phrasal verb meaning example sentence

ask somebody out invite on a date Brian asked Judy out to

dinner and a movie.

ask around ask many people the I asked around but nobody

same question has seen my wallet.

add up to something equal Your purchases add up

to $205.32.

back something up reverse You'll have to back up your

car so that I can get out.

back somebody up support My wife backed me up over

my decision to quit my job.

blow up explode The racing car blew up after

it crashed into the fence.

blow something up add air We have to blow 50

balloons up for the party.

break down stop functioning Our car broke down at the

(vehicle, machine) side of the highway in the
snowstorm.

break down get upset The woman broke

down when the police told
her that her son had died.

break something down divide into smaller Our teacher broke the final

parts project down into three
separate parts.

break in force entry to a Somebody broke in last

building night and stole our stereo.

break into something enter forcibly The firemen had to break

into the room to rescue the
children.

break something in wear something a few I need to break these

times so that it doesn't shoes in before we run next
look/feel new week.

break in interrupt The TV station broke in to

report the news of the
president's death.

break up end a relationship My boyfriend and I broke

up before I moved to
 America.

break up start laughing The kids just broke up as

(informal) soon as the clown started
talking.

break out escape The prisoners broke out of

jail when the guards weren't
looking.

break out in something develop a skin I broke out in a rash after
condition our camping trip.

bring somebody down make unhappy This sad music

is bringing me down.

bring somebody up raise a child My

grandparents brought me u
p after my parents died.

Mark’s too shy to ask girls out. How many people We

have you asked out? should ask them out for a
meal sometime.

You should ask around for help. He will ask around at Feel free to ask around if
school about the you don't know something.
project.

He said the numbers simply Add your All these little

didn’t add up. scores up and see expenses soon add up.
who’s won.

He His theory is bac
hasn’t backed his stateme ked up
nt up with facts. by recent eviden
ce.

