An Extensive List of Phrasal Verbs: Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

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An Extensive List of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example

abide by To respect or obey a decision, a If you want to keep your job here, you
law or a rule 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 dont add up.

advise against To recommend not doing I advise against walking alone in this
something neighborhood.

agree with To have the same opinion as I agree with you. I think you should go as well.
someone else.

allow for To take into consideration We need to allow forunexpected charges along
the way.

appeal to 1. To plead or make a request 1. He appealed to the court to change its


2. To be attractive or interesting decision.
2. A vacation of sunbathing doesntappeal
to me.
apply for To make a formal request for He applied for a scholarship for next semester.
something (job, permit, loan etc.)
back away To move backwards, in fear or When he saw the bear, hebacked away in fright.
dislike
back down To withdraw, concede defeat Local authorities backed down on their threats to
build on that part of the beach.
back up 1. To give support or 1. Im going to be very strict with him. I hope
encouragement youll back me up on this?
2. To make a copy of (file, 2. You should back upall your computer files
program, etc.) in a secure location.
bank on To base your hopes on something Im banking on you to help with the charity
/ someone 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 1. To explode 1. Tommy blew up the red balloon.
2. To get angry 2. Dont blow up at me. Its 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 You need to boot up your computer before you
operating system or program begin to work.
break away To separate from a crowd One of the wolves broke away from his pack.
break down 1. To go out of order, cease to 1. The washing machine broke down so we
function had to call in the repair technician.
2. To lose control of ones 2. John broke downwhen he heard the news.
emotions
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 outof jail.
break up To come to an end (marriage, She broke up with Daniel after dating him for
relationship) five years.
bring up To raise (a child) Sara is bringing up her children by herself.
brush up on To improve, refresh ones I must brush up on my French before going to
knowledge of something Paris next month.
bump into To meet by chance or I bumped into Adam at the bank. He says
unexpectedly hello.
burn out 1. stop (something) working 1. The light bulb burnt out. Please change it.
2. become exhausted from 2. She needs to work fewer hours. Otherwise
over-working she willburn out.
call back To return a phone call Could please call back in ten minutes?
call off To cancel The game was called offbecause of bad weather.
calm down To become more relaxed, less It took Kylie several hours to calm down after
angry or upset she saw the accident.
carry on To continue The soldiers carried onwalking in order to get to
their post before dark.
carry out 1. To do something as specified 1. His orders werecarried out to the letter.
(a plan, an order, a threat) 2. That company does not carry out tests on
2. To perform or conduct (test, animals.
experiment)
check in To register at a hotel or airport They said I must check in at least three hours
before my flight.
check out 1. To pay ones bill and leave (a 1. Donna checked outof the hotel this morning.
hotel) 2. I dont know if this price is correct.
2. To investigate Illcheck it out online.
clam up To refuse to speak When the police started asking questions, the
suspectclammed up.
clamp down on To act strictly to prevent The local authorities have decided to clamp
something down onillegal parking in handicapped parking
places.
come across 1. To find by chance 1. I was cleaning up andcame across some old
2. To appear, seem, make an photos of you.
impression 2. 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 Ive decided to cut down on the amount of
sweets I eat.
cut out 1. To remove using scissors 1. She cut out a coupon from the newspaper.
2. To stop doing something 2. You need to cut outall red meat from your
diet.
deal with To handle, take care of (problem, Catherine is not good atdealing with stress.
situation)
die down To calm down, become less After the storm died down, we went outside to
strong see the damage it had caused.
do without To manage without She didnt get a salary this month, so shell have
to do without extra treats.
drag on To last longer than expected The suspects trial dragged on longer than we
had expected!
draw up To write (contract, agreement, They drew up a contract and had me sign it.
document)
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 Why dont you drop in to see us on your way
somewhere home?
drop off 1. To deliver someone or 1. Ill drop off the papers later today.
something 2. I often drop off in front of the TV.
2. To fall asleep
drop out To leave school without finishing Zack dropped out of college and joined the
army.
ease off To reduce, become less severe or Traffic usually eases offabout 7pm
slow down (pain, traffic, work)
end in To finish in a certain way; result Her marriage ended indivorce.
in
end up To finally reach a state, place or If you dont improve your work habits,
action youll end up being fired.
fall through To fail; doesnt happen His plans to trek through South America fell
throughwhen he got sick.
figure out To understand, find the answer Hes trying to figure out how to earn enough
money to go on the trip to Spain.
fill out To complete (a form/an Please fill out the enclosed form and return it as
application) soon as possible.
find out To discover or obtain information Im going to to find out whos 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 Its important to get alongwith your team
with supervisor.
get at To imply What are you getting at? Do you think Im 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 1. To leave (bus, train, plane) 1. You should get offthe train in Kings Heath.
2. To remove 2. I cant get the ink stain off my shirt.
get on To board (bus, train, plane) Im trying to get on the flight to Brussels.
get on with To continue to do; make progress After they split up, she had a hard time getting
(something) on with her life.
get on (well) with To have a good relationship with He doesnt get on very wellwith the other
(somebody) 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 Ednas trying to get out ofworking the night
shift.
get over To recover from (illness, Has she gotten over the flu?
disappointment)
get over To recover from (illness, Mary had the chickenpox last week but she got
disappointment) over it.
get rid of To eliminate Please get rid of that old t-shirt. Its so ragged.
get together To meet each other Lets get together for your birthday on Saturday.
get up To rise, leave bed Will you please get up? Youve got a class in 20
minutes.
give in 1. To cease opposition; yield 1. We will never give into the terrorists
2. To To hand in; submit demands.
2. Ill 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 ones childhood; Hes like Peter Pan. He never really grew up at
develop; become an adult 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 Which pub does the teamhang out at after the
place or with a group of friends game?
hang up To end a phone conversation If you hang up now, Ill never speak to you
again.
hold on 1. To wait 1. Please hold on and a representative will
2. To grip tightly answer your call.
2. She was so scared on the rollercoaster ride
that she held onfor dear life.
hurry up To be quick, act speedily Hurry up and finish your lunch or well miss the
train.
iron out To resolve by discussion, The two countries met at the conference to iron
eliminate differences out their differences.
join in To participate Yes David, you can join in the discussion any
time you like.
join up 1. To engage in, become a 1. There was a war on, so some kids were only
member of sixteen when they joined up.
2. To meet and unite with 2. Lets 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 I read the paper every day tokeep up with the
someone or something news.
kick off To begin, start The rugby match kicked offat 3 oclock.
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 Shes such a snob. She always looks down
onanyone who is poor.
look on To be a spectator at an event If you dont want to take part in the game you
can look onfor now.
look for To try to find something Harry went to the shop tolook for a new
computer.
look forward to To await or anticipate with Im looking forward to my birthday. Its in two
pleasure 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 Its not nice to make fun ofpeople in
wheelchairs.
make up To invent (excuse, story) Thats a good excuse. Did youmake up it up
yourself?
mix up To mistake one thing or person She had so many cats that she kept mixing
for another 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 When are you moving out? We need your office
another one. 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 didnt drink enough water so he passed out at
the end of the race.
pay back To reimburse Ill pay you back as soon as I get the loan.
put off To postpone, arrange a later date Dont put off until tomorrow, what you can do
today.
put on To turn on, switch on Its very dark in here. Pleaseput on the light on.
put out To extinguish The fire fighters were able toput out fire in ten
minutes.
put up To accommodate, give somebody I can put you up until the weekend but then Im
a bed going away.
pick up To collect somebody Ill pick you up at around 7:00 to take you to the
airport.
point out To indicate/direct attention to As I already pointed out, there was a mistake in
something 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 He ran away from home and joined the circus.
suddenly leave
run into To meet by accident or Im so glad I ran into you. I need to ask you
unexpectedly (also: bump into) something.
run out of To have no more of something. Weve run out of milk. Ill just pop next door to
borrow some.
set off To start a journey; Lets 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 Dont buy that. Lets shop around and see if we
can find something cheaper.
show off To brag or want to be admired Hes such a show off. He has to tell everybody
about his new computer.
show up To appear/arrive I dont think shell show uptonight. Her daughter
is sick.
shut up To be silent, stop talking Shut up, youre spoiling the movie!
(impolite)
sit down To take a seat I think you should sit down. Its bad news.
stand up To rise from a sitting position The whole stadium stood upfor 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 Angie really takes after her grandmother.
character
take care of To look after Please take care of my cat when Im 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 theyre 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 itover before you
decide.
try on To wear something to see if it Go ahead, try it on and see if it fits?
suits or fits
turn down To refuse I asked her out but sheturned me down flat.
use up To finish a product (so that Your parents used up all the coffee!
theres none left)
watch out To be careful Watch out! Theres a dog in the road.
wear out 1. To become unusable 1. Julie wore out her shoes running the
2. To become very tired marathons.
2. Julie was worn outafter all that running.
work out 1. To do physical exercise 1. You should work outtwice a week at the
2. To find a solution or gym.
calculate something 2. Can you work thisout? Im no good at math.
wipe off To clean (board, table). Ill wash up if you wipe off the table.
Phrasal verbs.
Account for:
Explicar. Justificar. ex. "No podemos explicar/justificar estos gastos." (We can't account for
these expenses.)

