Phrasal

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence

Verbs 
“He couldn’t account for his repeated
Account for To give a reason or explanation for
unpunctuality.”
To behave according to a specific rule, principle, or “The employees are expected to adhere to
Adhere to 
belief the company’s dress code.”
“She alluded to the problem during her
Allude to To mention something in an indirect manner 
speech.”
To convince someone to do/not do something by “The committee argued out on hiring new
Argue out
giving them reasons  members.” 
“You can bank on your friends in times of
Bank on To rely on somebody/something.
trouble.”
1. “The plane blew up in mid-air.”
1. To explode; to be destroyed by an explosion.
Blow up
2. “I got annoyed by his behavior, so I blew
2. To get angry at somebody.
up.”
Bone up on To try to learn about something  “She had to bone up on her Spanish.”
1. “Our car broke down so we had to take
1. To stop working because of a fault.
the bus.”
Break down
2. To fail. 
2. “Their marriage had broken down.” 
“We want to bring about the changes in a
Bring about To make something happen 
peaceful manner.” 
“The current pandemic has brought down
Bring down To cause someone to lose power or be defeated 
the world’s economy.” 
“The senate is planning to bring in a new
Bring in To include; to introduce 
resolution.”
Bring up To care for a child, teaching him/her how to behave “My mother brought up five children.” 
Brush up To quickly improve a skill, especially when you “She quickly brushed up on her French
on have not used it for a time before leaving to Paris.”  
Buckle “We need to buckle down for a new
To start working hard 
down project.” 
“I bumped into my former teacher at the
Bump into To meet somebody by chance 
church last Sunday.” 
“She bundled her children off to the
Bundle off To send someone to a place quickly 
playground.”
“They had to call off the match because of
Call off To cancel 
the rain.” 
“The police had to calm down the family of
Calm down To make someone less agitated 
the victim.” 
“You will end up dead if you carry on
Carry on To continue doing something
smoking like that.”    
To do something, one has said they will do or have “He was prepared to carry out his plan to
Carry out
been asked to do look for another job.”
Catch up 1. To reach somebody who is ahead by going faster 1. “You run and I will catch up with you in a
while.”  
 Phrasal
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence
Verbs 
2. To talk to someone whom one has not seen for
2. “It’s always nice to catch up with old
some time and find out what they have been doing
friends.” 
“Everyone in the building chipped in five
Chip in To provide a part of a whole amount 
bucks for the janitor’s birthday.”
“She has the habit of clamming up when
Clam up To become silent and refuse to talk 
asked about her problems.” 
“The cops asked the witnesses how the
Come about To take place; to happen
accident came about.” 
1. “The new manager came across as rude.”
1. To make a particular impression
Come
across 2. “She had her speech for two hours but her
2. To be understood 
message didn’t come across.” 
1. “Her new book came out last month.”
1. To be produced or published
Come out
2. “After a decade, the truth finally came out
2. To be known 
and justice prevailed.” 
Come up To produce something, especially when pressured or “They came up with an idea to prevent the
with challenged company from losing profit. 
“You don’t need to lean on others to finish
Count on To rely on something or someone
this project.”  
“You need to cut down on carbs if you want
Cut down To reduce the size, amount, or quantity of something
to lose weight.”
To begin to be understood or realized for the first “It suddenly dawned on her that she was
Dawn on
time deceived.”
To become suddenly and enthusiastically involved “She quickly dove into the discussion and
Dive into
in or occupied with something shared every detail of her trip.” 
Do away “The city has decided to do away with the
To remove or put an end to something 
with use of plastics.” 
“My family and I are eating out this
Eat out To have a meal at a restaurant 
weekend at a local diner.” 
“He and his college friends are planning to
Embark on To start doing something new 
embark on a new business venture.”  
End up To reach or to come to a place or condition  “She didn’t want to end up like parents.” 
“The teams will face off in the much-awaited
Face off To argue, fight or compete with somebody
match of the season.”    
1. To be in a very bad condition 1. “My car is starting to fall apart.”
Fall apart
2. To lose one’s ability to cope 2. “I fell apart when my dog died.”
“She had fallen out with her family a long
Fall out To have an argument with somebody 
time ago.” 
“The participants have finally figured out
Figure out To discover or determine a solution to something
the way out of the maze.”
To do somebody’s job for a short time while they “I can fill in for you while you are on
Fill in
are not there vacation.” 
Find out To discover a fact or a piece of information  “I want to find out who won the
 Phrasal
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence
Verbs 
competition.”  
Follow “The project started on a good note, but
To finish something one has started 
through failed to follow through.” 
Frown “Divorce is legal and yet, it is still frowned
To think that something is bad 
upon upon.” 
Get across To be communicated clearly  “Your message didn’t really get across.” 
“The players of the other team don’t get
Get along To have a friendly or harmonious relationship 
along with each other.” 
 To persuade someone to do something that they
Get around  “He knows how to get around his siblings.”
initially do not want to
Get at To imply something   “I can see now where you’re getting at.” 
Get away “He thinks he could always get away with
To escape with something
with turning in his tasks late.”   
Get back To get something again after losing it  “They got their old house back.”
