Common Phrasal Verbs (Primary – Tertiary)

Phrasal Verbs: Phrases that consist of a verb plus an adverb or a preposition.

Phrasal Verb Meaning Common Usage

abide by/ follow a rule or law and do what it abide by the rules of
stick to says the game
account for able to explain, give a reason or account for her
say what has happened to mistakes
something
act as to be used for a purpose acts as the referee
act on to follow a suggestion or advice
act on the advice
given by his mother
add in include as part of an amount the cost of repair
needs to be added in
agree on to come to a consensus (同意) about agree on a date
something
agree to accept what someone is agree to his request
suggesting
amount to used with negatives for saying You will never
that something or someone is not amount to much if
successful you keep playing
video games.
answer for punished for something bad you to answer for his
have done crimes
apply to something that affects (影响) you new rules apply to
you too
approve of think something is O.K. I approve of your
dance.
arrive at to form or come to a decision arrived at the answer
about something for the question
ask for to ask for something or to meet  asked for a
someone cup of tea
 teacher asked
for you
ask after to ask someone for news about asked after your
someone health condition
aspire to intend or desire to have or aspire to become an
achieve something artist
attend to to do what needs to be done She attended to her
homework after
coming home.
back down to stop asking for something or refused to back down
threatening (威胁) to do something in the argument
back up/stand up to give support/defend He backed up/stood
for up for his friend when
he was bullied.
bargain for not expecting something to did not bargain for
happen the sudden change in
 weather
bargain on to expect and need something to bargaining on a
happen better teacher
bear with to be patient (耐心) with something bear with his slow
or someone work speed
become of to ask where someone is or what What has become of
has happened to someone NAJIB after his loss?
believe in to have confidence in someone I believe in his
diligence (用功).
black out to become unconscious (昏) He blacked out after
getting punched.
blend in to become part of something …new transfer student
blended in very well
with the class
blow out to blow on a flame or candle to blow out the candles
make it stop burning on your cake
blow over an argument that will gradually the fight will blow
end over soon
bounce back to recover (恢复) from a sad or bounced back after
unhappy state the failure and tried
again
break down starting to cry uncontrollably broke down suddenly
and cried
break up to stop a fight broke up the fight
between his brothers
bring back to remember something from the …photo brings back
past nostalgic memories
bring out make something available for …they bring out the
people to buy new product
bring up to look after a child and teach …brought him up
them about life with a lot of love
brush aside dismiss or refuse to accept …boss always
brushes aside any
suggestion…
build up increase in size or strength …build up strength to
lift the books…
burst out suddenly start to cry or laugh …burst out crying…
loudly
call for the action people should take This calls for a
celebration.
call off decide something that it will not Let us call off the
happen meeting.
carry away to become so excited about He got carried away
something that you don’t think or because he was too
behave sensibly happy.
carry on to continue doing something …carried on with his
homework
carry out to do and complete something …carried out the
meeting yesterday
 catch on something that becomes popular A video of a dog
caught on the other
day.
catch up if someone catches on, that He has trouble
person has reached your standard catching up to Aaron
or level since he is lazy.
come across to find something or someone by He came across
chance/ unexpectedly some old letters.
come down with to suffer from an illness Tim has come down
with the flu so he
cannot make it to
school.
come forward to offer to give help or information No witnesses to the
accident have come
forward yet, despite
the police appeal.
come out to appear or become known She hoped the truth
about the affair would
never come out.

They all run down to

the beach as soon as
the sun comes out
come up with to think of or suggest an idea The boy comes up
with a plan to improve
his studies.
consist of to have or include Sand consists of very
tiny pieces of rock and
shell.
cope with to deal with or manage Clare had great
difficulty in coping
with her workload.
cut off to stop the supply of something or They cut the
to have no contact with other electricity off for four
people or other places hours yesterday to
change a cable.
deal with do what needs to be done I still have a few things
to deal with before I
leave the office.
die out to become rarer These local traditions
are slowly dying out.
disapprove of to think that something is wrong A lot of people
or not allowing it disapprove of
smoking.
dispose of/ to get rid of or throw away Dangerous chemicals
do away with something should be disposed
of safely.
dress up put on smart clothes or a special I dressed up as a
costume Roman emperor for
 the party.
drop back move into a lower position in a The Italians are now in
competition the lead after the
British crew dropped
back in the second
stage of the race.
drop in to come for a visit, especially Drop in whenever
without having received an you’re in the
invitation neighbourhood.
drop off take someone somewhere in a car The bus drops the
and let them out passenger off at the
town hall.