Act on (something):
Seguir (algo). Implementar (algo). Actuar sobre (algo). Guiarse por (algo).
ex. "Se gui por sus principios." (He acted on his principles.); "No van a seguir eso." (They're
not going to act on that.)

Act up:
Agitarse. Alterarse. Agravarse.
ex. "Cuando mis alergas se agitan/agravan, no puedo salir." (When my alergies act up, I can't
go out.)

Add up:
1) Sumar.
Ex. "Eso no suma." (It doesn't add up.)
2) Cuadrar. Tener sentido. Encajar.
ex. "Hay algo que no cuadra." (There's something that doesn't add up.)

Add up to:
Sumar en total. Convertirse en. Resultar.
ex. "...para sumar en total $500" (...which add up to/adding up to $500); "Eso se converti/ Eso
result en grandes ahorros." (This added up to big savings.)

Ask around:
Preguntar. Correr la voz.
ex. "Corre la voz!" (Ask around!)

Ask (somebody) out:


Invitar (a alguien) a una cita. Invitar (a alguien) a salir.
ex. "La invit a salir." (I asked her out.)"

Ask over:
Invitar (a alguien) a su casa.
ex. "Invit a mi primo a mi casa." (I asked my cousin over.)"

Attend to (something/someone):
Ocuparse de (algo). Atender a (alguien).
ex. "Me voy a ocupar de este asunto." (I'll attend to this matter.)

Back off:
Desistir. Retroceder. Parar (de criticar, etc.)
ex. "Quisieron pelearse, pero desistieron cuando se enteraron de que soy mas fuerte que ellos."
(They wanted to fight, but they backed off when they realized that I'm stronger than them.)

Back out:
Echarse (para) atrs.
ex. "Me dijo que iba firmar el contracto, pero se ech atrs." (He told me he would sign the
contract, but he backed out.)

Back up:
(1) Retroceder. Dar marcha atrs.
ex. "El conductor retrocedi/ di marcha atrs." (The driver backed up.)
(2) Respaldar. Apoyar (a alguien)
ex. "Puedo respaldar mi historia." (I can back up my story.)

Be off:
(1) Estar incorrecto/no estar tan bueno que siempre.
ex. "Ayer la comida no estuvo tan buena que siempre." (The food was a little off yesterday.)
(2) No trabajar.
ex. "Hoy no trabajo." (I'm off today.)
(3) Irse.
ex. "Me voy. Hasta luego!" (I'm off. See you!)

Be on:
Tener un desempeo exitoso. Estar en buena forma.
ex. "Los msicos tocaron muy bien {estuvieron en buena forma} anoche!" (The musicians were
really on last night!)

Be onto (something/someone):
Descubrir/encontrar (algo). Descubrir/encontrar (el secreto de alguien, la verdad sobre alguien,
etc.).
ex. "Creo que descubr/encontr algo." (I think I'm on to something.); "Ya saben lo que
hace/hizo." (They're onto him.)
In Spanish if you think that someone is "onto" something, you can also use the expression: "por
ah van los tiros"

Be up:
Estar despierto.
ex. "Todava no se despert." (He's not up yet.)

Be up to (something):
Tramar algo. Pensar hacer algo.
ex. "Ella trama algo." (She's up to something.)

Bear with (someone):


Tener paciencia con (alguien).
ex. "Ten paciencia con ella." (Bear with her.)

Beat out:
Ganar. Vencer. Superar.
ex. "Sandra super/gan a todos los dems y gan la carrera." (Sandra beat out all the others
and won the race.)

Beat (someone) up:


Darle (a alguien) una paliza/madriza (MX)
ex. "El te puede dar una paliza." (He can beat you up.)
Blow (someone) off:
Dejarle plantado (a alguien). Evitar.
ex. "Nos quedamos en vernos a las 8 pero ella me dej plantado." (We agreed to meet at 8, but
she blew me off.); "Ultimamente me est evitando." (She's been blowing me off recently.)

Blow over:
Pasar.
ex. "No te preocupes, todo esto pasar pronto." (Don't worry, all this will blow over soon.)

Blow up:
1) Explotar. Estrellar. Volar.
ex. "La bomba explot." (The bomb exploded.) 2) Inflar. ex. "Inflar globos" (To blow up
balloons)

Break down:
Decomponerse. Averiarse (SP). Trabarse.
ex. "Mi coche se decompuso." (My car broke down.)

