be silly.
around AROUND and being annoying.

The children PLAYED UP all

Play up Behave badly. evening and drove the babysitter
mad.

Connect machines to the He PLUGGED the TV IN and turned

Plug in
electricity supply. it on full blast.

Plump Put something in a place without He PLUMPED his bag DOWN and
down taking care. kicked his shoes off.

Plump
Choose. I PLUMPED FOR the steak frites.
for

He POINTED OUT that I only had

Make someone aware of
Point out two weeks to get the whole thing
something.
finished.

Move things around or search in

Poke I POKED ABOUT in my CD
a casual way to try to find
about collection to see if I could find it.
something.

Move things around or search in

Poke I POKED AROUND in my desk to
a casual way to try to find
around see if the letter was there.
something.

Polish She POLISHES OFF half a bottle of

Finish, consume.
off gin every night.

Polish I need to POLISH UP my French

Improve something quickly.
up before I go to Paris.

He POPPED IN for a coffee on his

Pop in Visit for a short time.
way home.

He’s always POPPING OFF when

Pop off Talk loudly, complain.
things don’t suit him.

Turn a computer or electronic

Power I POWERED UP my laptop and
device on so that it is ready to
up started work.
use.

In rural areas where they have a

monopoly, some garages PRICE UP
Price up Charge more for something.
fuel because there’s nowhere else to
buy it.
 Pull The lorry was going slowly but we
Overtake, move in front.
ahead managed to PULL AHEAD.

The traffic was so bad that it took me

Pull out Move into traffic.
ages to PULL OUT.

Common phrasal verbs (with meanings and examples)

back [x] up

support or defend someone

When the class was making fun of me, only the teacher backed me up. 

break down

stop working, especially when referring to machines

The ice cream machine at McDonalds is always breaking down. 

call around

contact multiple people

Roy called around to find a nearby mechanic.

calm down

relax after an energetic or irritated state

I need a few minutes to calm down after that match.

call [x] off

cancel

We called the party off. / We called off the party.

check [x] out

verify a person or thing (can sometimes be flirtatious when used in reference to a
person)

I’ll check the contract out. / I’ll check out the contract. 

clean up

be extremely successful in an endeavor, such as business, sports, or gambling

Our hockey team cleaned up at the tournament and went home undefeated. 

stop questionable behavior, such as consuming drugs or alcohol

Her boss said she had to either clean up or find a new job. 

clean [x] up

clean a general area

John cleaned the living room up. / John cleaned up the living room. 

cheer [x] up

make someone happy, especially if they were previously sad

Reading always cheers me up on a rainy day. 

come around 

change an opinion or see a new point of view

I never liked seafood, but came around after trying fried calamari. 

come between 

disturb a relationship

After more than fifty years of marriage, nothing could come between them. 

come down on 

attack or punish harshly

Ever since last month’s accident, police have been coming down on drunk driving. 

come down with 

become sick

After sitting in the rain for hours, Chandra came down with a nasty cold. 

come out of

happen as a consequence of another event

We missed a day of school, so at least some good came out of our boring class trip. 

come up

become the topic of discussion or receive attention

Everyone talked about how much they enjoyed the movie, but the run time never
came up in the conversation.

approach or come near

While walking outside the fence, a cow came up right next to me and licked my face. 

happen or occur, as with an event or situation

Don’t worry about a problem until after it comes up. 

come up with  

think of an idea, especially as the first person to do so, or to produce a solution

Sahar comes up with her best story ideas at night, so she writes them down before
she forgets them. 

count on 

rely or depend on 

If I’m ever making a mistake, I can count on my friends to warn me. 

dive into

occupy oneself with something; to pore over quickly or reach into quickly

I’ll dive into that new TV show later tonight.

dress up

wear nice clothes or put forth in the best light

Abed dressed up for the award ceremony.

end up

eventually reach some conclusion or destination

After thinking for a day, he ended up taking the job.

fall apart

break into pieces

My new dress completely fell apart after just two washes. 

suffer from mental or emotional distress 

He endured all kinds of harassment at work without flinching, but completely fell
apart when his cat got sick. 

fill [x] up

fill something completely

Bruce filled his wine glass up to the brim. / Bruce filled up his wine glass to the brim.

find out

discover or learn

We’ll have to wait until the next TV episode to find out who the killer is.

get [x] across

communicate or explain something clearly

The professor spoke for hours, but didn’t get anything across to the students.

get ahead 

succeed or progress

You’ll never get ahead at this company unless you follow the rules.  

get around 

travel from place to place

It’s impossible to get around this city without a car. 

get around to [x]

do something eventually

I’ll get around to fixing the table after the playoffs. 

get away with

escape punishment or some other unpleasantness

Shirley thought she got away with cheating until the teacher asked her to stay after
class.

get along with

be friendly with 

My dog gets along with everyone as long as they’re not a cat. 

get at

reach 

There’s an itch on my back that I can’t get at. 

attempt to prove or explain

What these graphs are getting at is that we’ll be bankrupt by next week. 

