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Phrasal Verbs - Short List for High School Classes
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal
Verb
|
Meaning
|
Example
|
abide by
|
To respect or obey a decision, a law
or a rule
|
If you want to keep your job
here, you must abide by our rules. |
account for
|
To explain, give a reason
|
I hope you can account for
the time you were out! |
add up
|
To make sense, seem reasonable
|
The facts in the case
just don’t add up. |
advise against
|
To recommend not doing something
|
I advise against walking
alone in this neighborhood. |
agree with
|
To have the same opinion as someone
else.
|
I agree with you. I think you
should go as well. |
allow for
|
To take into consideration
|
We need to allow for
unexpected charges along the way.
|
appeal to
|
|
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apply for
|
To make a formal request for
something (job, permit, loan etc.)
|
He applied for a scholarship
for next semester.
|
back away
|
To move backwards, in fear or dislike
|
When he saw the bear, he backed
away in fright.
|
back down
|
To withdraw, concede defeat
|
Local authorities backed down
on their threats to build on that part of the beach.
|
back up
|
|
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bank on
|
To base your hopes on something /
someone
|
I’m banking on you to help
with the charity event.
|
black out
|
To faint, lose consciousness
|
Jenna fell in the parking lot and blacked
out.
|
block off
|
To separate using a barrier.
|
The police blocked off the
street after the explosion.
|
blow up
|
|
|
boil down to
|
To be summarized as
|
It all boils down to who has
more power.
|
boot up
|
To start a computer by loading an
operating system or program
|
You need to boot up your
computer before you begin to work.
|
break away
|
To separate from a crowd
|
One of the wolves broke away
from his pack.
|
break down
|
|
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break into
|
To enter by force
|
Burglars broke into my car
last night.
|
break out
|
To start suddenly
|
Rioting broke out after the
government raised the fuel prices again.
|
break out of
|
To escape from a place by force
|
Several prisoners broke out of
jail.
|
bring up
|
To raise (a child)
|
Sara is bringing up her children
by herself.
|
brush up on
|
To improve, refresh one’s knowledge
of something
|
I must brush up on my French
before going to Paris
next month.
|
bump into
|
To meet by chance or unexpectedly
|
I bumped into Adam at the
bank. He says “hello”.
|
burn out
|
|
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call back
|
To return a phone call
|
Could please call back in ten
minutes?
|
call off
|
To cancel
|
The game was called off
because of bad weather.
|
calm down
|
To become more relaxed, less angry or
upset
|
It took Kylie several hours to
calm down after she saw the accident.
|
carry on
|
To continue
|
The soldiers carried on
walking in order to get to their post before dark.
|
carry out
|
|
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check in
|
To register at a hotel or airport
|
They said I must check in at
least three hours before my flight.
|
check out
|
|
|
clam up
|
To refuse to speak
|
When the police started asking
questions, the suspect clammed up.
|
clamp down on
|
To act strictly to prevent something
|
The local authorities have decided to
clamp down on illegal parking in handicapped parking places.
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come across
|
|
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come forward
|
To present oneself
|
Has the owner of the winning lotto
ticket come forward?
|
count on
|
To rely or depend on (for help)
|
You can count on me to keep
your secret.
|
cut down on
|
To reduce in number or size
|
I’ve decided to cut down on
the amount of sweets I eat.
|
cut out
|
|
|
deal with
|
To handle, take care of (problem,
situation)
|
Catherine is not good at dealing
with stress.
|
die down
|
To calm down, become less strong
|
After the storm died down, we
went outside to see the damage it had caused.
|
do without
|
To manage without
|
She didn’t get a salary this month,
so she’ll have to do without extra treats.
|
drag on
|
To last longer than expected
|
The suspect’s trial dragged on
longer than we had expected!
|
draw up
|
To write (contract, agreement,
document)
|
They drew up a contract and
had me sign it.
|
dress up
|
wear elegant clothes
|
Their wedding gave us a chance to dress
up and get out of the house.
|
drop in
|
To visit, usually on the way
somewhere
|
Why don’t you drop in to see
us on your way home?
|
drop off
|
|
|
drop out
|
To leave school without finishing
|
Zack dropped out of college
and joined the army.
|
ease off
|
To reduce, become less severe or slow
down (pain, traffic, work)
|
Traffic usually eases off
about 7pm
|
end in
|
To finish in a certain way; result in
|
Her marriage ended in divorce.
|
end up
|
To finally reach a state, place or
action
|
If you don’t improve your work
habits, you’ll end up being fired.
|
fall through
|
To fail; doesn’t happen
|
His plans to trek through South America fell through when he got sick.
|
figure out
|
To understand, find the answer
|
He’s trying to figure out how
to earn enough money to go on the trip to Spain.
|
fill out
|
To complete (a form/an application)
|
Please fill out the enclosed
form and return it as soon as possible.
|
find out
|
To discover or obtain information
|
I’m going to to find out who’s
responsible for the power cut.
