Do

DO AWAY WITH put an end to something They will do away with tax on home heating fuel.

DO IN ¹ murder The mafia did him in.

DO IN ¹ injure This hot weather will do us in.

DO IN ¹ cheat or swindle The car buyer was done in by the fly-by-night

salesman.

DO OVER ¹ redo over repeat I had to do my homework over because I had too
many mistakes.

DO OVER ¹ redecorate We did our kitchen over to modernize it. (also:

made over)

DO UP ¹ make fancy She did up her hair in a pretty bow.

DO UP ¹ finish Do up the work before you leave.

DO WITH benefit from no We could do with less talk and more action.

(MAKE) DO WITH get by, survive with less In a bad economy, we make do with less (money,
food, etc.)

DO WITHOUT manage, survive I could not do without my cell phone.

Get

GET ABOUT move, be active Even though he's ninety, he gets about pretty
well.

GET AT hint, insinuate, imply I don't know what the lawyer was getting at, but I
didn't like it.

GET AT discover, find We wanted to get at the root of the problem.

GET AWAY escape from confinement The prisoner tried to get away, but the officer
caught him.

GET AWAY WITH do something without He tries to get away with cheating, but they keep
detection catching him.

GET BY manage, survive We got by even though we didn't have much

money.

GET DOWN¹ depress, discourage The cold, rainy weather got me down after a
couple of months.

GET DOWN enjoy, dance Let's have a little fun and get down tonight!

GET IN arrive When does your plane get in?

GET IN enter a private vehicle We got in the car and sat down. (get on - public
vehicle)
GET OFF exit a public vehicle We got off the bus at the last stop.

GET OFF¹ escape from punishment He was charged with public indecency, but the
lawyer got him off

GET OFF boldness, effrontery Where do you get off telling me I'm fat. Look at
yourself.

GET ON to work or perform in They got on well together.

harmony

GET ON to mount, to board (public He got on his bicycle and rode away. He got on
transportation) the bus.

GET IT ON¹ to have a romantic or sexual "Let's get it on." -- Marvin Gaye song
connection

GET ON¹ to wear He got on his shoes. See get passive

GET OVER recover It took him a week to get over his cold / his
divorce.

GET THROUGH to succeed in contacting I had trouble getting through to you because my
phone had bad reception.

GET UP wake up and get out of bed What time did you get up this morning?
Give

GIVE AWAY¹ give as a gift He was feeling so confident, he gave away all his
money.

GIVE AWAY¹ reveal a secret Be careful not to give secret away.

GIVE IN surrender, acknowledge At first he said, "no", but then he gave in.
defeat

GIVE OF devote or contribute To give of one's self is the greatest gift.

GIVE OFF to put forth, emit The light bulb gave off an amazing amount of
light.

GIVE OUT¹ emit, distribute They gave out fliers in front of the playhouse.

GIVE OUT to become exhausted, used After running four miles, his legs gave out.
up

GIVE OVER¹ transfer, release to He will give over the ownership of his property to
someone else his grandchildren.

GIVE UP to abandon, She never gave up hope that he would get well.

GIVE UP discontinue He gave up smoking.

GIVE (IT) UP¹ applaud; clap (slang) Let's give it up for Beyonce!
Go

GO ABOUT perform one's duties Every day, he goes about checking our work.

GO AFTER pursue If you really want it, go after it.

GO AGAINST to conflict with He never thought his son would go against him.

GO AHEAD proceed Go ahead. We'll catch up with you later.

GO ALONG agree to follow Bill went along with his friend's plan even though
Bill didn't think it was a good plan.

GO AROUND accompany They always go around with the same people.

GO AROUND be enough for everyone They brought enough food to go around.

GO AT attack They went at each other viciously.

GO BACK return He went back home after work.

GO BACK ON fail to keep to He went back on his word and started smoking
again.

GO BY to be disregarded, not taken He let his best chance go by.

advantage of
GO DOWN suffer defeat They went down fighting.

GO DOWN be remembered This will go down in history as an unforgettable

moment.

GO FOR try hard for Go for the gold! (Olympian expression)

GO IN WITH join He went in with them on an investment scheme.