dwell on to keep thinking about something Let’s not dwell on
things that are best
forgotten.
eat into to take up a huge amount of Any extra work will eat
something into the time I have
with my children.
eat out to have a meal in a restaurant, If we can’t afford to
not at home eat out, we can have
a takeaway instead.
end in to finish with a certain result The match ended in a
draw.
end up/ finish up to be at a place or situation at the We took several
end of a series of events wrong turnings and
ended up in the
middle of the field.
engage in take part in or involved in Dave appeared to be
engaged in
extricating (to free) a
dead mouse from a
trap.
expand on to say or explain more about The bank has asked
something us to expand on our
business plan.
face up to to accept and try to solve a It is best to face up to
difficult situation your illness and get
treatment for it.
fall back on something that is available when She has her
everything else has failed temporary work to fall
back on if her regular
work dries up.
fall behind to progress less rapidly than other Henry is falling
people or than planned behind the rest of the
class as he has been
sick for a couple of
weeks.
fall out to have an argument with Children are always
someone falling out with their
 friends.
fall through to have a plan fail to happen The sale of the house
successfully fell through at the
last minute.
fill in/ fill out to write information in the spaces We are required to fill
provided on an official document in/ fill out a form
before we can create
our IC.
fit in/ fit into to feel that you are the same as You will always be
the other people in a group and alone if you do not try
you belong to it to fit in.
flare up a scene where people become Another fight has
angry or violent flared up between the
government and fire
brigade unions.
flood in/ flood people or things arriving or The doors opened and
into entering in large numbers the crowd flooded
into the hall.
follow up to do something that is related to We are hoping to
a piece of work that you have follow this plan up
done with sponsors.
force into to be made to do something you The boy was forced
do not want to into stealing from his
parents by the bullies.
get away with to avoid being punished for doing The police knew he
something bad had committed the
crime, but he got
away with it.
get into to become interested in an She has been getting
activity or subject into yoga recently.
get off to leave a place, usually on a If we can get off by
journey seven o’clock, the
roads will be clearer.
get over to recover from something Has John got over
unpleasant, such as an illness or a that bad cold he had
bad experience last week?
get through to use until there is none left We get through
about twenty tins of
dog food a week.
give in to stop trying to do something The climb was difficult,
and admit that you cannot do it but the hiker refused
to give in.
give out/ distribute/ give one to each Please give out the
hand out person books to your friends.
give up to stop trying to do something She has a struggle
before you have finished trying to persuade the
board to accept her
proposal, but she is
determined not to
 give up.
go after chase He goes after her to
apologise for his
mistake.
go by to use something as a guide to The students were
help you in doing something told that if they went
by the rules, they
would not get into
trouble.
go off  rings I think this milk has
 stops being fresh to eat gone off so we should
not drink it.
go through to examine something carefully My teacher always
goes through our
homework with utmost
care.
go with (clothes) matches or looks nice That scarf does not
with something go with your jacket.
hand in to give something to someone in How can the teacher
authority (有权力的人) mark your essay if you
do not hand it in?
hand over to give something that you The police made us
shouldn’t have to somebody in hand over our
authority passports.
hand round to give or offer something to each The waitress handed
person in a group round a tray of
sandwiches.
hang up to end a telephone conversation May was so angry that
she hung up before
Dave could even
apologise.
have on to wear a piece of clothing at the The clothes you have
moment on now do not match
the atmosphere of the
event.
head for to go towards a place He is heading for
London in 2 weeks’
time.
hear of to hear or know about something My doctor says he has
or someone even though you never heard of the
have not been told much painkiller that is being
advertised.
help out to give help temporarily or during I think I should help
an emergency him out since he is an
old friend of mine.
hold up to make someone late We were held up in
the traffic for over an
hour.
identify with to understand someone’s feelings Parents often find it
 or behaviours because you have hard to identify with
been through it before their teenage children.
impose on to force someone to accept Her father is a bully
something or someone who tries to impose
his opinions on
everyone in the family.
insist on to say or decide firmly that you Bob insists on
must have it or do it sending his children to
private schools.
interfere with (干 to disturb or spoil something by Those chemicals are
涉) changing the way it happens or interfering with our
develops climate.
jot down to write something down, often in Just let me jot down
notes form your address.
jump at to accept an offer quickly or Most players would
eagerly jump at the
opportunity to play for
their country.
keep off  to make someone or We should keep off
something stay away from a politics because it only
place causes strained
 to avoid talking about relationships between
something friends.
 to avoid eating or drinking
something
keep up to continue to do something as I hope the school can
well as before keep up this very high
standard of
achievement.
