50 Common English Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verb is a verb with an adverb or a preposition, or sometimes both (particle),  to give a new meaning, for example go in for, win over and see to.

A distinction may be made between phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs, according to the different grammatical patterns in which they occur. For example:

 

Phrasal Verb

- Turn Off the light. 

- Turn the light off.

A particle can occur after the object.

Prepositional Verb

I'll apply for the job.

I'll apply the job for.   wrong

A particle cannot occur after the object.

 

Phrasal-prepositional verb 

It consists of a verb, an  adverb particle, and a preposition.

We must cut down on expenses.

They put their failure down to bad advice.

 

The meaning of some of these verbal constructions can be guessed from the meanings of their parts (e.g. cut down on).

 

Nowadays, the term "phrasal verb" is often used to include phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, and phrasal-prepositional verbs.

 

After knowing a handful piece of information about phrasal verbs, let us know the most common phrasal verbs used in the English language.

 

 1. Come out

To become public knowledge after it has been kept secret. 

- She is confident that the truth will come out during the trial.

- During our conversation, it came out that he was not as rich as we had thought.

 

2. Figure out  

 To understand something or someone, or to find the answer to something by thinking carefully.

 - I can't figure out why he did it.

-  I've never been able to figure John out.

3. Put on

To put a piece of clothing onto your body.

- Put your coat on if you're going outside, it is cold.

- She put on her glasses and stared at the photograph.

 

4. Run into

To meet someone that you know when you did not expect to meet them.

- I ran into an old friend of mine at the supermarket
yesterday. 

- I owe Mike $500, so I hope I don't run into him.

5- Run out

To use all of something so that there is none left.

- Could you get some more milk? We're about to run out.

- We've run out of paper for the photocopier.

 

6- Show up 

To appear somewhere.

- She didn't show up for the meeting.

- The spots won't show up until the last stages of the disease.

7- Give in

To accept that you have been defeated and agree to stop competing or fighting.

- She knew she'd lost the argument but she wouldn't give in.

-  My son drove me crazy asking me to buy him a new bicycle, and I
finally gave in.

 

8-  Stay off

To not eat, drink or use something that can harm you.

- I'm going to stay off sugar for a couple of weeks.

- If I feel like this tomorrow, I'll stay off.

 

9- Throw up

To produce new problems or ideas.

- I thought it was a good meeting - it threw up a lot of interesting ideas.

- The report has thrown up some worrying questions about the safety of air travel.

 

10-  Go along with

To support an idea, or to agree with someone's opinion.

- She'll go along with anything he says just for a quiet life.

- I don't care what the boss says - I'm not going along with any changes that will mean longer hours for less money.

11- Put up with

To accept unpleasant behaviour or an unpleasant situation, even though you do not like it. 

- I can put up with a house being untidy but I don't like it to be dirty.

- He's impossible! How do you put up with him?

12- Go in for 

To like a particular thing, or to do a certain activity because you enjoy it.

- Laila really goes in for any kind of outdoor activity.

- They go in for chess a lot in Russia.

13- Look forward to

To feel pleased or excited about something that is going to happen.

- I look forward to an opportunity to meet with you in person.

- We're really looking forward to seeing Robin again.

14- Talk down to

To talk to someone as if they were less clever than you.

- He was always talking down to us like we were idiots.

- Jane hates Bob because of the way he talks down
to her. 

15- Go after

To follow someone to catch them or to get something you want.

- I got on my bike and went after him.

- Are you planning to go after Jane's job when she leaves?

 

16- Look up 

To look at a book or computer to find a piece of information.

- I want to try that new Chinese restaurant. Can you look up their menu online?  

- I'm not sure what his number is. You'll have look it up in the telephone directory.

 

17- Pay for 

To give someone money in exchange of something.

- Can I pay for this stuff with a credit card?

- Simon paid the waiter for his dinner. 

18- Point to 

To say something because you think it is important in a discussion.

- She also pointed to the need for better training.

- These terrible test scores point to a need for some major changes in our educational system. 

19- Wrap up

To conclude an event that has been happening for some time.

- We wrapped up the meeting around 3:00 and went home. 

- The salesman blabbered for two hours before I finally told him to wrap it up.

20- Burn out

To stop suffering from an illness, problem, or emotion.

- Generally speaking, the disease burns out within a couple of years.

- The  international community chose to wait until the conflict burnt itself out.

21- Break down

To stop functioning.

- His car broke down on the way to work.

- The washing machine's broken down, so I have to wash all our clothes by hand.

 

22- Find out

To get information about something.

- Ring the restaurant to find out if they still have a table free.

- We found out it was his birthday, so we decided to buy him a small present.

23- Call in

To telephone your place of work to explain why you are not there.