Get it “Let’s get together for some pizza
To gather or assemble socially or corporately
together tomorrow.” 
“Stop playing around and get on with your
Get on with To perform or make progress in a specified way
work.” 
To cease making an effort; to resign oneself to
Give up “He was trained not to give up so easily.” 
failure 
“The organizers handed out the prizes to the
Hand out To distribute 
winners.”  
1. “The outgoing president handed over the
1. To pass responsibility to someone else
power to the new government.”
Hand over 
2. To give something/somebody officially or
2. “The tourists were ordered to hand over
formally to another person
their passports to the officer.”     
“We usually hang out at our favorite
Hang out To spend time relaxing or socializing informally 
restaurant every Friday.” 
“She knew the truth but held back because
Hold back  To hesitate to talk or speak 
of fear.”
To move or progress at the same rate as someone or “The employees can’t keep up with all the
Keep up
something else adjustments happening.” 
Knuckle “She was able to knuckle down to her
To apply oneself seriously to a task 
down lessons enough to pass her examinations.” 
“Let’s leave out the last two sentences of the
Leave out To not include somebody or something in something
speech.” 
To fail to support or help somebody as they had “The students felt that they have let their
Let down
hoped or expected teacher down.”
Look back To think about something in the past “I like looking back at the good old days.” 
Look To feel happy and excited about something that is “The children in the village always look
forward to going to happen forward to Halloween.” 
“The police looked into his personal
Look into To investigate something 
belongings.” 
“Look out for spelling mistakes on your
Look out To be vigilant and take notice 
writing.”
 Phrasal
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence
Verbs 
Look up To improve or become better  “Finally, things are beginning to look up.” 
To understand a person or thing’s meaning or “I don’t know what to make of this
Make of
character painting.”  
“She made up an excuse of her being caught
Make up To invent a story or plan 
up in heavy traffic.”   
To plan or arrange something in a careful or detailed “The committee mapped out their ideas on
Map out
way the new project.” 
To come into the presence of someone, especially by “The former colleagues agreed to meet up at
Meet up
arrangement the nearest café.”  
To think carefully about something for a period of “I mulled over the offer for some time and
Mull over
time then turned it down.“
Narrow “The hiring committee has narrowed down
To reduce the number of possibilities or options
down their choices to three candidates.” 
“She’s happy with the way things have
Pan out To end up or conclude 
panned out.” 
“Let’s pick out the bad tomatoes in the
Pick out To distinguish someone or something from a group
basket.”
“The company’s sales have picked up in the
Pick up To get better or stronger; to improve 
last three months.” 
Put To recommend somebody as a suitable candidate for “The new student has been put forward as
forward a job or position the club’s secretary.”   
“The concert has been put off because of the
Put off To postpone something 
pandemic.”
To do or use something especially because no other “She had to resort to asking her parents for
Resort to 
choices are possible money.”   
“The possibility of a mistaken identity has
Rule out To exclude
been ruled out.” 
“The president’s proposal will run up
Run up
To experience or meet difficulty or problem  against the country’s current economic
against
situation.” 
To make a deliberate display of one’s abilities or
Show off “He is showing off his new car.”
accomplishments
To arrange things systematically in groups or “Sort out the things you want to keep and
Sort out
according to type throw the rest.”
To talk in an insultingly condescending manner “I hate how my boss speaks down to me
Speak down
to/about somebody whenever I ask him a question.”   
“The residents are too scared to speak up
Speak up To express one’s opinions frankly and openly
about the problem.” 
“Government officials should find a way to
Stamp out To put an end to something; to eliminate 
stamp out poverty.”
Stumble “He stumbled upon a nice little hut on his
To find or learn about something unexpectedly 
upon way home.” 
“My sister always tags along when I go to
Tag along To go somewhere with a person or group
the mall.” 
“You should take after your brother who is a
Take after To resemble or act like a relative
hardworking student.” 
 Phrasal
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentence
Verbs 
“I was able to talk him out of going to the
Talk out of To stop someone from doing something 
trip alone.” 
To make somebody feel extremely unhappy or “It tears me apart knowing I might have hurt
Tear apart
worried  his feelings.”
“The coach asked the player to think over
Think over To consider something carefully 
the offer carefully.”
“She gracefully turned down the invitation
Turn down To reject or refuse something that was offered 
to the ball.”
“Faulty wiring turned out to be the cause of
Turn out To prove to be
the fire.”  
To use all of something to the extent that there is
Use up “I’ve used up all my money for this trip.” 
nothing left
“My father tells stories that are verge on the
Verge on To come near to being something
absurd.” 
To irresponsibly withdraw from a situation in which “He chose to walk away and leave his family
Walk away
one is involved or responsible for instead of dealing with the problem.” 
“Half of the members of the committee
Walk out To leave suddenly or angrily 
walked out of the meeting.”
Wear off To lose effectiveness or intensity   “The pain is slowly wearing off.”  
To destroy or remove somebody/something “The coach instructed his players to wipe
Wipe out
completely out the opposing team.”
“I’m happy that the decisions I have made
Work out To develop in a successful way
worked out for the better.”
“He was so exhausted that for a moment, he
Zone out To fall asleep or lose concentration or consciousness
zoned out.”