kick out to be forced to leave a place or He was kicked out of
team the team because he
was lazy.
knock out to make someone faint She knocked out her
opponent in the first
round of the fight.
lay down to give as instructions to be The principal has laid
followed down new rules about
the school uniform.
lay off to dismiss workers from work, We are hoping not to
either temporarily or have to lay any more
permanently, because there is not workers off this year.
enough work for them to do
lean on to ask someone for support, either I think she leans on
frequently or too often her parents a lot.
leave behind to forget to take something away I must have left my
with you accidentally or on purse behind in the
purpose when you leave a place shop.
leave out to not include something or The essay would be
someone better if you left out
 the first paragraph.
let down to disappoint Moira felt that her
husband had let her
children down by not
coming home for
Christmas.
let off to not punish someone severely I will let you boys off
with just a warning this
time.
live on to depend on something for Pandas live on
survival bamboo leaves.
lock up to make a room secure by locking Is the house all
doors and windows locked up?
look after to make sure that someone is Could you look after
comfortable and have the things the children for an
they want hour, please?
look for to try to find something Jack has lost his
notebook and is
looking for it.
look forward to to expect something nice from I am looking forward
something or someone to my cousin’s visit.
look into to investigate The police are
looking into how the
accident could have
happened.
look out for to see or find something or to be Look out for a narrow
careful of something street on your right –
that’s where we turn.
look up to look for information in a book I will look up the
or on the Internet meaning of the word
later in a dictionary.
make out to be able to see or hear I could just make out
something by looking or listening the shape of a dog
closely through the mist.
make up to invent something that is not He made up the story
true of being bitten by a
dog.
miss out to not include something You missed out my
name on the list of
winners.
move in/ to start to live in a new place We are getting the
move into keys to our new house
tomorrow, and we
move in next week.
move on  to start to focus on We spent the first two
something else hours discussing
 to improve one’s lifestyle or Chinese, but now it is
behaviour time to move on to
English.
 move up to move closer together to make Could you move up
room for others and make room for
two more people?
name after to give someone or something the The town is named
name of another person or thing after the waterfalls on
its northern side.
narrow down to reduce the number of choices The film received
so as to reach a decision many applications for
the post, but the
committee have
narrowed them down
to four.
open up to make opportunities available The course he is
taking could open up
several career
possibilities.
opt for to choose A lot of school leavers
are opting for careers
in computing.
own up to admit to something bad that Will the person who
one has done damaged this
computer please own
up now?
part with to give or sell something to The painting was a
someone else present and I couldn’t
bear to part with it.
pass away to die It has been two years
since grandad passed
away.
pass by to go past I like to sit at an
outside table and
simply watch people
pass by.
pass off as to pretend that something is They had copied the
something else when it is not paintings and passed
them off as the
genuine masterpiece.
pass on to tell the information you were Beth was chosen to
given to someone else pass on the bad news
to the others.
pass out to faint She passed out from
the shock of her
husband’s death.
pass up to not take something such as an Paula felt that she
opportunity could not pass up the
chance to see her
favourite pop group.
pick on to bully or criticize The other girls picked
on the new student
because they are
 jealous of her beauty.
pick up  to collect She picked up the
 to buy something habit of repeating
 to begin to have or do a everything you say.
new habit or skill
point out to direct someone’s attention to If you see the man
something again, point him out.
prey on  something that keeps The memory of that
worrying you terrible time still preys
 to victimize others on Jackie’s nerves.
pull in/ pull over to stop by the side of the road The police officer
signalled to the driver
to pull in.
push in to unfairly go to a position that is Keep your place in the
ahead of other people in a queue queue. Don’t let
anyone push in.
push over to make someone fall to the The boy didn’t even
ground by pushing stop to apologise
when he pushed over
the old lady.
put away/ to put something where it belongs The children put
put back away their toys after
playing with them.
put down for to say officially that you want to He has put his name
be involved in something down for the
swimming and cycling
races.
put in to work long or hard at something We have put in a lot
with effort and time of effort to get this
project going.
put off to not do something immediately; Due to the illness, we
procrastinate have decided to put
off the meeting that
was supposed to be
held today.
put on to wear clothes I’ll put on the blue
dress today.
put out to stop a fire from continue The firemen arrived
burning and put out the fire.
put together to make something by fitting its It took Lucy’s dad all
separate pieces together day to put the doll’s
house together.
put up  to build Families whose
 to sell homes are flooded are
 to provide accommodation being put up in local
(住宿) hotels.
