List Of Top 200 Phrasal Verbs With Meanings And Examples

Phrasal Verb - Meaning  - Example

Act on - To take action because of something like information received. - The police were ACTING ON a tip from an informer and caught the gang red-handed.
Act out - Perform something with actions and gestures.. - They ACTED OUT the story on stage.
Act up - Behave badly or strangely. - My computer's ACTING UP; I think I might have a virus.
Add on - Include in a calculation. - You have to ADD the VAT ON to the price they give.
Add up - To make a mathematical total. - We ADDED UP the bill to check it was correct.
Agree with  - Affect- usually used in the negative to show that something has had a negative effect, especially is it makes you feel bad.
I feel terrible- that food didn't AGREE WITH my stomach.
Aim at - To target. - The magazine is AIMED AT teenagers.
Allow for - Include something in a plan or calculation. - You should ALLOW FOR delays when planning a journey.
Allow of - Make possible, permit. - The rules don't ALLOW OF any exceptions.
Angle for - Try to get something indirectly, by hinting or suggesting. - He's been ANGLING FOR an invitation, but I don't want him to come.
Answer back - To reply rudely to someone in authority. - Her mother was shocked when she started ANSWERING her BACK and refusing to help.
Argue down - Beat someone in a debate, discussion or argument. - The teacher tried to ARGUE the girl DOWN, but she couldn't.
Argue down - Persuade someone to drop the price of something they're selling. - She ARGUED him DOWN ten percent.
Argue out - Argue about a problem to find a solution. - If we can't ARGUE our differences OUT, we'll have to take them to court.
Ask about - Ask how someone is doing, especially professionally and in terms of health. - He ASKED ABOUT my father.
Ask after - Enquire about someone's health, how life is going. - Jenny rang earlier and ASKED AFTER you, so I told her you were fine.
Ask around - Ask a number of people for information of help. - I have no idea, but I'll ASK AROUND at work and see if anyone can help.
Ask in - To invite somebody into your house. - Jon's at the door.' 'ASK him IN.'
Ask out - To invite someone for a date. - He wanted to ASK her OUT but was too shy.
Ask over - Invite. - They have ASKED us OVER for drinks on Friday.
Ask round - Invite someone. - We ASKED John ROUND for diner.
Auction off - Sell something in an auction. - They AUCTIONED OFF their property as they were heavily in debt.
Back away - Retreat or go backwards. - The crowd BACKED AWAY when the man pulled a knife.
Back down - Retract or withdraw your position or proposal in an argument. - She refused to BACK DOWN and was fired.
Back into - Enter a parking area in reverse gear. - He prefers to BACK his car INTO the garage.
Back off - Retreat. - The police told the protesters to BACK OFF.
Back out - Fail to keep an arrangement or promise. - He BACKED OUT two days before the holiday so we gave the ticket to his sister
Back out of - Fail to keep an agreement, arrangement. - She BACKED OUT OF the agreement at the last minute.
Back up - Make a copy of computer data. - You should always BACK UP important files and documents so that you won't lose all your work if something goes wrong with the hardware.
Bag out - Criticise. - Don't bag out BAG OUT Australian English.
Ball up - Confuse or make things complicated. - The new project has BALLED me UP- I have no idea what to do.
Bargain down - Persuade someone to drop the price of something they're selling. - I BARGAINED her DOWN to half what she originally wanted.
Bash about - Mistreat physically. - If you BASH your monitor ABOUT like that, it won't last long.
Bash in - Break, damage or injure by hitting. - The burglars BASHED the door IN to enter the house.
Bash out - Write something quickly without much preparation. - I BASHED the essay OUT the night before I had to hand it in.
Be after - Try to find or get. - The police ARE AFTER him because of the theft.
Be along - Arrive. - The next bus should BE ALONG in the next quarter of an hour or so.
Be away - Be elsewhere; on holiday, etc.. - She's AWAY on business for three weeks.