Break in / Break into:


Forzar la entrada (para robar, etc.)
ex. "Los ladrones forzaron la entrada y se llevaron todo mi dinero." (The thieves broke in and
took/stole all my money.)

Break out:
1) (from prison, etc.) Evadirse. Escapar.
ex. "10 presos se evadieron de la crcel de Ensenada." (10 prisoners broke out of the Ensenada
prison.)
2) (violence) Estallar.
ex. "La violencia estall despus de la medianoche." (The violence broke out after midnight.)

Break up:
(1) (a crowd, etc.) Disolver.
ex. "La polica disolvi la demostracin." (The police broke up the demonstration.)
(2) (a relationship) Terminar. Romper. Cortar.
ex. "Ya rompieron/terminaron." (They've already broken up.)

Bring up:
(1) Mencionar. Sacar.
ex. "No lo menciones/no lo saques." (Don't bring it up.)
(2) Criar.
ex. "Naci en Houston, pero fue criado en Los Angeles." (He was born in Houston, but he was
brought up in Los Angeles.)

Brush up on:
Repasar.
ex. "Tengo que repasar mi espaol." (I have to brush up on my Spanish.)

Bump into (or run into) someone:


Toparse con (alguien).
ex. "Me top con tu hermana anoche." (I bumped into your sister last night.)

Burn down:
Quemarse.
ex. "Esta casa se quem la semana pasada." (That house burned down last week.)

Burn out:
Quemar. Agotarse.
ex. "Estoy quemado/agotado por haber trabajado tanto." (I'm burnt out from having worked so
much.)

Butt in:
Interrumpir. Meterse.
"No interrumpes!" (Don't butt in!); "No te metes cuando mi hermano y yo estamos
discutiendo." (Don't butt in when my brother and I are arguing.)

Call for:
Requerir. Merecer(se).
ex. "Eso se merece una celebracin!" (That calls for a celebration!); "Eso requiere una nueva
categora." (That calls for a new infrastructure.)

Call off:
Cancelar. ex. "Cancelaron el concierto/la reunin." (They called off the concert/meeting.)

Call up:
(military) Llamar a filas. ex. "Lo llamaron a filas." (They called him up.)

Calm down:
Calmarse. ex. "Clmate! No te preocupes tanto!" (Calm down! Don't worry so much!)

Care for:
1) Cuidar (de alguien).
ex. "Cuid de su padre por dos aos." (He cared for his father for two years.)
2) (to not care for) No gustar.
ex. "I don't care for Thai food." (No me gusta la comida tailandesa.)

Carry on about (something):


Continuar/seguir hablando de (algo) *en una manera enfadosa* ex. "Ella continu insistiendo en
mencionar cunto dinero gana." (She kept carrying on about how much money she makes.)

Cash in on (sth.):
Sacar provecho de (algo). Aprovercharse de (algo) *para hacer dinero*. ex. "Se aprovech de la
oportunidad." (He cashed in on the opportunity.)

Catch on (to something):


1) Darse cuenta.
ex. "Despus de un rato, se di cuenta de lo que estbamos hablando." (After a while she caught
on to what we were talking about.)
1) Ponerse de moda. Ganar popularidad.
ex. "Su idea no gan popularidad." (His idea didn't catch on.)
Catch up:
Ponerse al da.
ex. "I'm trying to catch up on my work." (Estoy tratando de ponerme al da con mi trabajo); "Se
pusieron al da con un caf." (They caught up over a cup of coffee.)

Check in/into:
(hotel, etc.) Registrarse. (hospital, clinic, etc.) (airport) Facturar. (
ex. "I checked in at the reception." (Me registr en la recepcin.); "I'm going to check in to the
hospital." (Voy a ingresarme al hospital.)

Check out:
1) Checar.
ex. "Checa(te) esta pgina!" (Check out this website!)
2) Irse (de un hotel, etc.)
ex. "Ya se fueron." (They've already checked out.)

Cheer up:
Animarse.
ex. "Anmate!" (Cheer up!)

Clean out:
Vaciar. Limpiar a fondo.
ex. "Vaci el armario." (I cleaned out the wardrobe.)

Clean up:
Limpiar. Arreglar.
ex. "Limpi/arregl mi habitacin." (I cleaned up my room.)

Close down:
Cerrar (para siempre).
ex. "Cerraron ese bar." (They closed that bar down.)

Come across:
1) Encontrar. Dar con. Encontrarse con (alguien). Toparse con (algo/alguien).
ex. "Encontr un papelito my raro." (I came across a very strange piece of paper.); "si te
encuentras/das con alguien que tiene mucho dinero" (if you come across someone with a lot of
money)
2) Aparentar. Parecer.
ex. "l aparenta/parece ser como cualquier otro nio." (He came across as any other child.)

Come along:
1) Acompaar.
ex. "Me voy a la playa. Quieres acompaarme?" (I'm going to the beach. Would you like to
come along?)
2) Ir. Progresar. Avanzar.
ex. "Cmo va tu proyecto?" (How's your project coming along?)

Come back:
Regresar. Volver.
ex. "A qu hora regresas esta noche?" (What time are you coming back tonight?)

Come by:
Pasar. Venir.
ex. "Tu hermano puede pasar/venir cuando quiera." (Your brother can come by anytime he
wants); "Psate cuando quieras!" (Come by anytime you like!)

Come up:
Ser mencionado. Surgir.
ex. "Estos temas no fueron mencionados/no surgieron durante el debate." (These issues did not
come up during the debate.)

Come up with:
Ocurrirse. "Se me ocurri esta idea." (I came up with this idea.); Cmo se te ocurri eso?"
(How did you come up with that?);

Count on:
Contar con.
ex. "Soy tu mejor amigo. Siempre puedes contar conmigo." (I'm your best friend. You can
always count on me.)

Dawn on (somebody):
Caer en la cuenta. Dar cuenta.
ex. "Ca en la cuenta de que no estaba slo." (It dawned on me that I wasn't alone.)

Decide against (doing something):


Decider en contra de (algo). Decidir no hacer algo.
ex. "Mi hermano decidi de no ir al trabajo." (He decided against going to work); "Juan decidi
en contra de ayudarnos." (Juan decided against helping us.)

Die down:
Disminuir.
ex. "El ruido disminuy." (The noise died down.); "El viento amain." (The wind died down.)

Dig in:
(to start eating) Empezar a comer.
ex. "Coman muchachos! La comida se enfra." (Dig in, boys! The food is getting cold.)

Do away with:
Suprimir. Eliminar.
ex. "El presidente quiere suprimir la pena de muerte." (The president wants to do away with the
death penalty.)

Do (something) over:
Hacer (algo) de nuevo. Repitir.
ex. "Tienes que hacerlo de nuevo." OR "Tienes que repitirlo." (You have to do it over.)