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focus on
|
To concentrate on something
|
Tom had difficulty focusing on
work the day before his holiday started.
|
get along (with)
|
To be on good terms; work well with
|
It’s important to get along
with your team supervisor.
|
get at
|
To imply
|
What are you getting at? Do
you think I’m to blame?
|
get away
|
To escape
|
I think we should get away for
the weekend.
|
get by
|
To manage to cope or to survive
|
Students without jobs have a hard
time getting by.
|
get in
|
To enter
|
When did you get in last
night?]
|
get into (+noun)
|
To enter
|
How did you get into your car
without the keys?
|
get off
|
|
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get on
|
To board (bus, train, plane)
|
I’m trying to get on the
flight to Brussels.
|
get on with (something)
|
To continue to do; make progress
|
After they split up, she had a hard
time getting on with her life.
|
get on (well) with (somebody)
|
To have a good relationship with
|
He doesn’t get on very well with
the other members of the committee.
|
get out
|
To leave
|
He had a hard time getting out
of Newark
because of the snow?
|
get out of
|
To avoid doing something
|
Edna’s trying to get out of
working the night shift.
|
get over
|
To recover from (illness,
disappointment)
|
Has she gotten over the flu?
|
get over
|
To recover from (illness,
disappointment)
|
Mary had the chickenpox last week but
she got over it.
|
get rid of
|
To eliminate
|
Please get rid of that old
t-shirt. It’s so ragged.
|
get together
|
To meet each other
|
Let’s get together for your
birthday on Saturday.
|
get up
|
To rise, leave bed
|
Will you please get up? You’ve
got a class in 20 minutes.
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give in
|
|
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give up
|
To stop doing something
|
Morris gave up drinking 10
years ago.
|
go through
|
To experience
|
Andy went through a lot of
pain after his mother died.
|
grow up
|
To spend one’s childhood; develop;
become an adult
|
He’s like Peter Pan. He never really grew
up at all.
|
hand in
|
To submit (report, homework)
|
Please hand in your papers
before Friday.
|
hand out
|
To distribute
|
Susan volunteered at the shelter
where she handed out warm clothes.
|
hang out
|
To spend time in a particular place
or with a group of friends
|
Which pub does the team hang out
at after the game?
|
hang up
|
To end a phone conversation
|
If you hang up now, I’ll never
speak to you again.
|
hold on
|
|
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hurry up
|
To be quick, act speedily
|
Hurry up
and finish your lunch or we’ll miss the train.
|
iron out
|
To resolve by discussion, eliminate
differences
|
The two countries met at the
conference to iron out their differences.
|
join in
|
To participate
|
Yes David, you can join in the
discussion any time you like.
|
join up
|
|
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keep on
|
To continue doing something
|
If you keep on making that
noise I will get annoyed.
|
keep up with
|
To stay at the same level as someone
or something
|
I read the paper every day to keep
up with the news.
|
kick off
|
To begin, start
|
The rugby match kicked off at
3 o’clock.
|
leave out
|
To omit, not mention
|
Please check your form again and make
sure nothing is left out.
|
let down
|
To disappoint
|
I feel so let down because
they promised me a puppy but all I got was a doll.
|
look after
|
To take care of
|
Andy can you look after your
sister until I get back?
|
look down on
|
To consider as inferior
|
She’s such a snob. She always looks
down on anyone who is poor.
|
look on
|
To be a spectator at an event
|
If you don’t want to take part in the
game you can look on for now.
|
look for
|
To try to find something
|
Harry went to the shop to look for
a new computer.
|
look forward to
|
To await or anticipate with pleasure
|
I’m looking forward to my
birthday. It’s in two days time.
|
look up to
|
To admire
|
I always looked up to my
father. He was a great man.
|
make fun of
|
To laugh at/ make jokes about
|
It’s not nice to make fun of
people in wheelchairs.
|
make up
|
To invent (excuse, story)
|
That’s a good excuse. Did you make
up it up yourself?
|
mix up
|
To mistake one thing or person for
another
|
She had so many cats that she kept mixing
up their names.