Be cut out for - Be suitable, have the necessary qualities. - She's not CUT OUT FOR this kind of work.
Be cut up - Be upset. - She was very CUT UP about coming second as she thought she deserved to win.
Be down - Be depressed. - He's BEEN DOWN since his partner left him.
Be fed up - Be bored, upset or sick of something. - I AM FED UP of his complaints.
Be taken with - Like something. - I WAS very TAKEN WITH the performance- it was superb.
Be up - Be out of bed. - She's not UP yet.
Bear down on - Move towards. - She spotted him on the other side of the room and BORE DOWN ON him.
Bear on - Influence, affect. - The judge's character may well BEAR ON the final decision.
Bear out - Confirm that something is correct. - Statistics BEAR OUT the government's positions on the issue.
Bear up - Resist pressure. - How are you BEARING UP under the strain?
Bear up under - Cope with something difficult or stressful. - He's BEARING UP UNDER the pressure.
Bear with - Be patient. - Please BEAR WITH me a moment while I finish this email.
Beat down - Strong sunshine. - The sun WAS really BEATING DOWN and we couldn't stay outdoors.
Beat out - Narrowly win in competition. - The marathon runner barely BEAT OUT his rival at the tape.
Beat up - Attack violently. - The mugger BEAT him UP and stole his wallet.
Belong with - Be in the correct or appropriate location with other items. - Does this disc BELONG WITH those on the shelf?
Bend down - Lower the top half of your body. - I BENT DOWN to pick it up off the 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 out - Fall unconscious. - He BLACKED OUT and collapsed on the floor.
Blast off - Leave the ground- spaceship or rocket. - The space shuttle BLASTED OFF on schedule yesterday.
Block in - Park a car and obstruct another car. - I couldn't drive here this morning because someone had BLOCKED me IN.
Block off - Obstruct an exit to prevent people from leaving. - The police BLOCKED OFF the road after the murder.
Blow away - Impress greatly. - Her first novel BLEW me AWAY.
Blow down - When the wind forces something to fall. - A tree was BLOWN DOWN in the storm.
Blow in - Arrive, sometimes suddenly or unexpectedly. - He BLEW IN from Toronto early this morning.
Blow off - Not keep an appointment. - We were going to meet last night, but she BLEW me OFF at the last minute.
Blow up - Explode. - The bomb BLEW UP without any warning.
Boil up - Feel a negative emotion strongly. - The anger BOILED UP in me when I saw what they had done.
Bone up on - Study hard for a goal or reason. - I need to BONE UP ON my French grammar for the test.
Book in - Check in at a hotel. - WE took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and BOOKED IN.
Call up - Telephone. - I CALLED him UP as soon as I got to a phone to tell him the news.
Calm down - Stop being angry or emotionally excited. - When I lose my temper, it takes ages for me to CALM DOWN again.
Cancel out - Have an opposite effect on something that has happened, taking things back to the beginning. - The airport taxes CANCELLED OUT the savings we had made on the flight tickets.
Cap off - Finish or complete, often with some decisive action. - She CAPPED OFF the meeting with a radical proposal.
Care for - Like. - I don't CARE FOR fizzy drinks; I prefer water.
Carried away - Get so emotional that you lose control. - The team got CARRIED AWAY when they won the championship and started shouting and throwing things around.
Carry forward - Make something progress. - They hope the new management will be able to CARRY the project FORWARD.
Carry off - Win, succeed. - She CARRIED OFF the first prize in the competition.
Carry on - Continue. - CARRY ON quietly with your work until the substitute teacher arrives.
Decide upon - Choose, select. - Jane spent a long time looking at houses before she bought one, but eventually DECIDED UPON one near her office.
Die away - Become quieter or inaudible (of a sound). - The last notes DIED AWAY and the audience burst into applause.
Die back - When the parts of a plant above ground die, but the roots remain alive. - The plant DIES BACK in the winter.