Do up:
(zippers, shirts, etc.) Abrochar (algo).
ex. "mientras se abrocha la camisa" (while he's doing up his shirt)
(hair) Peinar.
ex. "Se pein." (She did up her hair.)

Do without:
Vivir sin (algo); Prescindir de (algo).
ex. "Tendremos que vivir sin coche un rato." (We're going to have to do without a car for a
while.); "No podemos prescindir de ninguno de estos nutrientes." (We can't do without any of
these nutrients.)

Drag on:
Prolongarse mucho. Alargarse mucho. Hacerse interminable.
ex. "La guerra se prolonga mucho." (The was is dragging on.); "Eso puede hacerse
interminable." (This can drag on forever.)

Dress up:
1) Vestirse formalmente/elegantemente.
ex. "Mi hermano se visti elegantemente para la fiesta." (My brother dressed up for the party.)
2) (Dress up as someone) Disfrazarse de (alguien).
ex. "l se disfraz de Barack Obama." (He dressed up as Barack Obama.)

Drop in (on someone)/Drop by (some place):


Venir a visitar (sin avertir). Caerle (MX, CAmer, Carrib., Col.) ex. "Ven cuando quieras." (Drop
by anytime.); "Caele maana." (Drop by tomorrow.); "Te caigo por la tarde." (I'll drop by {to
see you} in the afternoon.)

Drop off:
Entregar (algo). Dejar.
ex. "Te voy a dejar en tu casa." (I'll drop you off at home.); "Tengo que entregar esto en mi
trabajo." (I have to drop this off at work.)

Drop out of:


Abandonar. Dejar de (hacer algo).
ex. "Abandon aquella escuela." (I dropped out of that school.)

Draw up:
Preparar.
ex. "Mi abogado prepar los documentos." (My lawyer drew up the documents.)
Eat in:
Comer en casa.
ex. "No tengo ganas de salir esta noche. Voy a comer en casa." (I don't feel like going out
tonight. I'm going to eat in.)

Eat out:
Comer fuera de casa. Salir a comer.
ex. "A David le encanta comer fuera de casa." (David loves eating out); "Nosotros siempre
salimos a comer." (We always eat out.)

End up:
Ir a parar. Terminar. Acabar. Al final.
ex. "Roberto fue a parar/termin en la crcel por robar a los turistas." (Roberto ended up in jail
for robbing the tourists.); "Acabamos riendo." (We ended up laughing.); "Al final fuiste a la
fiesta?" (Did you end up going to the party?)

Ease off/ up on:


Disminuir. Calmarse. No ser tan duro.
ex. "La lluvia se calm." (The rain eased up a bit.); "No seas tan duro con ella." (Ease up on
her.)

Egg (someone) on:


Incitar (a alguien).
ex. "Este muchacho siempre incita a sus amigos a que hagan tonteras." (The boy always eggs
his friends on to do stupid things)

Explain away:
Explicar algo, minimizando su importancia. Desechar algo con una breve explicacin.
ex. "Mi jefe trat de minimizar la importancia de lo que estaba pasando." (My boss tried to
explain away what was happening.)

Embark upon:
Emprender.
ex. "Emprendi una nueva carrera." (He embarked upon a new career.)

Face up to:
Reconocer. Asumir.
ex. "Tienes que reconocer lo que hiciste." (You have to face up to what you did); "asumir un
reto" (to face up to/take on a challenge)

Fall for:
1) (believe a lie) Tragarse.
ex. "No puedo creer que se trag esta historia." (I can't believe he fell for that story.)
2) (fall in love) Enamorarse.
ex. "Se enamor de ella." (He fell for her.)

Fall through:
Fracasar.
ex. "Nuestro plan fracas." (Our plan fell through.); "El trato fracas." (The deal fell through.)

Feel out:
Sondear. Tantear el terreno.
ex. "para sondear si est dispuesto" (to feel out if she's ready); "Vamos a tantear el terreno."
(We're going to feel out the situation.)

Feel up to:
Sentirse capaz de (hacer algo).
ex. "No me siento capaz de salir." (I don't feel up to going out.)

Figure out:
Entender. Comprender.
ex. "No puedo entender porque se comporta as." (I can't figure out why she's acting this way.)
Fill in:
Rellenar.
ex. "Rellene todos los campos del formulario." (Fill in all the fields on the form.)

Fill in for (someone):


Substituir a (alguien).
ex. "l sustituy a mi pap." (He filled in for my dad.)

Fill out:
Rellenar.
ex. "Rellene este formulario." (Fill out this form.)

Find out:
Enterarse.
ex. "Miguel se enter de que su esposa le estaba poniendo los cuernos." (Michael found out that
his wife was cheating on him.)

Find your way around:


Orientarse.
ex. "Me oriento mal en esta ciudad." (I can't find my way around this city.)

Follow up on (something):
Darle seguimiento. Retomar.
ex. "Quiero darle seguimiento a nuestra conversacin." (I would like to follow up on our
conversation.)

Freak out: (very informal)


Vovlerse loco. Flipar(se) (SP). Friquear(se).
ex. "No te vuelvas loco!" (Don't freak out!); "Flip cuando me enter de eso." (I freaked out
when I found out about that.)

Get along with:


Llevarse bien (con alguien).
ex. "James me cae bien, pero no me llevo bien con su hermano." (I like James, but I don't get
along with his brother.)

Get around:
1) Evitar (de hacer algo).
ex. "Debes tomar el examen. No puedes evitarlo." (You have to take the exam. You can't get
around it.)"
2) Moverse.
ex. "Sin coche no puedo moverme por la ciudad." (I can't get around the city without a car.)

Get around (to something):


Encontrar tiempo para hacer (algo).
ex. "Lo siento, todava no he tenido tiempo de leer el artculo." (I'm sorry, I haven't gotten
around to reading the article.)

Get away:
Escapar.
ex. "Los ladrones se escaparon." (The thieves got away.)

Get away with (something):


Salir con la suya.
ex. "Ahora sabe que no puede salir con la suya." (Now she knows that she can't get away with
this/it.)

Get by:
Sobrevivir. Arreglrselas. Defenderse. (get by in a language, etc.) ex. "Es difcil
arreglrmelas/sobrevivir con mi sueldo actual." (It's hard for me to get by on mu current
salary.)

Get even (with someone):


Ajustar cuentas (con alguien).
ex. "Mi hermano ajust cuentas con su vecino." (My brother got even with his neighbor.)

Get (a) hold of:


Encontrar (alguien). Comunicarse (com alguien). ex. "Soy muy facl a encontrar." (I'm very easy
to get a hold of.); "Trat de comunicarme con tu prima." (I tried to get hold of your cousin.)