put up with to tolerate (忍耐) or accept Patsy hates the
something or someone canteen food, but
unpleasant or difficult puts up with it
 because it’s cheap.
quieten down to do or say something to The police tried to
someone to make them less noisy quieten down the
crowd.
read out to say the words aloud as you John read his whole
read it essay out to the class.
read through to read the whole of a piece of I’ve read through all
writing, from the beginning to the your essays and they
end are generally very
good.
rely on to expect someone to do what My parents have
you ask them to do or what they offered to help and I’m
promise to do sure we can rely on
them.
round off to end something and make it They rounded off the
seem complete (完结) concert with songs
from famous stage
shows.
round up  to gather a large number of They calculated the
animals or people cost of the trip and
 to make a number into a rounded it up to the
general number by nearest thousand
increasing it to the nearest dollars.
whole number
rule out to decide that something is Suicide has been
unsuitable, unlikely or impossible ruled out as the
and you don’t think about it any cause of death.
longer
run after to try to catch someone by Our dog runs after
running in the same direction as every car that passes.
they are running in
run down  to injure or kill someone in a Don’t run yourself
vehicle down – you’re doing
 to say bad things about an excellent job.
someone
run into to meet someone or encounter a The other day, I ran
problem unexpectedly into an old friend from
my schooldays.
run out to use up all of one’s supply We are running out
of rice so go and buy
some more.
rush into to do something without thinking Getting married isn’t
about it carefully something you should
rush into.
save up to keep and collect money instead Zoe is saving up for a
of spending it, often so that it can new bicycle.
be spent later on a particular
thing
search for to try to find someone or The police are out
 something by looking in a lot of searching for the
places missing child.
see of to talk about how often you see Now he’s living in
someone or how much time you Australia he doesn’t
spend with them see much of his
family.
see to deal with or arrange for someone If I order the dressed
else to deal with something for the wedding, will
you see to the
flowers?
sell off to get rid of something by selling We didn’t want Dad to
it sell off the family
business.
sell out to finish all the stock of something Bookshops are
until there is none left expecting to sell out
of the new Harry
Potter within a few
hours of the book
going on sale.
send away for to send a letter to a shop or I’ve sent off for a list
company and ask them to send of all the art books
something to you they publish.
set aside to use something such as time or Try to set some time
money for a particular purpose aside for things you
really enjoy doing.
set off to leave on a journey We shall have to set
off early the catch the
train.
set up to arrange for something to We have set up a
happen fund-raising
committee for the
project.
settle down to get into a comfortable position We settled down in
the chairs by the fire.
settle for accept something although it is Jenny’s the kind of
not very good or not what you athlete who won’t
really want settle for a silver
medal – it has to be
gold.
show around to show someone the main Bob showed his
features or attractiveness of a parents around the
place university.
show off to do things to try to make some The children always
people admire you show off when we
have visitors.
show up to make someone feel Teenagers are
embarrassed by your bad terrified that they’ll be
behaviour or silly mistakes shown up by their
parents.
 single out to treat someone or something Jack was singled out
differently from the others in a as the most promising
group new members.
sit through to watch something until the end, I don’t think I could sit
even if you do not enjoy it through a whole
opera.
sleep in to sleep longer than indeed to, Sorry, I’m late. I slept
which makes one late for in.
something
sort out to put things in order or put them Dad is sorting all his
into groups documents out.
sound out/ to find out the opinion of someone We should sound out
voice out the rest of the
workforce before we
make a decision.
speak for to speak on someone’s behalf, It’s my job to speak
and tell people what they think for the workers in my
department.
speak up to talk in a louder voice so that We can’t hear what
people can hear you better you’re saying. Speak
up!
stand out something that is very easy to see The shape of the
or notice tower stood out
against the sky.
stand up for to defend someone The government
should be standing
up for the interests of
its people.
stay behind to remain in a place after other The teacher asked
people have left Lewis to stay behind
after class.
stay in to remain at home and not go I just want to stay in
outside and read my book.
step down to give up one’s position in an Penny will be
organisation stepping down as
chairman at the end of
the month.
step in to involve oneself in a situation, The police should
usually in order to help have stepped in
earlier to calm the
situation down.
step up to increase something Security has been
stepped up at all
major airports after the
terrorist attack.
stick out/ to be easy to notice or see You’ll certainly stick
stand out out at the party
wearing a dress like
that.
 stir up to cause trouble or a strong The very name of the
feeling deliberately (purposely 故意) president stirred up
hatred in many
people.
stop off to spend a short time somewhere I stopped off at the
before continuing one’s journey supermarket on the
way home from work.