Die down - Decrease or become quieter. - It was on the front pages of all the papers for a few days, but the interest gradually DIED DOWN.
Die for - Want something a lot. - I'm DYING FOR the weekend- this week's been so hard.
Die off - Become extinct. - Most of the elm trees in the UK DIED OFF when Dutch elm disease arrived.
Die out - Become extinct or disappear. - Some scientists say that the dinosaurs DIED OUT when a comet hit the earth and caused a nuclear winter.
Dig in - Start eating greedily. - We were starving so we really DUG IN when the food finally did arrive.
Dig into - Reach inside to get something. - She DUG INTO her handbag and pulled out a bunch of keys.
Fawn over - Praise someone in an excessive way to get their favour or something from them. - She FAWNED OVER the inspectors in the hope that they would give her a good grade.
Feed off - Eat a food as part of an animals diet. - The gecko FEEDS OFF mosquitoes and other insects.
Feed on - Give someone a particular food. - He FEEDS his cat ON dry food.
Feed up - Give someone a lot of food to restore their health, make them bigger, etc. - She's been ill for a fortnight so we're FEEDING her UP.
Feel up - Touch sexually, grope. - Someone FELT me UP in the club as I was trying to get to the bar.
Feel up to - Feel capable of doing something. - I'm so tired. - I don't think I FEEL UP TO going out tonight.
Get ahead - Progress. - Nowadays, you need IT skills if you want to GET AHEAD.
Get ahead of - Move in front of. - I work at home in the evening to GET AHEAD OF schedule.
Get along - Leave. - It's late; we must be GETTING ALONG.
Give up - Stop doing something that has been a habit. - I GAVE UP taking sugar in tea and coffee to lose weight.
Hit on - Have an idea. - I suddenly HIT ON the solution
Hold off - Stop someone from attacking or beating you. - Chelsea couldn't HOLD their opponents OFF and lost the game.
Hold on - Wait. - Could you HOLD ON for a minute; she'll be free in a moment.
Hook up - Meet someone. - We HOOKED UP at the conference.
Hunt out - Search until you find something. - It took me ages to HUNT OUT the photos.
Jack up - Increase sharply. - They have JACKED UP the price of oil this month.
Jam on - Apply or operate something forcefully. - Jack JAMMED ON the brakes when the rabbit ran in front of his car.
Jaw away - Talk just for the point of talking rather than having anything to say. - That shows that your interest is not in helping the student, but in JAWING AWAY.
Jazz up - Make something more interesting or attractive. - The show was getting stale so they JAZZED it UP with some new scenes.
Keep around - Keep something near you. - I KEEP a dictionary AROUND when I'm doing my homework.
Keep at - Continue with something difficult. - She found the course hard but she KEPT AT it and completed it successfully.
Keep away Don't allow someone near something. - Medicines should always be KEPT AWAY from children.
Keep back - Maintain a safe distance. - The police told the crowd to KEEP BACK from the fire.
Key to - Plan things to fit or suit people or situations. - Promotions are KEYED TO people's abilities.
Key up - Make someone excited or nervous. - The noise got us KEYED UP.
Kick about - Discuss. - We KICKED the idea ABOUT at the meeting.
Kick in - When a drug starts to take effect. - Her hayfever didn't feel half as bad once the antihistamines had KICKED IN.
Kick out - Expel. - The family KICKED the au pair OUT when they found out that she was planning to move to work for another household.
Knock off  - Finish work for the day. - We KNOCKED OFF early on Friday to avoid the rush hour queues.
Lash down - Secure something with ropes or cords. - We LASHED the tarpaulin DOWN to stop the wind blowing it away.
Lash into  - Criticise someone strongly. - He LASHED INTO them for messing thins up.
Lash out - Suddenly become violent. - He LASHED OUT and broke the man's nose.
Lay on - Organise, supply. - They LAID ON a buffet lunch at the conference.
