PHRASAL VERBS LIST

PHRASA
MEANING EXAMPLE
L VERBS

To take action because of something The police were ACTING ON a tip from an
Act on
like information received. informer and caught the gang red-handed.

Perform something with actions and

Act out They ACTED OUT the story on stage.
gestures...

My computer’s ACTING UP; I think I might

Act up Behave badly or strangely.
have a virus.

You have to ADD the VAT ON to the price

Add on Include in a calculation.
they give.

Add up To make a mathematical total. We ADDED UP the bill to check it was correct.

Affect- usually used in the negative to

Agree show that something has had a negative I feel terrible- that food didn’t AGREE WITH
with effect, especially is it makes you feel my stomach.
bad.

Aim at To target. The magazine is AIMED AT teenagers.

Include something in a plan or You should ALLOW FOR delays when

Allow for
calculation. planning a journey.

Allow of Make possible, permit. The rules don’t ALLOW OF any exceptions.

Try to get something indirectly, by He’s been ANGLING FOR an invitation, but I
Angle for
hinting or suggesting. don’t want him to come.

Answer To reply rudely to someone in Her mother was shocked when she started
back authority. ANSWERING her BACK and refusing to help.

Argue Beat someone in a debate, discussion The teacher tried to ARGUE the girl DOWN,
down or argument. but she couldn’t.

Argue Persuade someone to drop the price of

She ARGUED him DOWN ten percent.
down something they’re selling.

Argue about a problem to find a If we can’t ARGUE our differences OUT, we’ll
Argue out
solution. have to take them to court.
 Ask how someone is doing, especially
Ask about He ASKED ABOUT my father.
professionally and in terms of health.

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

Ask Ask a number of people for I have no idea, but I’ll ASK AROUND at work
around information of help. 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.

They have ASKED us OVER for drinks on

Ask over Invite.
Friday.

Ask
Invite someone. We ASKED John ROUND for diner.
round

Auction They AUCTIONED OFF their property as they

Sell something in an auction.
off were heavily in debt.

Back The crowd BACKED AWAY when the man

Retreat or go backwards.
away pulled a knife.

Back Retract or withdraw your position or

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

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.

Fail to keep an arrangement or He BACKED OUT two days before the holiday
Back out
promise. so we gave the ticket to his sister

Back out Fail to keep an agreement, She BACKED OUT OF the agreement at the
of arrangement. last minute.

You should always BACK UP important files

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

Bag out Criticise. Don’t bag out BAG OUT Australian English.

The new project has BALLED me UP- I have

Ball up Confuse or make things complicated.
no idea what to do.
Bargain Persuade someone to drop the price of I BARGAINED her DOWN to half what she
down something they’re selling. originally wanted.

Bash If you BASH your monitor ABOUT like that, it

Mistreat physically.
about won’t last long.

The burglars BASHED the door IN to enter the

Bash in Break, damage or injure by hitting.
house.

Write something quickly without much I BASHED the essay OUT the night before I
Bash out
preparation. had to hand it in.

Bear She spotted him on the other side of the room

Move towards.
down on and BORE DOWN ON him.

The judge’s character may well BEAR ON the

Bear on Influence, affect.
final decision.

Statistics BEAR OUT the government’s

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

Bear up Resist pressure. How are you BEARING UP under the strain?

Bear up Cope with something difficult or

He’s BEARING UP UNDER the pressure.
under stressful.

Please BEAR WITH me a moment while I

Bear with Be patient.
finish this email.

Beat The sun WAS really BEATING DOWN and we

Strong sunshine.
down couldn’t stay outdoors.

The marathon runner barely BEAT OUT his

Beat out Narrowly win in competition.
rival at the tape.

Beat up Attack violently. The mugger BEAT him UP and stole his wallet.

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

Bend
Lower the top half of your body. I BENT DOWN to pick it up off the floor.
down

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.
 The space shuttle BLASTED OFF on schedule
Blast off Leave the ground- spaceship or rocket.
yesterday.

I couldn’t drive here this morning because

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

Obstruct an exit to prevent people from The police BLOCKED OFF the road after the
Block off
leaving. murder.

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

Blow When the wind forces something to

A tree was BLOWN DOWN in the storm.
down fall.

Arrive, sometimes suddenly or

Blow in He BLEW IN from Toronto early this morning.
unexpectedly.

We were going to meet last night, but she

Blow off Not keep an appointment.
BLEW me OFF at the last minute.

Blow up Explode. The bomb BLEW UP without any warning.

The anger BOILED UP in me when I saw what

Boil up Feel a negative emotion strongly.
they had done.

Bone up I need to BONE UP ON my French grammar

Study hard for a goal or reason.
on for the test.

WE took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and

Book in Check in at a hotel.
BOOKED IN.

I CALLED him UP as soon as I got to a phone

Call up Telephone.
to tell him the news.

Calm Stop being angry or emotionally When I lose my temper, it takes ages for me to
down excited. CALM DOWN again.

Have an opposite effect on something

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

Finish or complete, often with some She CAPPED OFF the meeting with a radical
Cap off
decisive action. proposal.

