Grammar Rules

An Extensive List of 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	To plead or make a request To be attractive or interesting	He appealed to the court to change its decision. A vacation of sunbathing doesn't appeal to me.
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	To give support or encouragement To make a copy of (file, program, etc.)	I'm going to be very strict with him. I hope you'll back me up on this? You should back up all your computer files in a secure location.
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	To explode To get angry	Tommy blew up the red balloon. Don't blow up at me. It's not my fault.
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	To go out of order, cease to function To lose control of one's emotions	The washing machine broke down so we had to call in the repair technician. John broke down when he heard the news.
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.
break up	To come to an end (marriage, relationship)	She broke up with Daniel after dating him for five years.
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	stop (something) working become exhausted from over-working	The light bulb burnt out. Please change it. She needs to work fewer hours. Otherwise she will burn out.
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	To do something as specified (a plan, an order, a threat) To perform or conduct (test, experiment)	His orders were carried out to the letter. That company does not carry out tests on animals.
check in	To register at a hotel or airport	They said I must check in at least three hours before my flight.
check out	To pay one's bill and leave (a hotel) To investigate	Donna checked out of the hotel this morning. I don't know if this price is correct. I'll check it out online.
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.
come across	To find by chance To appear, seem, make an impression	I was cleaning up and came across some old photos of you. The politician came across as a complete fool during the TV interview.
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	To remove using scissors To stop doing something	She cut out a coupon from the newspaper. You need to cut out all red meat from your diet.
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	To deliver someone or something To fall asleep	I'll drop off the papers later today. I often drop off in front of the TV.
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.
focus on	To concentrate on something	Tom had difficultty 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	To leave (bus, train, plane) To remove	You should get off the train in Kings Heath. I can't get the ink stain off my shirt.
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 doesnt 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.
give in	To cease opposition; yield To To hand in; submit	We will never give in to the terrorists' demands. I'll give in my paper tomorrow.
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	To wait To grip tightly	Please hold on and a representative will answer your call. She was so scared on the rollercoaster ride that she held on for dear life.
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	To engage in, become a member of To meet and unite with	There was a war on, so some kids were only sixteen when they joined up. Let's separate now and join up later at the restaurant.
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 off	To postpone, arrange a later date	Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.
put on	To turn on, switch on	It's very dark in here. Please put on the light on.
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.
pick up	To collect somebody	I'll pick you up at around 7:00 to take you to the airport.
point out	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 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.
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	To become unusable To become very tired	Julie wore out her shoes running the marathons. Julie was worn out after all that running.
work out	To do physical exercise To find a solution or calculate something	You should work out twice a week at the gym. Can you work this out? I'm no good at math.
wipe off	To clean (board, table).	I'll wash up if you wipe off the table.