stop over to sleep somewhere for the night Alan says we can
before continuing one’s journey stop over at his place
and get the train the
following morning.
sum up to say the main points of a To sum up, we need
discussion better computers and
we need more of
them.
switch off/ to stop electrical equipment from Mum switched off the
turn off working by turning or pressing a television.
switch
switch on/ to start electrical equipment by Could you switch the
turn on pressing or turning a switch light on?
take down  to demolish a building Make sure you take
 to write down what down everything he
someone says says.
take off  to remove clothes from your Bill took off his wet
body clothes and put them
 used when a plane leaves on a radiator to dry.
the ground and rises into
the air
take over to start to control something or Some people can’t be
make yourself responsible for it involved in a project
without wanting to
take over.
take up to start to be interested or Fred was encouraged
involved in something to take up a new
hobby.
talk back to reply to your parents or He was punished
teachers in a rude way severely for talking
back to his parents.
talk down to to speak in a way that shows that Children don’t like it
you think you are more intelligent when you talk down
and important than someone else to them.
tear away to make someone leave a place or Children sometimes
stop what they are doing find it hard to tear
themselves away from
the computer screen.
tear down to destroy something by pulling it We tore up old sheets
into many small pieces to make dusters.
tell off to speak to someone angrily A woman was telling
because they have done her child off for
 something wrong misbehaving in the
supermarket.
think back to try to remember something Thinking back, I can’t
from the past understand why I ever
married him.
think of to produce something from your Perhaps someone
imagination or memory after else can think of a
some thought better solution.
think out to plan something Now we have to think
out what to do next.
think over to consider carefully You don’t have to
decide now – take
time to think it over.
think up to invent something I’ve thought up a new
mathematical game.
tick off  to put a tick or other mark The boss ticked off
beside items on a list to Judy for making the
show that they have been same mistake.
dealt with
 to speak angrily to someone
because they have done
something wrong
tire out/ to make you very tired The long walk to the
wear out hotel really tired me
out.
touch on to mention or talk about a subject The book touched on
very briefly while you are mainly these issues in an
talking about something else earlier chapter.
touch up to make something look better by Some of the paintwork
making small improvements needs touching up.
track down to finally find someone after The police are
searching for a long time confident they will
track down the
criminals.
try out to test something Mum is trying out
some new recipes.
turn down to not accept an offer or someone We were surprised
that Sally turned
down the job.
turn to to ask someone for help, advice or She always turns to
support her mother for advice.
turn up to arrive unexpectedly David turned up for
somewhere the party an hour late.
wait up to not go to bed until someone When I go out for the
arrives or until something evening, my parents
happens always wait up for
me. <3
wake up to to realise that an unpleasant fact The government still
is true, although you didn’t realise hasn’t woken up to
 it before the problem of
overcrowding in
prisons.
walk out to leave a place or an event Half of the audience
suddenly, often because one is walked out during the
angry Prime Minister’s
speech.
wander off to go somewhere without telling This is a very busy
the others in a group place. Make sure the
children don’t wander
off.
wash up to wash the dirty dishes in a sink The children will be
after a meal washing up as I
sweep the floor
tonight.
watch out used to warn someone about a Watch out! There’s a
danger of some kind car coming.
watch over to make sure nothing bad She watched over
happens to someone or the baby as it slept.
something
wear away/ to describe a surface that is The wind and waves
wear down removed gradually by continual have worn away
rubbing or use these rocks.
wear off to gradually disappear The headache will
gradually wear off if
you take your
medicine.
weigh down do describe a problem that makes He was beginning to
you feel anxious feel weighed down
by all the
responsibility.
win over to persuade someone to support She thinks she can
you or agree with your point of win me over with a
view few smiles and hugs.
wind up to be in a place or situation at the We were going to try a
end of a series of events, usually different holiday
as a result of them destination this year,
but we wound up in
the same old place
again.
wipe out to destroy completely These advanced
weapons could wipe
out an entire city.
work on to spend time on something We haven’t found a
solution yet but we are
working on it.
work out to solve a problem by thinking We have worked out
the solution for this
question.
 wrap up in to give so much time or attention Jim was so wrapped
to something that you have little up in his work that he
time or attention for anything else spent hardly any time
with his children. T.T
write off  to write a letter to a Tim wrote off to the
company to ask them to BBC to ask about
send you something jobs.
 to decide that someone or
something isn’t going to be
good or successful
write out to write instructions or words I’ll write out the recipe
somewhere for you on a piece of
paper.

Completed and last edited on: 1st July 2020