- I'd better call in and tell them I'm going to be late.

- The manager was angry when her secretary called in three days in a row.

24- Call off

To decide that a planned event or activity will not happen.

- The match had to be called off because of the freezing weather.

- The wedding was planned for July, and they've just called the whole thing off.

 

25- Check out

To examine something, or to get information about something or someone.

- He hired investigators to check out his future business partner.

- Safety inspectors checked the hotel out before giving it a licence.

 

26- Bring up

To look after a child and educate them until they are old enough or To start to talk about a particular subject.

- We'll bring our children up to respect other people.

- There are several points I'd like to bring up at the meeting tomorrow. 

27- Set up

To get all the necessary equipment ready for a particular activity.

- I need one or two people to help me set up the stand.

- When you're camping, be sure to set your tent up before it gets dark.

28- Come up with

To think of or to suggest a plan or idea a solution to a problem or an answer to a question. 

- Lydia wants to come up with a great idea for the party. 

- It took me all night, but I came up with the answer.

29- Cut up 

To cut something into small pieces.

- The boy's mother is cutting a piece of meat up for him.

- I was so angry at her that I cut her picture up.

30- Hang on

To wait, especially for a short time.

- We're a bit busy at the moment - can you hang on a minute?

- We asked for a quick decision, but they've kept us hanging on for weeks.

 

31- Hold up

To remain in a healthy or successful state.

- If my knee holds up, I'll join you on that walk tomorrow.

- The leisure industry hasn't held up too well in the recent recession.

32- Let out

To allow a person or animal to leave a place by giving permission or opening a door.

- I opened the door and let the dog out.

- The guard lets the prisoners out of their cells every day at 4:00.

 

33- Pick up

To lift something or someone by using your hands.

- I bent over to pick up my pen which had fallen on the floor.

- If she starts to cry, pick her up and give her a cuddle.

 

34- Come across

To discover something by chance, or to meet someone by chance.

- While he was tidying up his room he came across his old album.

- I came across an old school friend of mine when I was travelling in Canada.

 

35- Take in 

To understand the meaning or importance of news or information.

- She had to read the letter twice before she could take the news in.

- It was quite an interesting lecture but there was just too much to take in.

 

36- Drop by

To make a short visit to someone in their home, usually without arranging it before. 

- He said he might drop by later this evening.

- I’ll be home all day. You can drop by for coffee whenever you’re free.

 

37- Drop off

To take someone to a place that they want to go to, or to deliver something to a place.

- I'm driving into town, so I can drop you off on the way.

- If you're going past the library, would you mind dropping off these books?

38- Catch up

To reach someone in front of you by going faster than them or to reach the same quality as someone else.

- You go on ahead, and I'll catch you up later.

- Children who come to our classes without basic reading skills often find it hard to catch up.

 

39- Make up

To say or write something that is not true to deceive someone.

- I'd made up some story about having to go home to see my sick mother.

- Don't make up an excuse.

40- Wait up

To stay awake because you are expecting someone to arrive or to tell someone to stop so that you can talk to them.

- I'll be home late, so don't wait up for me.

-  Hey, Christi, wait up! I need to talk to you.

 

41- Put off

To decide or arrange to do something at a later time.

- Buying a new house will have to be put off until we can afford it.

- The students begged the teacher to put the test off until the next week.

42- Move in

To begin living in a new house or area.

- They've made a lot of designs to the house since they moved in.

- The landlord said we could move right in if we want to.

 

43- Work out

To understand something or to find the answer to something by thinking about it.

- We couldn't work out why they looked so guilty.

- Eventually, I worked out that the parcel has been sent to London by mistake.

44- Warm up

To prepare yourself for a physical activity by doing some exercises.

- Before a race, most runners warm up with stretching exercises. 

- The singer warmed up in her dressing room before the concert.

 

45- Speak up

To speak more loudly or publicly express your opinions.

- Speak up, Jane, I can't hear what you're saying.

- She has often spoken up for the rights of working mothers.

 

46- Chill out

To relax, or not allow things to upset you.

- Sit down, have a drink and chill out, Maya.

-We spent the whole week chilling out in the country.

47- Give up

To stop doing a regular activity or a job.

- I had to give up my second job because I was so exhausted all the time.

- Are you going to give up work when you have your baby?

48- Hand out

To distribute something to other people.

- The teacher handed the tests out to the class.

- Emergency loan applications were handed out to the flood victims.

49- Cut off

To remove part of something with a knife, saw, or pair of scissors.

- He cut off a piece of cheese so that I could taste it. 

- One of the kings of England had his head cut off.

50- Dress up

To put on formal or special clothes for a special occasion.

- Weddings are a great opportunity to dress up.

- You should always dress up for a job interview.