bring something up start talking about My mother walks out

a subject of the room when my
father brings
up sports.
bring something up vomit He drank so much
that he brought his
dinner up in the toilet.
call around phone many We called around but
different we weren't able to find
places/people the car part we
 needed.
call somebody back return a phone I called the
call company back but the
offices were closed for
the weekend.
call something off cancel Jason called the
wedding off because
he wasn't in love with
his fiancé.
call on somebody ask for an answer The professor called
or opinion on me for question 1.
call on somebody visit somebody We called on you last
night but you weren't
home.
call somebody up phone Give me your phone
number and I
will call you up when
we are in town.
calm down relax after being You are still mad. You
angry need to calm
down before you
drive the car.
not care for somebody/ not like (formal) I don't care for his
something behaviour.
catch up get to the same You'll have to run
point as faster than that if you
somebody else want to catch up with
Marty.
check in arrive and register We will get the hotel
at a hotel or keys when we check
airport in.
check out leave a hotel You have to check
out of the hotel before
 11:00 AM.
check somebody/ look at carefully, The company checks
something out investigate out all new
employees.
check out somebody/ look at (informal) Check out the crazy
something hair on that guy!
cheer up become happier She cheered
up when she heard
the good news.
cheer somebody up make happier I brought you some
flowers
to cheer you up.
chip in help If everyone chips
in we can get the
kitchen painted by
noon.
clean something up tidy, clean Please clean up your
bedroom before you
go outside.
come across something find unexpectedly I came across these
old photos when I was
tidying the closet.
come apart separate The top and
bottom come apart if
you pull hard enough.
come down become sick My nephew came
with something down with chicken
pox this weekend.
come forward volunteer for a The woman came
task or to give forward with her
evidence husband's finger
prints.
come from some place originate in The art of
origami comes
from Asia.
count on somebody/ rely on I am counting on you
something to make dinner while I
am out.
cross something out draw a line Please cross
through out your old address
and write your new
one.
cut back on something consume less My doctor wants me
to cut back
on sweets and fatty
foods.
cut something down make something We had to cut the old
fall to the ground tree in our
yard down after the
storm.
cut in interrupt Your father cut
in while I was dancing
with your uncle.
cut in pull in too closely The bus driver got
in front of another angry when that
vehicle car cut in.
cut in start operating (of The air
an engine or conditioner cuts
electrical device) in when the
temperature gets to
22°C.
cut something off remove with The doctors cut
something sharp off his leg because it
was severely injured.
cut something off stop providing The phone
 company cut off our
phone because we
didn't pay the bill.
cut somebody off take out of a will My
grandparents cut my
father off when he
remarried.
cut something out remove part of I cut this ad out of the
something newspaper.
(usually with
scissors and
paper)
do somebody/ beat up, ransack He's lucky to be alive.
something over (BrE, informal) His shop was done
over by a street gang.
do something over do again (AmE) My teacher wants me
to do my
essay over because
she doesn't like my
topic.
do away with something discard It's time to do away
with all of these old
tax records.
do something up fasten, close Do your
coat up before you go
outside. It's snowing!
dress up wear nice clothing It's a fancy restaurant
so we have to dress
up.
drop back move back in a Andrea dropped
position/group back to third place
when she fell off her
bike.
drop in/ by/ over come without an I might drop
appointment in/by/over for tea
sometime this week.
drop somebody/ take somebody/ I have to drop my
something off something sister off at work
somewhere and before I come over.
leave them/it
there
drop out quit a class, I dropped out of
school etc Science because it
was too difficult.
eat out eat at a I don't feel like
restaurant cooking tonight.
Let's eat out.
end up eventually We ended up renting
reach/do/decide a movie instead of
going to the theatre.
fall apart break into pieces My new dress fell
apart in the washing
machine.
fall down fall to the ground The picture that you
hung up last night fell
down this morning.
fall out separate from an The money must
interior have fallen out of my
pocket.
fall out (of hair, teeth) His hair started to fall
become loose out when he was only
and unattached 35.
figure something out understand, find I need to figure
the answer out how to fit the
piano and the
bookshelf in this
 room.
fill something in to write Please fill in the form
information in with your name,
blanks, as on a address, and phone
form (BrE) number.
fill something out to write The form must
information in be filled out in capital
blanks, as on a letters.
form (AmE)
fill something up fill to the top I always fill the water
jug up when it is
empty.
find out discover We don't know where
he lives. How can
we find out?
find something out discover We tried to keep the
time of the party a
secret, but
Samantha found it ou
t.
get something across/ communicate, I tried to get my
over make point across/over to
understandable the judge but she
wouldn't listen.
get along/on like each other I was surprised how
well my new girlfriend
and my sister got
along/on.
get around have mobility My grandfather
can get around fine
in his new wheelchair.
get away go on a vacation We worked so hard
this year that we had
 to get away for a
week.
get away do without being Jason always gets
with something noticed or away with cheating in
punished his maths tests.
get back return We got back from our
vacation last week.
get something back receive Liz finally got her