Get in:
Llegar. Regresar (a casa).
ex. "A qu hora regresaron anoche?" (What time did you guys get in last night?); "Llegamos a
las 6." (We got in at 6.)

Get off:
Bajar.
ex. "Tenemos que bajar en la prxima parada." (We have to get off at the next stop.)

Get on:
Subir.
ex. "Subimos al autobs/al coche." (We got on the bus/in the car)

Get on with:
Seguir adelante con.
ex. "Me cost mucho trabajo seguir adelante con mi vida despus de que romp con mi novia." (I
found it hard to get on with my life after I broke up with my girlfriend.)

Get over (something, someone):


Superar (algo, a alguien).
ex. "No puede superar que Daniel la enga." (She can't get over the fact that Daniel cheated on
her.); "Olvdalo!","Supralo!" (Get over it!)

Get up:
Levantarse.
ex. "A qu hora te levantas por la maana?" (What time do you get up in the morning?)

Give away:
1) Regalar.
ex. "Regal todos mis CD a mis amigos." (I gave away all my CDs to my friends.)
1) Revelar. Desvelar.
ex. "No reveles/desveles el final!" (Don't give away the ending!)

Give in (to):
Ceder a. Sucumbir a. Entregarse.
ex. "ceder a la tentacin" (to give in to temptation); "No vamos a entregarnos." (We won't give
in.)

Give off:
Emitir.
ex. "Esas flores emiten un olor muy agradable." (Those flowers give off a very nice smell.)

Give up:
Rendirse. Darse por vencido.
ex. "Ya me rindo." (I give up.); "Ana se di por vencida." (Ana gave up.)

Go away:
Irse.
ex. "Le dije que se fuera, pero no se fue." (I told him to go away, but he didn't leave.)

Go off:
1) Explotar. Estallar.
ex. "La bomba explot." (The bomb exploded.)
2) Sonar.
ex. "Mi despertador son a las 7." (My alarm went off at 7:00 AM.)

Go on:
Seguir.
ex. "Sigue contando la historia." (Go on, tell me the rest of the story.)

Go out:
1) Salir.
ex. "Mi prima sale todas las noches." (My cousin goes out every night.)
2) Apagarse.
ex. "El fuego se apag." (The fire went out.)

Go out with (someone):


Salir con (alguien).
ex. "Tu hermano sale con Lucia?" (Is your brother going out with Lucia?)

Go over:
Revisar. Repasar.
ex. "Djame revisar sus documentos." (Let me go over your documents.); "repasar los hechos"
(to go over the facts)

Grow on (someone):
Llegar a gustar con el tiempo. Empezar a gustar.
ex. "Cuando escuch esta cancin por la primera vez, la odi, pero ahora me est empezando a
gustar." (The first time I heard that song I hated it, but now it's beginning to grow on me.)
Grow up:
Criarse. Crecer.
ex. "Alejandro se cri en Argentina." (Alejandro grew up in Argentina.); "Crec en los 80
*ochenta*" (I grew up in the 80s.)

Hand in:
Entregar.
ex. "Tengo que entregar mi ensayo maana por la maana." (I have to hand in my essay
tomorrow morning.)

Hand out:
Distribuir.
ex. "La maestra distribuy copias del cuento a todos los estudiantes." (The teacher handed out
copies of the story to all the students.)

Hang on:
Esperar. Aguantar.
ex. "Esprame!" (Hang on!)

Hang up:
Colgar (el telfono).
ex. "Ella me colg (el telfono)." (She hung up on me.)

Hang out:
Pasar el tiempo. Pasar un rato.
ex. "Al igual que a todos los adolescentes, a ella le gusta pasar tiempo con sus amigos." (Like
most teenagers, she loves to hang out with her friends.); "Pasamos un rato juntos." (We hung
out for a bit.); "Con quin andas?" (Who do you hang out with?)

Hear from:
Saber de (alguien); Oir de (alguien). Estar en contacto.
ex. "Me alegra saber de t" (I'm glad to hear from you); "Has sabido de tus amigos?" OR
"Ests en contacto con tus amigos?" (Have you heard from your friends?)

Hear of:
Escuchar (de).
ex. "Nunca he escuchado de este grupo." (I've never heard of this band.); "Dudo que hayas
escuchado de eso." (I doubt that you've heard of it.)

Hit on (someone):
Flirtear. Tirar/echar los perros (a alguien).
ex. "Ese muchacho le est echando los perros a Tina." (That guy is hitting on Tina.); "Ests
flirteando conmigo?" (Are you hitting on me?)

Hold off on:


Esperar para hacer algo.
ex. "Esperemos hasta que llegue Claudio antes de preparar la cena." (Let's hold off on making
dinner until your roommates come back.)

Hold on:
Esperar.
ex. Esprame! (Hold on!)

Hold up:
1) Detener.
ex. "Nos detuvieron en el aeropuerto." (We got held up at the airport.)
2) Robar (a punta de pistola/a mano armado). Atracar.
ex. "Me robaron/atracaron a punta de pistola." (I was held up at gunpoint)

Hook up (with someone):


Ligar (con algien).
ex. "l (se) lig con ella." (He hooked up with her.)

Iron out
Resolver. Eliminar.
ex. "Resolvieron sus diferencias." (They ironed out their differences.)

Inch along:
Ir/avanzar my lento.
ex. "El trfico avanzaba lentamente por el accidente." (Traffic was inching along because of the
accident.)
Jack up:
Aumentar. Subir.
ex. "Los hoteles aumentan/suben sus precios durante el verano." (The hotels jack up their prices
during the summer.)

Joke around:
Bromear.
ex. "Est bromeando." (He is joking around.)

Jump all over:


Regaar my fuerte.
ex. "Me rega muy fuerte por haber regresado a casa a las 2 de la maana." (He jumped all
over me for having come home at 2 AM.)

Jump at:
No dejar pasar la oportunidad. Aprovecharse.
ex. "George no dej pasar la oportunidad de ir a Australia con sus mejores amigos." (George
jumped at the chance to go to Australia with his best friends.)

Keel over:
Desplomarse.
ex. "La bailarina se desplom por el calor." (The dancer keeled over because of the heat.)

Keep (something/someone) around


Mantener/tener (algo/a alguien) cerca/a su lado.
ex. "Siempre tiene un diccionario cerca." (He always keeps a dictionary around.)

Keep back:
Mantener su distancia.
ex. "Mantenga su distancia!" (Keep back)

Keep on:
Seguir.
ex. "Sigui hablando por dos horas." (He kept on talking for two hours.)
Keep out:
No dejar a entrar.
ex. "No lo dejes entrar." (Keep him out.); "Trataron de no dejarnos entrar." (They tried to keep
us out.)