GO OFF explode The gun went off and runners began the race.

GO OFF ring My phone always goes off when I'm in class.

GO ON continue When life is hard, you have to go on.

GO OUT extinguish If the lights go out, light some candles.

GO OUT WITH accompany or date Amelia goes out with her friends. She is going out
with a new guy.

GO OVER review After we go over the plans, we can discuss what

to do.

GO OVER to meet approval Did your proposal go over well?

GO THROUGH experience We had to go through hard times during the war.

GO THROUGH persevere to the end He decided to go through with the operation to
WITH repair his heart.

GO UNDER fail, ruin The bank went under due to bad business
practices.

GO UP be under construction A new building is going up in place of the old one.

GO UP be consumed by fire The old building went up in flames.

GO WITH look good or fashionable His striped shirt didn't go with his jacket.
with

Have

HAVE AT attack; to go at (alternate It's time to have at my homework.

expression)

HAVE ON¹ to wear What do you have on?

HAVE ON¹ to host a guest on TV Who does David Letterman have on tonight?

HAVE X OUT settle She and I had it out last night and came to an
agreement.

HAVE OVER¹ entertain We had our friends over for dinner.

HAVE X TO DO be associated with His lack of confidence had a lot to do with his not
WITH getting the job.

Let

LET DOWN¹ disappoint He let us down when he didn't do as he said he

would.

LET IN¹ to admit The door man let us in to the nightclub.

LET IN¹ share a secret I'll let you in on a little secret. I won the lottery.

LET OFF¹ release by exploding The fireworks let off a whistling sound.

LET OFF¹ to free from duty They let him off jury duty.

LET OFF¹ excuse with little The judge let the youth off with just a warning
punishment and a promise.

LET ON reveal Please don't let on that you already know his
secret.

LET OUT terminates, release from Elementary schools let out at the end of May.
confinement
LET OUT release from restraint The dog let out a loud yelp when its owner left.

LET OUT¹ enlarge I had to let my pants out after the holiday meals.

LET UP ON ease up ; treat less severely His mother let up on him after she realized he
was trying his hardest.

Look

LOOK AFTER take care of; foster They looked after him when his parents couldn't.

LOOK DOWN ON regard with scorn or Those people look down on everyone else as
contempt being inferior.

LOOK IN ON visit briefly The nurse looked in on each patient several

times a day.

LOOK INTO investigate The police are looking into the crime.

LOOK ON to be a spectator The fans looked on while their team battled to

win.

LOOK OUT to be on guard, to take care Look out or you might get hurt.

LOOK OUT FOR to be concerned We need to look out for our health.
LOOK OUT ONTO to have a view Our hotel room looked out onto the town's plaza.

LOOK OVER¹ review The mechanic looked the car over to see if there
were any problems.

LOOK UP¹ research, find in a reference Always look up the words that you don't know.
book

LOOK UP TO admire, regard highly She has always looked up to her older sister.

Make

MAKE AWAY steal The dishonest CEO made away with millions of
WITH dollars.

MAKE DO WITH get by, survive with less In a bad economy, we make do with less
(money).

MAKE OFF WITH steal, take The bear made off with our picnic basket.

MAKE OUT¹ to write or complete After you make out the check, put it in the mail.

MAKE OUT¹ be able to distinguish or It was hard to make out the words on the old
read memorial stone.
MAKE OUT succeed With a lot of hard work, you too can make out in
life.

MAKE OUT show affection; kiss They made out in the front seat.

MAKE OVER redo, redecorate The film producer decided to make over the
actor's appearance

MAKE UP invent Did you make that story up? I don't believe it.

MAKE UP to put on cosmetics Women make up their faces before going to

parties.

MAKE UP to settle or reconcile We had been quarreling for two years, but we
made last night.

MAKE UP repeat I had to make up a course in which I had gotten

an unsatisfactory grade.

MAKE UP FOR compensate His boss offered him vacation days to make up
for his overtime hours.

MAKE UP OF constitute The United States is made up of fifty states.

MAKE UP TO become friendly with He was trying to make up to every woman in the
class. (informal)
Put

PUT ABOUT turn in a different direction The ship put about and headed back to shore.