Care for Like. I don’t CARE FOR fizzy drinks; I prefer water.

The team got CARRIED AWAY when they

Carried
Get so emotional that you lose control. won the championship and started shouting and
away
throwing things around.
 Carry They hope the new management will be able to
Make something progress.
forward CARRY the project FORWARD.

She CARRIED OFF the first prize in the

Carry off Win, succeed.
competition.

CARRY ON quietly with your work until the

Carry on Continue.
substitute teacher arrives.

Jane spent a long time looking at houses before

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

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

When the parts of a plant above ground

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

It was on the front pages of all the papers for a

Die down Decrease or become quieter. few days, but the interest gradually DIED
DOWN.

I’m DYING FOR the weekend- this week’s

Die for Want something a lot.
been so hard.

Most of the elm trees in the UK DIED OFF

Die off Become extinct.
when Dutch elm disease arrived.

Some scientists say that the dinosaurs DIED

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

We were starving so we really DUG IN when

Dig in Start eating greedily.
the food finally did arrive.

She DUG INTO her handbag and pulled out a

Dig into Reach inside to get something.
bunch of keys.

Praise someone in an excessive way to

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

The gecko FEEDS OFF mosquitoes and other

Feed off Eat a food as part of an animal’s diet.
insects.

Feed on Give someone a particular food. He FEEDS his cat ON dry food.

Give someone a lot of food to restore She’s been ill for a fortnight so we’re
Feed up
their health, make them bigger, etc. FEEDING her UP.
 Someone FELT me UP in the club as I was
Feel up Touch sexually, grope.
trying to get to the bar.

I’m so tired. I don’t think I FEEL UP TO going

Feel up to Feel capable of doing something.
out tonight.

Stop doing something that has been a I GAVE UP taking sugar in tea and coffee to
Give up
habit. lose weight.

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

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.

They have JACKED UP the price of oil this

Jack up Increase sharply.
month.

Jack JAMMED ON the brakes when the rabbit

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

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

Make something more interesting or The show was getting stale so they JAZZED it
Jazz up
attractive. UP with some new scenes.

Keep I KEEP a dictionary AROUND when I’m doing

Keep something near you.
around my homework.

She found the course hard but she KEPT AT it

Keep at Continue with something difficult.
and completed it successfully.

Keep Medicines should always be KEPT AWAY

Don’t allow someone near something.
away from children.

Keep The police told the crowd to KEEP BACK from

Maintain a safe distance.
back the fire.

Plan things to fit or suit people or

Key to Promotions are KEYED TO people’s abilities.
situations.

Key up Make someone excited or nervous. The noise got us KEYED UP.

Kick
Discuss. We KICKED the idea ABOUT at the meeting.
about

Her hayfever didn’t feel half as bad once the

Kick in When a drug starts to take effect.
antihistamines had KICKED IN.
 The family KICKED the au pair OUT when
Kick out Expel. they found out that she was planning to move to
work for another household.

We KNOCKED OFF early on Friday to avoid

Knock off Finish work for the day.
the rush hour queues.

Lash We LASHED the tarpaulin DOWN to stop the

Secure something with ropes or cords.
down wind blowing it away.

Lash into Criticize someone strongly. He LASHED INTO them for messing thins up.

Lash out Suddenly become violent. He LASHED OUT and broke the man’s nose.

They LAID ON a buffet lunch at the

Lay on Organize, supply.
conference.

They LAID OUT thousands of pounds on their

Lay out Spend money.
wedding reception.

The doorstaff didn’t LET him IN the nightclub

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

The judge LET him OFF with a fine rather than

Let off Not punish.
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.

Follow a belief system to guide your

Live by He tries hard to LIVE BY the Bible.
behavior.

Live Stop being embarrassed about If I fail the test and everyone else passes, I’ll
down something. never be able to LIVE it DOWN.

It’s hard to LIVE WITH the pain of a serious

Live with Accept something unpleasant.
illness.

Enter a restricted area on a computer I had forgotten my password and couldn’t LOG
Log in
system. IN.

Enter a restricted area of a computer I LOGGED INTO the staff intranet to check my
Log into
system. email.

When she’d finished working on the

Log off Exit a computer system. 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.

Danny closed the programs and LOGGED OUT

Log out Exit a computer system.
when it was time to go home.

Consult a reference work (dictionary,

I didn’t know the correct spelling so I had to
Look up phonebook, etc.) for a specific piece of
LOOK it UP in the dictionary.
information...

Magic He MAGICKED the bill AWAY and paid for us

Make something disappear quickly.
away all before I could get my wallet out.

Make
Chase. The police MADE AFTER the stolen car.
after

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

I thought you weren’t coming, so I was really

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

Make it Try to compensate for doing something He tried to MAKE IT UP TO her, but she
up to wrong. wouldn’t speak to him.

Make of Understand or have an opinion. What do you MAKE OF your new boss?

They MADE OFF when they heard the police

Make off Leave somewhere in a hurry.
siren.

Mix sources of audio, video or other

Mash up She MASHED UP the songs into a single track.
computer sources...