something you Science
had before notes back from my
room-mate.
get back at somebody retaliate, take My sister got back
revenge at me for stealing her
shoes. She stole my
favourite hat.
get back into something become I finally got back
interested in into my novel and
something again finished it.
get on something step onto a We're going to freeze
vehicle out here if you don't
let us get on the bus.
get over something recover from an I just got over the flu
illness, loss, and now my sister has
difficulty it.
get over something overcome a The company will
problem have to close if it
can't get over the
new regulations.
get round to something finally find time to I don't know when I
do (AmE: get am going to get
around round to writing the
to something) thank you cards.
get together meet (usually for Let's get together for
 social reasons) a BBQ this weekend.
get up get out of bed I got up early today to
study for my exam.
get up stand You should get
up and give the
elderly man your seat.
give somebody away reveal hidden His
information about wife gave him away t
somebody o the police.
give somebody away take the bride to My
the altar father gave me away 
at my wedding.
give something away ruin a secret My little
sister gave the
surprise
party away by
accident.
give something away give something to The library
somebody for free was giving away old
books on Friday.
give something back return a borrowed I have to give these
item skates back to Franz
before his hockey
game.
give in reluctantly stop My boyfriend didn't
fighting or arguing want to go to the
ballet, but he
finally gave in.
give something out give to many They were giving
people (usually at out free perfume
no cost) samples at the
department store.
give something up quit a habit I am giving
 up smoking as of
January 1st.
give up stop trying My maths homework
was too difficult so
I gave up.
go after somebody follow somebody My brother tried to go
after the thief in his
car.
go after something try to achieve I went after my
something dream and now I am a
published writer.
go against somebody compete, oppose We are going
against the best
soccer team in the city
tonight.
go ahead start, proceed Please go ahead and
eat before the food
gets cold.
go back return to a place I have to go
back home and get
my lunch.
go out leave home to go We're going out for
on a social event dinner tonight.
go out with somebody date Jesse has
been going out
with Luke since they
met last winter.
go over something review Please go over your
answers before you
submit your test.
go over visit somebody I haven't seen Tina for
nearby a long time. I think
I'll go over for an hour
 or two.
go without something suffer lack or When I was young,
deprivation we went
without winter boots.
grow apart stop being friends My best friend and
over time I grew apart after she
changed schools.
grow back regrow My roses grew
back this summer.
grow into something grow big enough This bike is too big for
to fit him now, but he
should grow into it by
next year.
grow out of something get too big for Elizabeth needs a
new pair of shoes
because she
has grown out of her
old ones.
grow up become an adult When Jack grows
up he wants to be a
fireman.
hand something down give something I handed my old
used to comic books down to
somebody else my little cousin.
hand something in submit I have to hand in my
essay by Friday.
hand something out to distribute to a We will hand out the
group of people invitations at the door.
hand something over give (usually The police asked the
unwillingly) man to hand over his
wallet and his
weapons.
hang in stay positive Hang in there. I'm
(informal) sure you'll find a job
very soon.
hang on wait a short time Hang on while I grab
(informal) my coat and shoes!
hang out spend time Instead of going to the
relaxing (informal) party we are just
going to hang out at
my place.
hang up end a phone call He didn't say goodbye
before he hung up.
hold somebody/ prevent from I had to hold my
something back doing/going dog back because
there was a cat in the
park.
hold something back hide an emotion Jamie held back his
tears at his
grandfather's funeral.
hold on wait a short time Please hold on while
I transfer you to the
Sales Department.
hold onto somebody/ hold firmly using Hold onto your hat
something your hands or because it's very
arms windy outside.
hold somebody/ rob A man in a black
something up mask held the
bank up this morning.
keep on continue doing Keep on stirring until
doing something the liquid comes to a
boil.
keep something from so not tell We kept our
mebody relationship from our
parents for two years.
keep somebody/ stop from entering Try to keep the wet
something out dog out of the living
room.
keep something up continue at the If you keep those
same rate results up you will get
into a great college.
let somebody down fail to support or I need you to be on
help, disappoint time.
Don't let me down thi
s time.
let somebody in allow to enter Can you let the
cat in before you go
to school?
log in (or on) sign in (to a I can't log in to
website, database Facebook because
etc) I've forgotten my
password.
log out (or off) sign out (of a If you don't log
website, database off somebody could
etc) get into your account.
look after somebody/ take care of I have to look
something after my sick
grandmother.
look down think less of, Ever since we stole
on somebody consider inferior that chocolate bar
your dad has looked
down on me.
look for somebody/ try to find I'm looking for a red
something dress for the wedding.
look forward be excited about I'm looking forward
to something the future to the Christmas
break.
look into something investigate We are going to look
 into the price of
snowboards today.
look out be careful, Look out! That car's
vigilant, and take going to hit you!
notice
look out for somebody/ be especially Don't forget to look
something vigilant for out for snakes on the
hiking trail.
look something over check, examine Can you look
over my essay for
spelling mistakes?