Keep up:
1) Mantener despierto. No dejar dormir.
ex. "Tu msica me tiene despierto toda la noche." (Your music keeps me up all night.)
2) (fashion, etc.) Mantenerse a la moda.
ex. "No tengo ganas de mantenerme a la moda." (I have no desire to keep up with fashion.)

Kick (an idea) around:


Dar vueltas (a una idea).
ex. "Le doy vueltas a esta idea desde hace dos aos." (I was kicking that idea around for 2
years.)

Kick back:
Relajarse. Descansarse.
ex. "Me gusta relajarme cuando estoy de vacaciones." (I like to kick back when I'm on
vacation.)

Kick off:
Empezar.
ex. "Empezaron la celebracin con un desfile." (They kicked off the celebration with a parade.)

Kick out:
Expulsar. Botar.
ex. "Lo botaron de la escuela." (They kicked him out of school.)

Knock down:
Derribar.
ex. "Derribaron el muro." (They knocked down the wall.)

Knock out:
Noquear (a alguien).
ex. "Mohammad Ali lo noque en el quinto asalto." (Mohammad Ali knocked him out in the fifth
round.)

Lay down:
Establecer. Sentar. ex. "We should lay down some rules." (Hay que establecer reglas.)

Lay into (alguien):


Atacar (a alguien). Regaar (a alguien) muy fuerte; Arremeter contra (alguien). ex. "His mother
really laid into him when he came home." (Su mam arremeti contra el cuando el regres a
casa.")

Lay off:
1) Despedir (temporalmente).
ex. "El mes pasado, General Motors despedieron a 3,000 trabajadores."
2) Dejar en paz (a alguien). Dejar (algo).
ex. "Lay off!" (Djame en paz!)

Lead on:
Engatusar a alguien. Engaar a alguien.
ex. "I thought that she liked me, but she was just leading me on." (Pensaba que le caa bien a
ella, pero me engaaba.)
Let down:
Desepcionar. Quedar mal.
ex. "He really let me down by not coming on Friday." (Me decepcion mucho por no haber
venido el viernes.)

Let on:
Fingir. Hacer como.
ex. "He let on like he didn't know what we were talking about." (Fingi que no saba de qu
estbamos hablando.)

Let up:
Disminuir. Aflojar.
ex. "By the time the storm let up, half the city had been flooded." (Para cuando disminuy/afloj
la tormenta, la mitad de la ciudad ya estaba inundada.)

Lie down:
Acostarse.
ex. "I have to lie down for 10 minutes." (Tengo que acostarme por 10 minutos.)

Light up:
1) Encender (un cigarro, un puro, etc.); Fumar.
ex. "In Los Angeles, you're not allowed to light up in bars." (En Los Angeles no se permite fumar
en los bares.)
2) Iluminar.
ex. "The stars lit up the desert." (Las estrellas iluminaron el desierto.)

Let out:
Dejar salir. Dar de alto.
ex. "They let him out [of the hospital] on Friday." (Le dieron de alta [del hospital] el viernes.)

Live on:
Vivir de (algo). Arreglarselas.
ex. "You can't live on bread alone." (No se puede vivir solamente de pan.)

Log on/in to:


Entrar. ex. "The system is not allowing me to log in for some reason." (El sistema no me deja
entrar.)

Look after (something/someone):


Encargarse de (algo/alguien).
ex. "They asked me to look after their cats." (Me pidieron que me encargara de sus gatos.)

Look down on:


Mirar (a alguien) por encima del hombro; Menospreciar (a alguien).
ex. "Noone admires someone who looks down on people." (Nadie admira al que menosprecia a
otros.)

Look up to:
1) Admirar.
ex. A lot of people look up to him. (Mucha gente lo admira.) 2) Buscar (en un diccionario,
enciclopedia, etc.)
ex. Busqu esta palabra en el diccionario, pero no la encontr. "I looked that word up in the
dictionary, but I couldn't find it."

Make fun of:


Burlarse de (algo/alguien).
ex. "Los otros nios se burlaron de su accento." (The other children made fun of his accent.)
Make of:
Opinar.
ex. "What do you make of him?" (Qu opinas de l?)

Make out:
1) Entender.
ex. "He's always mumbling. I don't understand anything (that) he says." (Siempre est
murmurando. No entiendo nada de lo que dice.)
2) Busuquearse. Agasajarse/Fajarse(MX). Transar(AR). Enrollarse(SP).
ex. "Jorge and Maria were making out at the movies." (Jorge y Maria se estaban
besuqueando/agasajando/fajando/ en el cine.)

Make (someone) over:


Cambiar la aparencia de alguien.

Make (someone) out (to be something):


Hacer ver a alguien como (algo).
"They made him out to be a monster." (Lo quieran hacer ver como un monstruo.)
Make up:
1) Inventar. ex. "Marco made up a story about how his house had been burned down." (Marco
invent una historia de que su casa haba sido totalmente quemada.)
2) Reconciliarse.
ex. "They had a fight, but they made up right away." (Se pelearon, pero enseguida se
reconciliaron.)
3) To make up one's mind = Decidirse
ex. "I can't make up my mind." (No puedo decidirme.)

Make up for:
Compensar.
ex. "To make up for the mistake, they gave them $1,000." (Para compensar el error, les dieron
$1,000 dolares.)

Mark down:
Rebajar.
ex. "All the stores marked down their prices." (Todas las tiendas rebajaron sus precios.)

Mark up:
Subir (el precio de algo).
ex. "All the stores marked up their prices." (Todas las tiendas subieron los precios.)

Mess up:
1) Meter la pata.
ex. "I messed up. I accidentally told him about the party." (Met la pata. Le habl
accidentalmente de la fiesta.)
2) Estropear.
ex. "My plan got messed up." (Se estrope mi plan.)

Measure up:
Estar tan bueno (como algo). Llegar a igualar. Llegar a nivel de (algo).
ex. "These new products don't measure up to their predecessors." (Estos nuevos productos no
llegan a nivel de sus predecesores.)

Mix up:
Confundir.
ex. "I always mix up their names." (Siempre confundo sus nombres.); "They always mix up the
orden." (Siempre confunden el pedido.)

Move in (with someone):


Venir a vivir (con alguien); Mudarse (con alguien).
ex. "Tom moved in with his girlfriend." (Tom vino a vivir con su novia./Tom se mud con su
novia.)

Move on:
Seguir. Continuar.
ex. "Let's move on. What's the next topic?" (Continuemos. Cul es el prximo tema?)

Move out:
Mudarse (de casa).
ex. "She moved out a couple of weeks ago." (Se mud de casa hace unas semanas.)

Name after (somone):


Ponerle (a alguien) el nombre de (alguien).
ex. "She was named after her great grandmother." (Le pusieron el nombre de su abuela.)

Nod off:
Dormirse.
ex. "Jim was so tired that he nodded off during the meeting." (Jim estaba tan cansado que se
durmi durante la reunin.)