get away

escape or depart from 

Lucio liked to go to the lake every weekend, just to get away from the city. 

get away with

escape punishment for a crime or misdeed

The boss’s nephew gets away with much more than any of the other employees. 

get [x] back

have something returned

Rodger got his pencil back from Greta. / Rodger got back his pencil from Greta. 

get back at

have revenge on someone

Laila promised herself that she would get back at whomever started the rumor. 

get by

survive or manage at the bare minimum

When Sheila lost her job, the family had to get by with only their savings. 

get down

enjoy oneself without inhibitions, especially with music or dancing

Vicente may be overly formal at work, but he sure knows how to get down to hip-
hop. 

get [x] down

depress or discourage someone

Kima always gets everyone down with her stories from the hospital.

record or write something down

The President spoke quickly at the press conference, and reporters were struggling
to get all of his comments down. 

get down to 

begin or start

Once everyone arrives, we’ll get down to picking teams. 

get in on 

join an activity

After Bitcoin started going up, everyone wanted to get in on cryptocurrency. 

get into

discuss something thoroughly

I don’t want to get into our finances now; we’ll talk after our guests leave.

get [x] out of 

receive a benefit from something

Babysitting the Cohles was a nightmare, but at least Janelle got some money out of
it. 

get over

recover or overcome

Drinking a lot of water helps in getting over an illness. 

get through

complete or endure an unpleasant task

Alessandra can’t get through a morning without coffee.

get to 

annoy or bother someone

People who don’t clean up after their dogs really get to me.

get together

have a social event

The volleyball team is getting together for dinner after practice.  

give [x] away

donate something or give something for free

Mindy gave her prized doll collection away. / Mindy gave away her prized doll
collection.

give up

accept defeat, quit, or surrender

Carin felt like giving up every time she saw the scoreboard.

give [x] up

stop consuming or doing something, often a habit

Minh gave chocolate up for his diet. / Minh gave up chocolate for his diet. 

go against 

contradict, oppose, or fight against

A group of students went against the school dress code yesterday and wore ripped
jeans.

go ahead
proceed or move forward

Because of the snow, we can’t go ahead with the festival. 

go along with

agree with or pretend to agree with

Even though Cedric hated weight lifting, he went along with it because his coach
suggested it. 

go for 

try or attempt to achieve something

Carlos trains so hard because he is going for an Olympic gold medal. 

go on 

continue doing something (see keep [x] up)

The boys will go on digging until they hit a water pipe. 

go over

review or look at again

Marie went over the study guide one last time before the test.

hand in

submit (especially an assignment)

The teacher wants us to hand in our essays through email. 

hold [x] back

prevent someone from doing something

I wanted to become an architect, but my bad grades held me back. 

keep [x] up
continue doing something (see go on)

Keep this pace up and you’ll set a new record! 

leave [x] out

omit or disregard

Orna left the graph out of the presentation. / Orna left out the graph from the
presentation.

let [x] down

disappoint 

Kamal let Marco down when he arrived late. / Kamal let down Marco when he arrived
late.

let go of 

release or free

Don’t let go of the rope until I’m safe. 

let [x] in

allow to enter

Close the door or you’ll let the flies in! 

let [x] know

tell someone something

Let me know as soon as Leslie texts back. 

look after

take care of someone or something

Thank you for looking after me when I was sick. 

look up to [x]

admire or idolize someone

I looked up to this YouTuber until I read about their scandal. 

mix up

confuse something with something else

It’s easy to mix up Chris Pine and Chris Pratt. 

pull [x] up

retrieve or bring something nearer

Eugene pulled the document up on his computer. / Eugene pulled up the document

on his computer.

put [x] on

wear or add something to your person or an object 

I always put my backpack on before leaving the house. / I always put on my

backpack before leaving the house. 

put up with

tolerate or condone

Somehow Paz could put up with Janice’s cynical attitude. 

run out of

use all of or drain the supply of something

Isabella ran out of toilet paper at the worst possible time.

see to

make sure something is done

I’ll see to watering the plants while you’re gone.

set [x] up

arrange or organize

Since no one invited me to join their study group, I set one up myself. 

show off

deliberately display abilities or accomplishments in order to impress people

Panya didn’t need to shoot so many three-pointers; she was just showing off. 

shut [x] off

turn off, especially a machine

Don’t forget to shut the water off after your shower. / Don’t forget to shut off the water
after your shower. 

take after

resemble, especially with parents and their children

Li takes after his father when it comes to politics. 

take [x] out

move something outside

Please take the garbage out before dinner. / Please take out the garbage before
dinner.

think [x] over

consider something

When his parents suggested selling his Pokemon cards, Yosef thought it over. 

throw [x] away

dispose of something

Could you throw that old burrito away? / Could you throw away that old burrito?

turn [x] down

reject or say “no”

My crush turned me down after I asked them out. 

top off

fill something to the top; to complete something in a special or spectacular way

May I top off your beverage?

wait on

serve, especially at a restaurant

Billie eagerly waited on the new table of customers, hoping for a big tip.