Lay out - Spend money. - They LAID OUT thousands of pounds on their wedding reception.
Let in - Allow someone to enter. - The doorstaff didn't LET him IN the nightclub because he was wearing jeans.
Let off - Not punish. - The judge LET him OFF with a fine rather than a prison sentence since it was his first offence.
Line up - Arrange events for someone. - We have LINED UP a lot of meetings for them.
Link up - Connect, join. - The train LINKS UP the cities.
Live by - Follow a belief system to guide your behaviour. - He tries hard to LIVE BY the Bible.
Live down - Stop being embarrassed about something. - If I fail the test and everyone else passes, I'll never be able to LIVE it DOWN.
Live with - Accept something unpleasant. - It's hard to LIVE WITH the pain of a serious illness.
Log in - Enter a restricted area on a computer system. - I had forgotten my password and couldn't LOG IN.
Log into - Enter a restricted area of a computer system. - I LOGGED INTO the staff intranet to check my email.
Log off - Exit a computer system. - When she'd finished working on the spreadsheet, she LOGGED OFF and left the office.
Log on - Enter a computer system. - He entered his password for the college intranet and LOGGED ON.
Log out - Exit a computer system. - Danny closed the programs and LOGGED OUT when it was time to go home. - 
Look up - Consult a reference work (dictionary, phonebook, etc.)for a specific piece of information.. - I didn't know the correct spelling so I had to LOOK it UP in the dictionary.
Magic away - Make something disappear quickly. - He MAGICKED the bill AWAY and paid for us all before I could get my wallet out.
Make after - Chase. - The police MADE AFTER the stolen car.
Make away with - Steal. - The thieves MADE AWAY WITH the painting.
Make it - Arrive or get a result. - I thought you weren't coming, so I was really pleased you MADE IT.
Make it up to - Try to compensate for doing something wrong. - He tried to MAKE IT UP TO her, but she wouldn't speak to him.
Make of - Understand or have an opinion. - What do you MAKE OF your new boss?
Make off - Leave somewhere in a hurry. - They MADE OFF when they heard the police siren.
Mash up - Mix sources of audio, video or other computer sources.. - She MASHED UP the songs into a single track.
Melt down - Heat something solid, especially metal, until it becomes liquid. - They MELTED the gold statue DOWN and turned it into gold bars.
Mess about - Not be serious, not use something properly. - The children were MESSING ABOUT with the TV remote control and broke it.
Mix up - Confuse. - I always MIX those two sisters UP because they look so like each other.
Move into - Start living in a place. - They MOVED INTO the house as soon as it was ready.
Move up - Move to make space. - Could you MOVE UP and let me sit down?
Nail down - Succeed in getting, achieve. - They are having trouble NAILING DOWN the contract.
Name after - Give someone a name to remember another person. - I was NAMED AFTER my uncle who died in the war.
Narrow down - Remove less important options to make it easier to choose. - I am not sure which university to apply to, but I have NARROWED my list DOWN to three.
Nerd out - Play safe and avoid taking a risk. - I'm going to NERD OUT and not go on the river trip.
Opt for - Choose. - I OPTED FOR an endowment mortgage and lost a lot of money.
Opt in - Choose to be part or a member of something. - If you want them to notify you of updates, you have to OPT IN.
Opt into - Choose to be a member or part of something. - I OPTED INTO the scheme.
Opt out - Choose not to be part of something. - The UK OPTED OUT of a lot of EU legislation on working hours and conditions.
Pack in  - Stop doing something. - I'm trying to PACK IN smoking.
Pack off  -Send someone away. - His boss PACKED him OFF to a regional office.
Pack out - Fill a venue. - The stadium was PACKED OUT.
Pack up  -Stop doing something. - You should PACK UP smoking.
Pad down - Sleep somewhere for the night. - I'm too tired to come home; can I PAD DOWN here tonight?
Pad out - Make a text longer by including extra content, often content that isn't particularly relevant. - I couldn't think of much to write, so I PADDED the essay OUT with a few lengthy quotes.