|
move in
|
To arrive in a new home or office
|
Did you hear? Our new neighbors are moving
in this afternoon.
|
move out
|
To leave your home/office for another
one.
|
When are you moving out? We
need your office for the new guy.
|
nod off
|
To fall asleep
|
You were so tired after the game that
you nodded off on the couch.
|
own up
|
To admit or confess something
|
Come on. Own up. We know you
did it!
|
pass away
|
To die
|
Your grandfather passed away
peacefully in his sleep last night.
|
pass out
|
To faint
|
He didn’t drink enough water so he passed
out at the end of the race.
|
pay back
|
To reimburse
|
I’ll pay you back as
soon as I get the loan.
|
Put across
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1.to explain an idea, belief etc in a way that is easy to understand
|
Emily can put across her ideas very well.
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put off
|
To postpone, arrange a later date
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Don’t put off until tomorrow,
what you can do today.
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put on
|
To turn on, switch on,wear a dress
|
It’s very dark in here. Please put
on the light on.
Dorothy put on her coat and went out. |
put out
|
To extinguish
|
The fire fighters were able to put
out fire in ten minutes.
|
put up
|
To accommodate, give somebody a bed
|
I can put you up until
the weekend but then I’m going away.
|
Put up with
|
To tolerate
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I can't put up with this nonsense any more.
|
pick up
|
To collect somebody
|
I’ll pick you up at
around 7:00 to take you to the airport.
|
point out
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To indicate/direct attention to
something
|
As I already pointed out,
there was a mistake in your calculation.
|
rely on
|
To count on, depend on, trust
|
You can rely on me. I always
arrive on time.
|
rule out
|
To eliminate
|
Since he had a sound alibi, the
police ruled him out as a suspect.
|
run away
|
To escape from a place or suddenly
leave
|
He ran away from home and
joined the circus.
|
run into
|
To meet by accident or unexpectedly
(also: bump into)
|
I’m so glad I ran into you. I
need to ask you something.
|
run out of
|
To have no more of something.
|
We’ve run out of milk. I’ll
just pop next door to borrow some.
|
set off
|
To start a journey;
|
Let’s set off early to miss
the rush hour traffic.
|
set out
|
1.to begin a journey.
2.to explain, describe, or arrange something in a clear and detailed way, especially in writing |
After a three-day rest, the travellers set out
.
In his report he sets out his plans for the department . |
set up
|
To start a business
|
They set up their own company
when they were still in high school.
|
shop around
|
To compare prices
|
Don’t buy that. Let’s shop around
and see if we can find something cheaper.
|
show off
|
To brag or want to be admired
|
He’s such a show off. He has
to tell everybody about his new computer.
|
show up
|
To appear/arrive
|
I don’t think she’ll show up
tonight. Her daughter is sick.
|
shut up (impolite)
|
To be silent, stop talking
|
Shut up,
you’re spoiling the movie!
|
sit down
|
To take a seat
|
I think you should sit down.
It’s bad news.
|
stand up
|
To rise from a sitting position
|
The whole stadium stood up for
the national anthem.
|
stick up for
|
To defend
|
My big brother always stuck up for
me when I got into a fight.
|
take after
|
To resemble, in appearance or
character
|
Angie really takes after her
grandmother.
|
take care of
|
To look after
|
Please take care of my cat
when I’m away.
|
take off
|
To leave the ground
|
The plane will take off as
soon as the fog lifts.
|
take on
|
To hire or engage staff
|
I hear they’re taking on extra
staff for this event.
|
take out
|
To remove; extract
|
Please take out your mobile
phones and turn them off.
|
tell off
|
To reprimand/criticize severely
|
The coach told her off
for not trying hard enough.
|
think over
|
To consider
|
Take your time and think it over
before you decide.
|
try on
|
To wear something to see if it suits
or fits
|
Go ahead, try it on and
see if it fits?
|
turn down
|
To refuse
|
I asked her out but she turned
me down flat.
|
turn up
|
1.be found, especially by chance, after being lost.
2.put in an appearance; arrive. |
all the missing documents had turned
up .
half the guests failed to turned up . |
use up
|
To finish a product (so that there’s
none left)
|
Your parents used up all the
coffee!
|
watch out
|
To be careful
|
Watch out!
There’s a dog in the road.
|
wear out
|
|
|
work out
|
|
|
wipe off
|
To clean (board, table).
|
I’ll wash up if you wipe off
the table.
|
End