Nail down:
Aprender. Dominar.
ex. "We're still trying to nail down the specifics." (Todava tratamos de aprender los aspectos
especficos.)

Nose around:
Fisgonear. Husmer.
ex. "I hate it when my brother noses around my room." (Lo detesto cuando mi hermano anda
husmeando por mi habitacin.)

Occur to:
Darse cuenta. Ocurrirse (a alguien).
ex. "It just occurred to me that I don't even know your name." (Se me ocuri que ni siquiera
conozco tu nombre.)

Open up (to someone):


Ser receptivo. Abrirse (a alguien).
ex. "I don't usually open up to people this way." (Normalmente no me abro as a la gente.)

Own up:
To take the blame for.
ex. "He showed lots of character when he owned up to what he had done." (Mostr que tena mucho carcter
cuando confes lo que habia hecho.)

Pan out:
Succeder. Resultar. Salir.
ex. "Things didn't pan out." (Las cosas no salieron como esperaba.)

Pass away:
Morirse.
ex. "His grandfather passed away last month." (Su abuelo se muri el mes pasado.)

Pass for (something/someone):


Pasar por (alguien/algo).
ex. "He can pass for being Italian." (Puede pasar por italiano.)
Pass on:
1) Dar (algo a alguien). Decir (algo a alguien). Pasar (algo a alguien).
ex. "Thomas passed the news on to the president." (Thomas le dio la noticia al presidente.)
2) No comprar/aceptar. Pasar. ex. "I'll buy the blouse, but I'll pass on the pants." (Voy a
comprar la blusa, pero los pantalones, no.); "I'll pass on that." (Yo paso.)

Pass out:
1) Desmayarse.
ex. "The woman passed out from the heat." (La seora se desmay por el calor.)
2) Distribuir.
ex. "The demonstrators were passing out flyers." (Los manifestantes distribuan folletos.)

Pass (something) up:


Dejar pasar.
ex. "I passed up a great opportunity to make a lot of money." (Dej pasar una buena
oportunidad para hacer dinero.)

Pay back:
1) Devolver dinero (a alguien).
ex. "I'll pay you back tomorrow." (Maana te voy a devolver tu dinero.)
1) Vengarse (de alguien).
ex. "P1: Why is she being so mean to him? P2: She is paying him back for all the bad things he
has done." (P1: Porqu es tan mala con l? P2: Se est vengando de l por todas las cosas
malas que ha hecho."

Pay off:
1) Pagar (por completo). Saldar.
ex. "I paid off all my debts." (Pagu todas mis deudas.)
2) Valer la pena. Recompensar.
ex. "His efforts will pay off." (Sus esfuerzos valdrn la pena./Sue esfuerzos sern
recompensados.)
3) Sobornar.
ex. "They obviously paid off the police officers." (Obviamente sobornaron a las policas.)

Pick on:
Meterse (con alguien).
ex. "You shouldn't pick on him." (No deberas meterte con l.)

Pick up:
1) Recoger.
ex. "I have to pick the kids up at school." (Tengo que recoger a los nios en la escuela).
2) Pick up on = Enterarse, darse cuenta.
ex. "She picked up on his bad mood." (Ella se dio cuenta que l estaba de malas.)
3) Ligar (con alguien).
ex. "Some sleazy guy was trying to pick me up last night." (Un tipo asqueroso trataba de ligar
conmigo anoche.)

Play down:
Quitarle importancia (a algo). Restar imporancia.
ex. "He did all he could to play down what happened." (Hizo lo que pudo para quitarle
importancia a lo que pas.)

Play up:
Exagerar la importancia (de algo).
ex. "Mike likes to play up the fact that he was raised in a poor neighborhood." (A Mike le gusta
hablar de que se cri en un barrio muy pobre.)

Point out:
1) Indicar.
ex. "He pointed out that two of the thieves were Canadian." (Indic que dos de los ladrones eran
canadienses.)
2) Sealar.
ex. "She pointed out the man who stole her purse." (Seal al hombre que le rob la bolsa.)

Polish off:
Terminar. Zampar.
ex. "Peter polished off the rest of the spaghetti." (Peter termin/zamp el resto [o "los restos"]
del spaguetti.)
Outside contributor(s): Estephany R.

Pull in:
1) Llegar en coche (y estacionar). Llegar en coche y parar.
ex. "They pulled in to a gas station." (Pararon en una gasolinera.)
2) To pull someone in = Hacer meterse (en algo)
ex. "That movie really pulled me in." (Me met en esa pelicula.)

Pull (something) off:


Lograr (algo). Encontrarle la vuelta (a algo)(AR). Apaar (algo).
ex. "I can't believe she pulled it off. I was sure she was going to fail." (No creo que [ella] lo logr.
Estaba seguro de que iba a fallar.)

Pull over:
ex. "Parar (un coche). Orillar (MX).
"La polica par el coche./La polica detuvo al auto." (The police pulled the car over.)
Outside contributor(s): Estephany R.

Put (someone) down:


Menospreciar (a alguien). Criticar con el intento de humiliar.
ex. "He was a very mean boy who always put down everyone around him." (Era un chico muy
malo que siempre iba criticando a todos.)

Put (someone) on:


Engaar (a alguien). Vacilar (a alguien). Tomarle el pelo (a alguien).
ex. "You're putting me on!" (Me ests tomando el pelo!)

Put (something) off:


Posponer. Aplazar.
ex. "They put the meeting off until Saturday." (Aplazaron la reunin hasta el sbado.)

Put (someone) off (something):


Convencer a alguien que algo no es bueno.
ex. "That film put me off smoking." (Esta pelcula me convenci de no fumar.)

Put out:
1) Cuando se habla de los discos, compacts, etc., tiene significado de "sacar".
ex. "The Killers put out a new CD last month." (The Killers sacaron un nuevo disco el mes
pasado.)
2) Cuando se habla de un fuego, un cigarro, o por lo general, algo que se quema, tiene
significado de "apagar".

Put (someone) up:


Hospedar. Alojar. ex. "It was really kind of your uncle to put me up for a week." (Era muy
amable de parte de tu to hospedarme una semana."

Put (someone) up (to doing something):


Animarle (a alguien) a hacer algo. ex. "Pedro's mom put him up to doing that." (Su mam le
animo a Pedro a hacer eso.)

Put up with:
Aguantar. Tolerar.
ex. "I can't put up with this behavior any longer." (Ya no aguanto ese comportamiento!/Ya no
puedo tolerar ese comportamiento!)

Quiet down:
Hacer menos ruido. Callar. ex. "We told the construction workers to quiet down." (Dijimos a los
albailes que no hicieran tanto ruido.)

Rat on:
Chivarse de alguien. ex. "The teacher found out because you ratted on me!" (El maestro se
enter porque te chivaste de mi!)