PUT ABOUT to start a rumor The opposition put about a rumor that we had
accepted a bribe.

PUT AWAY¹ put in its place We put away the food after shopping.

PUT AWAY¹ consume He can put away five hamburgers!

PUT AWAY¹ euthanize We had to put our dog away when it became too
old to survive.

PUT AWAY¹ jail The murderer was put away for life.

PUT DOWN¹ write The Red Cross put me down for a one hundred
dollar contribution.

PUT DOWN regard or categorize He was put down as a complainer

PUT DOWN¹ to insult or criticize My older sister always put me down when she
was with her friends.

PUT DOWN¹ to place a down payment We put down forty per cent on the house.

PUT DOWN land and aircraft The plane put down in a wheat field.

PUT IN enter a port The ship put in before sunset.

PUT IN FOR apply or request He put in for a transfer to a different division.

PUT OFF¹ delay or postpone He tends to put off doing his taxes.

PUT OFF repel, distance, perturb The artist's use of dead animals put off his
viewers.

PUT ON * to wear He put on his pants

PUT ON¹ produce or perform They put on a wonderful play.

PUT OUT¹ extinguish The firemen put out the fire

PUT OUT¹ be bothersome; Yes, I'd like a cup of coffee, but I don't want to put
inconvenience you out.

PUT UP¹ put items in their places Please put up your toys.

PUT UP WITH tolerate I can't put up with his terrible behavior

Take

TAKE AFTER resemble His daughter takes after him in business sense.
TAKE AFTER pursue The dog took after the little boy who tried to run
away.

TAKE BACK¹ retract I take what I said back. I shouldn't have said it.

TAKE DOWN¹ write or record Take these measurements down.

TAKE DOWN¹ capture, control They took down their opponents.

TAKE FOR¹ to assume to I took his word for the truth. / I took for truth his
word.

TAKE IN * provide lodging or a home His uncle took him in after his father died.

TAKE IN¹ alter, make smaller She had her dress taken in after she had her
baby.

TAKE IN trick or deceive The insurance salesman took in the unsuspecting

buyer.

TAKE IN observe and make sense of We listened to his lecture. There was a lot to
take in.

TAKE OFF¹ remove clothing Please take off your coat and sit down.

TAKE OFF depart from earth The airplane took off on time.

TAKE OFF¹ remove from a job or They took me off one project to work on another.
position
TAKE OFF humorous imitation (noun) The movie was a take off on news anchormen.

TAKE ON¹ undertake The President took on the difficult job of restoring
the economy.

TAKE ON¹ hire They took him on as their financial officer.

TAKE OUT¹ date He took her out to the movies.

TAKE OVER¹ assume management The stronger company took over the weaker one.

TAKE UP¹ to begin to study He took up the piano.

TAKE UP occupy The grand piano took up most of the room.

TAKE UP¹ continue Let's take up where we left off yesterday.

TAKE UP¹ begin discussion or a Today, I will take up the subject of my salary.
subject

TAKE UP WITH become friends He began to take up with the wrong crowd.

Think
 THINK ABOUT consider, think for a while I would like some time to think about your
business proposal.

THINK ABOUT have an opinion or What do you think about the new no-smoking
judgment law?

THINK OF create, devise, come up How did you think of this clever idea?
with

THINK OF have an opinion or What do you think of your phone?

judgment

THINK OF remember, come to mind I suddenly thought of his name.

THINK ON consider, think for a while I'm not ready to buy it now. I'll have to think on
this for a while.

THINK OUT¹ think toward reaching a Think it out before you act.
solution

THINK OVER¹ consider, think for a while Please think it over carefully before you sign the
contract.

THINK THROUGH¹ think toward reaching a If you think through the math problem, you'll find
solution the solution.

THINK UP¹ create, devise come up with She thought up our logo design.

¹separable – accepts an object

Try

TRY ON¹ put on clothing to see if you Try the pants on. / Try on the pants. If you like
like it them, buy them.

TRY OUT¹ experiment with something We tried out a new method of using the cell
phone.

TRY OUT¹ audition, perform before He tried out before the American Idol judges.
judges They held try-outs today.