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 They ACTED OUT the story on

Act out
actions and gestures.. stage.

My computer’s ACTING UP; I

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

You have to ADD the VAT ON to

Add on Include in a calculation.
the 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
Agree I feel terrible- that food didn’t
something has had a negative
with AGREE WITH my stomach.
effect, 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.

Try to get something He’s been ANGLING FOR an

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

Her mother was shocked when

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

Argue Beat someone in a debate, The teacher tried to ARGUE the

down discussion or argument. girl DOWN, but she couldn’t.
 Persuade someone to drop
Argue She ARGUED him DOWN ten
the price of something they’re
down percent.
selling.

If we can’t ARGUE our

Argue Argue about a problem to find
differences OUT, we’ll have to
out a solution.
take them to court.

Ask how someone is doing,

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

Jenny rang earlier and ASKED

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

I have no idea, but I’ll ASK

Ask Ask a number of people for
AROUND at work and see if
around information of help.
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

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

They have ASKED us OVER for

Ask over Invite.
drinks on Friday.

Ask We ASKED John ROUND for

Invite someone.
round diner.

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.

Retract or withdraw your

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

Back Enter a parking area in He prefers to BACK his car INTO

into reverse gear. the garage.
 The police told the protesters to
Back off Retreat.
BACK OFF.

He BACKED OUT two days

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

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

of arrangement. agreement at the last minute.

You should always BACK UP

important files and documents so
Make a copy of computer
Back up that you won’t lose all your work
data.
if something goes wrong with the
hardware.

Don’t bag out BAG OUT

Bag out Criticise.
Australian 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

Bargain I BARGAINED her DOWN to half
the 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

Bash in
hitting. IN to enter the house.

Write something quickly I BASHED the essay OUT the

Bash out
without much preparation. night 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

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

Be elsewhere; on holiday, She’s AWAY on business for

Be away
etc.. three weeks.

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

She was very CUT UP about

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

He’s BEEN DOWN since his

Be down Be depressed.
partner 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.

She spotted him on the other

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

The judge’s character may well

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

Statistics BEAR OUT the

Confirm that something is
Bear out government’s positions on the
correct.
issue.

How are you BEARING UP under

Bear up Resist pressure.
the strain?

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

under or 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 out Narrowly win in competition.
BEAT OUT his rival at the tape.

Beat up Attack violently.

The mugger BEAT him UP and
 stole his wallet.

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

Bend Lower the top half of your I BENT DOWN to pick it up off the
down body. 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 The space shuttle BLASTED OFF

Blast off
or rocket. on schedule yesterday.

I couldn’t drive here this morning

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

Obstruct an exit to prevent The police BLOCKED OFF the

Block off
people from leaving. road after the murder.

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

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

Arrive, sometimes suddenly He BLEW IN from Toronto early

Blow in
or unexpectedly. this 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

Boil up
strongly. when I saw what they had done.
Bone up Study hard for a goal or I need to BONE UP ON my French
on reason. grammar for the test.

WE took a taxi from the airport to

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

I CALLED him UP as soon as I

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

When I lose my temper, it takes

Calm Stop being angry or
ages for me to CALM DOWN
down emotionally excited.
again.

Have an opposite effect on

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

Finish or complete, often with She CAPPED OFF the meeting

Cap off
some decisive action. with 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 when they won the championship
away lose control. and started shouting and
throwing things around.

They hope the new management

Carry
Make something progress. will be able to CARRY the project
forward
FORWARD.

She CARRIED OFF the first prize

Carry off Win, succeed.
in the competition.

CARRY ON quietly with your

Carry on Continue. work until the substitute teacher
arrives.

Jane spent a long time looking at

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

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

When the parts of a plant

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

It was on the front pages of all

Die
Decrease or become quieter. the 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

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

Some scientists say that the

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

We were starving so we really

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

Reach inside to get She DUG INTO her handbag and

Dig into
something. pulled out a bunch of keys.

Praise someone in an
She FAWNED OVER the
Fawn excessive way to get their
inspectors in the hope that they
over favour or something from
would give her a good grade.
them.

Eat a food as part of an The gecko FEEDS OFF

Feed off
animals diet. mosquitoes and other insects.

Give someone a particular

Feed on He FEEDS his cat ON dry food.
food.

Give someone a lot of food to

She’s been ill for a fortnight so
Feed up restore their health, make
we’re FEEDING her UP.
them 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
to something. UP TO going out tonight.

Get Nowadays, you need IT skills if

Progress.
ahead you 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 I GAVE UP taking sugar in tea

Give up
has been a habit. and coffee to lose weight.

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

Chelsea couldn’t HOLD their

Stop someone from attacking
Hold off opponents OFF and lost the
or beating you.
game.

Could you HOLD ON for a

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

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

Search until you find It took me ages to HUNT OUT the

Hunt out
something. photos.