Melt Heat something solid, especially metal, They MELTED the gold statue DOWN and
down until it becomes liquid. turned it into gold bars.

Mess Not be serious, not use something The children were MESSING ABOUT with the
about properly. TV remote control and broke it.

I always MIX those two sisters UP because they

Mix up Confuse.
look so like each other.

They MOVED INTO the house as soon as it

Move into Start living in a place.
was ready.

Move up Move to make space. Could you MOVE UP and let me sit down?

Nail They are having trouble NAILING DOWN the

Succeed in getting, achieve.
down contract.

Name Give someone a name to remember I was NAMED AFTER my uncle who died in
 after another person. the war.

Narrow Remove less important options to make I am not sure which university to apply to, but I
down it easier to choose. have NARROWED my list DOWN to three.

I’m going to NERD OUT and not go on the

Nerd out Play safe and avoid taking a risk.
river trip.

I OPTED FOR an endowment mortgage and

Opt for Choose.
lost a lot of money.

Choose to be part or a member of If you want them to notify you of updates, you
Opt in
something. have to OPT IN.

Choose to be a member or part of

Opt into I OPTED INTO the scheme.
something.

The UK OPTED OUT of a lot of EU legislation

Opt out Choose not to be part of something.
on working hours and conditions.

Pack in Stop doing something. I’m trying to PACK IN smoking.

His boss PACKED him OFF to a regional

Pack off Send someone away.
office.

Pack out Fill a venue. The stadium was PACKED OUT.

Pack up Stop doing something. You should PACK UP smoking.

I’m too tired to come home; can I PAD DOWN

Pad down Sleep somewhere for the night.
here tonight?

Make a text longer by including extra

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

Pal Be friendly and spend time with

We PALLED AROUND at university.
around someone.

We PALLED UP when I started working with

Pal up Become friends.
her.

Sadly, Georgia’s uncle PASSED AWAY

Pass away Die.
yesterday after a short illness.

I felt awful when the teacher started to PASS

Pass back Return.
BACK the exam papers.

Pass by Go past without stopping. I was just PASSING BY when I saw the
 accident.

I tried to PATCH things UP after the argument,

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

Pay back Repay money borrowed. I PAID BACK the twenty pounds I’d borrowed.

Produce a profitable or successful Their patience PAID OFF when he finally

Pay off
result. showed up and signed the contract.

Leave a group by moving in a different Some of the crowd PEELED AWAY to get out
Peel away
direction. of the crush.

I PEGGED the washing OUT after it stopped

Peg out Put washing outside to dry.
raining.

They are PHASING IN the reforms over the

Phase in Introduce gradually.
next two years.

They have introduced a compact edition of the

Phase out Remove gradually. newspaper and are PHASING OUT the
broadsheet edition over the next few months.

I wasn’t very hungry so I just PICKED AT my

Pick at Eat unwillingly.
food.

While you’re in town, can you PICK UP my

Pick up Collect.
trousers from the Dry Cleaner?

Pig out Eat a lot. The food was great, so I really PIGGED OUT.

Work just keeps on PILING UP and I really

Pile up Accumulate.
can’t manage to get it all done.

Discover exact details about The government can’t PIN DOWN where the
Pin down
something. leak came from.

Pin on Attach the blame to someone. The police tried to PIN the crime ON him.

Fix something to a wall, or other

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

Suffer physically because of grief, He’s been PINING AWAY since his wife died
Pine away
stress, worry, etc. and is a shadow of his former self.

Pipe The lecturer asked the students to PIPE DOWN

Be quiet (often as an imperative).
down and pay attention.

Pipe up To speak, raise your voice. At first, no one answered, then finally someone
 PIPED UP.

Pretend to agree or accept something in

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

Play The children were PLAYING AROUND and

Be silly.
around being annoying.

The children PLAYED UP all evening and

Play up Behave badly.
drove the babysitter mad.

Connect machines to the electricity He PLUGGED the TV IN and turned it on full

Plug in
supply. blast.

Plump Put something in a place without taking He PLUMPED his bag DOWN and kicked his
down care. shoes off.

Plump for Choose. I PLUMPED FOR the steak frites.

He POINTED OUT that I only had two weeks

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

Poke Move things around or search in a I POKED ABOUT in my CD collection to see if

about casual way to try to find something. I could find it.

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

She POLISHES OFF half a bottle of gin every

Polish off Finish, consume.
night.

I need to POLISH UP my French before I go to

Polish up Improve something quickly.
Paris.

Pop in Visit for a short time. He POPPED IN for a coffee on his way home.

He’s always POPPING OFF when things don’t

Pop off Talk loudly, complain.
suit him.

Turn a computer or electronic device

Power up I POWERED UP my laptop and started work.
on so that it is ready to use.

In rural areas where they have a monopoly,

Price up Charge more for something. some garages PRICE UP fuel because there’s
nowhere else to buy it.

Pull The lorry was going slowly but we managed to

Overtake, move in front.
ahead PULL AHEAD.
 The traffic was so bad that it took me ages to
Pull out Move into traffic.
PULL OUT.