look something up search and find We can look her
information in a phone number up on
reference book or the Internet.
database
look up to somebody have a lot of My little sister has
respect for always looked up to
me.
make something up invent, lie about Josie made up a
something story about why we
were late.
make up forgive each other We were angry last
night, but we made
up at breakfast.
make somebody up apply cosmetics My
to sisters made me up f
or my graduation
party.
mix something up confuse two or I mixed up the twins'
more things names again!
pass away die His uncle passed
away last night after a
long illness.
pass out faint It was so hot in the
church that an elderly
lady passed out.
pass something out give the same The
thing to many professor passed the
people textbooks out before
class.
pass something up decline (usually I passed up the job
something good) because I am afraid of
change.
pay somebody back return owed Thanks for buying my
money ticket.
I'll pay you back on
Friday.
pay for something be punished for That bully will pay
doing something for being mean to my
bad little brother.
pick something out choose I picked out three
sweaters for you to try
on.
point somebody/ indicate with your I'll point my
something out finger boyfriend out when
he runs by.
put something down put what you are You can put the
holding on a groceries down on
surface or floor the kitchen counter.
put somebody down insult, make The students put the
somebody feel substitute
stupid teacher down becaus
e his pants were too
short.
put something off postpone We are putting
off our trip until
 January because of
the hurricane.
put something out extinguish The
neighbours put the
fire out before the
firemen arrived.
put something together assemble I have to put the
crib together before
the baby arrives.
put up with somebody/ tolerate I don't think I can put
something up with three small
children in the car.
put something on put clothing/ Don't forget to put
accessories on on your new earrings
your body for the party.
run into somebody/ meet I ran into an old
something unexpectedly school-friend at the
mall.
run over somebody/ drive a vehicle I accidentally ran
something over a person or over your bicycle in
thing the driveway.
run over/ rehearse, review Let's run
through something over/through these
lines one more time
before the show.
run away leave The child ran
unexpectedly, away from home and
escape has been missing for
three days.
run out have none left We ran out of
shampoo so I had to
wash my hair with
soap.
send something back return (usually by My letter got sent
mail) back to me because I
used the wrong
stamp.
set something up arrange, organize Our boss set a
meeting up with the
president of the
company.
set somebody up trick, trap The police set up the
car thief by using a
hidden camera.
shop around compare prices I want to shop
around a little before I
decide on these
boots.
show off act extra special He always shows
for people off on his skateboard
watching (usually
boastfully)
sleep over stay somewhere You should sleep
for the night over tonight if the
(informal) weather is too bad to
drive home.
sort something out organize, resolve We need to sort the
a problem bills out before the
first of the month.
stick to something continue doing You will lose weight if
something, limit you stick to the diet.
yourself to one
particular thing
switch something off stop the energy The light's too bright.
flow, turn off Could
you switch it off.
switch something on start the energy We heard the news as
flow, turn on soon as we switched
on the car radio.
take after somebody resemble a family I take after my
member mother. We are both
impatient.
take something apart purposely break He took the car
into pieces brakes apart and
found the problem.
take something back return an item I have to take our new
TV back because it
doesn't work.
take off start to fly My plane takes off in
five minutes.
take something off remove Take off your socks
something and shoes and come
(usually clothing) in the lake!
take something out remove from a Can you take the
place or thing garbage out to the
street for me?
take somebody out pay for somebody My
to go somewhere grandparents took us 
with you out for dinner and a
movie.
tear something up rip into pieces I tore up my ex-
boyfriend's letters and
gave them back to
him.
think back remember (often When I think back on
+ to, sometimes + my youth, I wish I had
on) studied harder.
think something over consider I'll have to think this
job offer over before I
 make my final
decision.
throw something away dispose of We threw our old
furniture away when
we won the lottery.
turn something down decrease the Please turn the
volume or TV down while the
strength (heat, guests are here.
light etc)
turn something down refuse I turned the
job down because I
don't want to move.
turn something off stop the energy Your mother wants
flow, switch off you to turn the
TV off and come for
dinner.
turn something on start the energy, It's too dark in here.
switch on Let's turn some
lights on.
turn something up increase the Can you turn the
volume or music up? This is my
strength (heat, favourite song.
light etc)
turn up appear suddenly Our cat turned
up after we put
posters up all over the
neighbourhood.
try something on sample clothing I'm going to try these
jeans on, but I don't
think they will fit.
try something out test I am going to try this
new brand of
detergent out.
use something up finish the supply The kids used all of
the toothpaste up so
we need to buy some
more.
wake up stop sleeping We have to wake
up early for work on
Monday.
warm somebody/ increase the You can warm your
something up temperature feet up in front of the
fireplace.
warm up prepare body for I always warm up by
exercise doing sit-ups before I
go for a run.
wear off fade away Most of my make-
up wore off before I
got to the party.
work out exercise I work out at the gym
three times a week.
work out be successful Our plan worked
out fine.
work something out