They have JACKED UP the price

Jack up Increase sharply.
of oil this month.

Jack JAMMED ON the brakes

Apply or operate something
Jam on when the rabbit ran in front of his
forcefully.
car.

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

The show was getting stale so

Make something more
Jazz up they JAZZED it UP with some
interesting or attractive.
new scenes.
Keep I KEEP a dictionary AROUND
Keep something near you.
around when I’m doing my homework.

She found the course hard but

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

Keep Don’t allow someone near Medicines should always be

away something. KEPT AWAY from children.

Keep The police told the crowd to

Maintain a safe distance.
back KEEP BACK from the fire.

Plan things to fit or suit Promotions are KEYED TO

Key to
people or situations. people’s abilities.

Make someone excited or

Key up The noise got us KEYED UP.
nervous.

Kick We KICKED the idea ABOUT at

Discuss.
about the meeting.

Her hayfever didn’t feel half as

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

The family KICKED the au pair

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

We KNOCKED OFF early on

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

Lash Secure something with ropes We LASHED the tarpaulin DOWN

down or cords. to stop the wind blowing it away.

Lash He LASHED INTO them for

Criticise someone strongly.
into messing thins up.

He LASHED OUT and broke the

Lash out Suddenly become violent.
man’s nose.

They LAID ON a buffet lunch at

Lay on Organise, supply.
the conference.
 They LAID OUT thousands of
Lay out Spend money. pounds on their wedding
reception.

The doorstaff didn’t LET him IN

Let in Allow someone to enter. the nightclub because he was
wearing jeans.

The judge LET him OFF with a

Let off Not punish. fine 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 He tries hard to LIVE BY the

Live by
guide your behaviour. Bible.

If I fail the test and everyone else

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

Accept something It’s hard to LIVE WITH the pain of

Live with
unpleasant. a 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

Log into
computer system. to check my email.

When she’d finished working on

Log off Exit a computer system. the 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.

Look up Consult a reference work I didn’t know the correct spelling

(dictionary, phonebook, etc.) so I had to LOOK it UP in the
 for a specific piece of dictionary.
information..

He MAGICKED the bill AWAY and

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

Make The police MADE AFTER the

Chase.
after stolen car.

Make
The thieves MADE AWAY WITH
away Steal.
the painting.
with

I thought you weren’t coming, so

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

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

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

Understand or have an What do you MAKE OF your new

Make of
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.

Heat something solid, They MELTED the gold statue

Melt
especially metal, until it DOWN and turned it into gold
down
becomes liquid. bars.

The children were MESSING

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

Move up Move to make space.
sit 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

after remember another person. who died in the war.

Remove less important I am not sure which university to

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

Play safe and avoid taking a I’m going to NERD OUT and not
Nerd out
risk. go 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 If you want them to notify you of

Opt in
member of something. updates, you have to OPT IN.

Choose to be a member or
Opt into I OPTED INTO the scheme.
part 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 Sleep somewhere for the I’m too tired to come home; can I
down night. PAD DOWN here tonight?

Make a text longer by

I couldn’t think of much to write,
including extra content, often
Pad out so I PADDED the essay OUT with
content that isn’t particularly
a few lengthy quotes.
relevant.

Pal Be friendly and spend time We PALLED AROUND at

around with someone. university.
 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.

I felt awful when the teacher

Pass
Return. started to PASS BACK the exam
back
papers.

I was just PASSING BY when I

Pass by Go past without stopping.
saw the accident.

I tried to PATCH things UP after

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

Pay I PAID BACK the twenty pounds

Repay money borrowed.
back I’d borrowed.

Their patience PAID OFF when he

Produce a profitable or
Pay off finally showed up and signed the
successful result.
contract.

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

away different direction. AWAY to get out of the crush.

I PEGGED the washing OUT after

Peg out Put washing outside to dry.
it 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 up Collect. PICK 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

Pile up Accumulate. and I 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

Pin on Attach the blame to someone.
ON him.

Fix something to a wall, or

I PINNED the notice UP on the
Pin up other vertical surface, with a
board
pin.

He’s been PINING AWAY since

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

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

down imperative). to PIPE DOWN and pay attention.

At first, no one answered, then

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

Pretend to agree or accept

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

Plug in
electricity supply. turned it on full blast.

Plump Put something in a place He PLUMPED his bag DOWN and

down without taking care. kicked his shoes off.

Choose. I PLUMPED FOR the steak frites.

Plump
for

He POINTED OUT that I only had

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

Move things around or search

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

Move things around or search

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

Polish She POLISHES OFF half a bottle

Finish, consume.
off of 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
Price up Charge more for something.
UP fuel because there’s nowhere
else to buy it.

Pull The lorry was going slowly but

Overtake, move in front.
ahead we managed to PULL AHEAD.

The traffic was so bad that it took

Pull out Move into traffic.
me ages to PULL OUT.