Pal around - Be friendly and spend time with someone. - We PALLED AROUND at university.
Pal up  - Become friends. - We PALLED UP when I started working with her.
Pass away - Die. - Sadly, Georgia's uncle PASSED AWAY yesterday after a short illness.
Pass back - Return. - I felt awful when the teacher started to PASS BACK the exam papers.
Pass by - Go past without stopping. - I was just PASSING BY when I saw the accident.
Patch up - Fix or make things better. - I tried to PATCH things UP after the argument, but they wouldn't speak to me.
Pay back - Repay money borrowed. - I PAID BACK the twenty pounds I'd borrowed.
Pay off - Produce a profitable or successful result. - Their patience PAID OFF when he finally showed up and signed the contract.
Peel away - Leave a group by moving in a different direction. - Some of the crowd PEELED AWAY to get out of the crush.
Peg out - Put washing outside to dry. - I PEGGED the washing OUT after it stopped raining.
Phase in - Introduce gradually. - They are PHASING IN the reforms over the next two years.
Phase out - Remove gradually. - They have introduced a compact edition of the newspaper and are PHASING OUT the broadsheet edition over the next few months.
Pick at - Eat unwillingly. - I wasn't very hungry so I just PICKED AT my food.
Pick up - Collect. - While you're in town, can you PICK UP my trousers from the Dry Cleaner?
Pig out - Eat a lot. - The food was great, so I really PIGGED OUT.
Pile up - Accumulate. - Work just keeps on PILING UP and I really can't manage to get it all done.
Pin down - Discover exact details about something. - The government can't PIN DOWN where the leak came from.
Pin on - Attach the blame to someone. - The police tried to PIN the crime ON him.
Pin up - Fix something to a wall, or other vertical surface, with a pin. - I PINNED the notice UP on the board
Pine away - Suffer physically because of grief, stress, worry, etc. - He's been PINING AWAY since his wife died and is a shadow of his former self.
Pipe down - Be quiet (often as an imperative). - The lecturer asked the students to PIPE DOWN and pay attention.
Pipe up - To speak, raise your voice. - At first, no one answered, then finally someone PIPED UP.
Play along - Pretend to agree or accept something in order to keep someone happy or to get more information. - I disagreed with the idea but I had to PLAY ALONG because everyone else liked it.
Play around - silly. - The children were PLAYING AROUND and being annoying.
Play up - Behave badly. - The children PLAYED UP all evening and drove the babysitter mad.
Plug in - Connect machines to the electricity supply. - He PLUGGED the TV IN and turned it on full blast.
Plump down - Put something in a place without taking care. - He PLUMPED his bag DOWN and kicked his shoes off.
Plump for - Choose. - I PLUMPED FOR the steak frites.
Point out - Make someone aware of something. - He POINTED OUT that I only had two weeks to get the whole thing finished.
Poke about - Move things around or search in a casual way to try to find something. - I POKED ABOUT in my CD collection to see if I could find it.
Poke around - Move things around or search in a casual way to try to find something. - I POKED AROUND in my desk to see if the letter was there.
Polish off - Finish, consume. - She POLISHES OFF half a bottle of gin every night.
Polish up - Improve something quickly. - I need to POLISH UP my French before I go to Paris.
Pop in - Visit for a short time. - He POPPED IN for a coffee on his way home.
Pop off - Talk loudly, complain. - He's always POPPING OFF when things don't suit him.
Power up - Turn a computer or electronic device on so that it is ready to use. - I POWERED UP my laptop and started work.
Price up - Charge more for something. - In rural areas where they have a monopoly, some garages PRICE UP fuel because there's nowhere else to buy it.
Pull ahead  - Overtake, move in front. - The lorry was going slowly but we managed to PULL AHEAD.
Pull out - Move into traffic. - The traffic was so bad that it took me ages to PULL OUT.