Read up on:
Leer sobre algo. Ponerse al tanto de algo. ex. "I wanted to read up on Philadelphia before my
trip." (Quera leer sobre Philadephia antes de mi viaje.)

Read too much into (sth):


To read too much into (a situation) = Dar demasiado importancia (a una situacin) ex. "Don't
read too much into what she said. I'm sure she was only kidding." (No des demasiado
importancia a lo que dijo. Estoy seguro de que slo estaba bromeando.)

Rinse out:
Enjuagar.
ex. "Rinse out that kettle before you fill it with water." (Enjuaga la pava antes de llenarla con
agua.)

Rip off:
Estafar.
ex. "Don't go into that store. The owner always tries to rip everyone off." (No vayas a esa tienda.
El dueo siempre trata de estafar a todos.)

Roll in:
Llegar/venir a raudales.
ex. "He thinks that if he opens a restaurant, the money will roll in." (Piensa que si abre un
restaurant, el dinero va a venir a raudales.)
Llegar.
ex. "They rolled into Morelia." (Llegaron a Morelia.)

Rough up:
Darle una paliza a alguien.
ex. "The two men roughed him up." (Los dos hombres le dieron una paliza.)

Rub off on (someone):


Pegrsele.
ex. "His love of jazz has rubbed off on me." (Su pasin por el jazz se me peg.)

Rule out:
Eliminar.
ex. "We can't rule out revenge as a possible motive for the attack." (No podemos eliminar la
venganza como un posible motivo del ataque.)

Run away:
Huirse.
ex. "He ran away from home when he was 16." (Se huy de casa cuando tena 16 aos.)
Run (something) by (someone):
Consultar (algo con alguien). Decir (algo a alguien) para saber su opinin.
ex. "The Secretary of State ran the plan by the President." (El secretario del estado consult el
plan con el presidente.)

Run for:
Presentarse a.
ex. "Bill Clinton ran for president twice, and both times he was elected." (Bill Clinton se present
a presidente dos veces, y ambas veces lo eligieron.)

Run into:
Toparse con (algo/alguien).
ex. "I ran into your sister yesterday" (Me top con tu hermana ayer.)

Run off:
Huirse.
ex. "They ran off without paying the bill." (Se huyeron sin pagar la cuenta.)

Run out of:


Quedarse sin (algo).
ex. "I ran out of gas on the way to my aunt's house." (Me qued sin gasolina en camino a la
casa de mi ta.)

Sail through:
Aprobar (algo) sin problemas.
ex. "John sailed through his Math exam." (John aprob su examen de matemticas sin
problemas.)

Save up for (something):


Ahorrar (dinero) para (comprar algo).
ex. "John was saving up for a new motorcycle." (John ahorraba [dinero] para [comprar] una
nueva moto.)

Scrape by:
1) Apenas librarla(MX). Apenas lograr hacer (algo).
ex. "Did Stefan pass his English exam? Yes, but he just scraped by." Aprob Stefan su examen
de ingls? Si, apenas la libr."
2) Ganar lo justo para sobrevivir. Sobrevivir a duras penas.
ex. "They just scrape by." (Ganan lo justo para sobrevivir.)

Scrape together:
Reunir poco a poco. Reunir a duras penas.
ex. "We scraped together enough money to buy a bottle of wine." (A duras penas reunimos
bastante dinero para comprar una botella de vino.)

Screw up (*slightly vulgar*):


1) Hacer algo que no se hubiera hecho. Meter la pata.
2) Hacer algo mal. Salir mal. Cagarla(VULG).
ex. "I screwed up on the exam." (Sal mal en el examen./La cagu en el examen.[VULG])

See through (someone):


1) Conocer el juego, etc. (de alguien).
ex. "I can see through him." (Ya conozco su juego.); "I can see through his lies." (Ya conozco
sus mentiras.)
2) To see (something) through = Hacer que se cumple algo
ex. "I'll make sure to see it through." (Voy a asegurar que se cumple.)
See to (something):
Asegurar que algo pase. Ocuparse de algo.
ex. "I'll see to it that he gets your message." (Me ocupar de que [l] reciba tu mensaje.)

See (someone) off:


Despedir (a alguien).
ex. "They saw him off at the airport. (Lo despidieron en el aeropuerto.)

See (someone) out:


Acompaar (a alguien) a la puerta.
ex. "P1: I'll see you out. P2: That's OK. I'll see myself out." (Te acompao a la puerta. P2:
Gracias, conozco el camino.)

Sell out:
1) Venderse. Traicionar.
ex. "That band sold out." (Ese grupo se vendi.)
2) Agotarse. Acabarse.
ex. "The tickets were sold out." (Los boletos se agotaron.)

Send (someone) off:


Hacer una fiesta de despedida (para alguien). Despedir (a alguien).
ex. "Lo van a despedir el viernes." (They're sending him off on Friday.)

Set (someone) back:


Costar.
ex. "The whole trip set us back $2,000." (Todo el viaje nos cost $2,000.)

Set off:
1) Saltar (una alarma, una trampa, etc), hacer explotar (una bomba).
ex. "He set off the alarm when he walked into the room." (Salt la alarma cuando entr en el
cuarto.)
2) Empezar un viaje.
ex. "They set off on their journey." (.)

Set (someone) up:


1) To arrange a meeting (with the purpose of getting people involved romantically).
ex. "Becky tried to set me up with her cousin, but it didn't work out."
2) To falsely incriminate someone.
ex. "The killer claimed that he had been set up."

Settle down:
1) Sentar la cabeza. ex. "All my friends have settled down." (Todos mis amigos han sentado la
cabeza.)
2) Calmarse. ex. "Settle down!" (Calmate!)

Settle for:
Conformarse se (con algo).
ex. "He wanted $20, but he settled for $15." (Quizo $20, pero se conform con $15.)

Shape up:
1) Tomar forma. Desarollarse.
ex. "How's your project shaping up?" (Cmo se desarolla tu proyecto?)
2) Ponerse en forma.

Shoot off (one's mouth):


Hablar demasiado.
ex. "She's always shooting off her mouth about how beautiful her children are." (Siempre habla
demasiado de lo hermosos que que son sus hijos.)
Shop around:
Comparar precios. Buscar el mejor precio.
ex. "It's always best to shop around for the best bargains." (Para conseguir buenas gangas es
mejor comparar precios.)

Show (someone) around:


Mostrarle (a alguien) los alrededores, la ciudad, etc. Llevar a alguien a conocer la ciudad.
ex. "Don't worry, I'll show you around." (No te preocupes. Te llevo a conocer la ciudad.)

Show off:
Presumir.
ex. "He just loves to show off his new car, doesn't he?" (A l le encanta presumir con su nuevo
coche, qu no?

Show up:
1) Llegar. Asomarse. Aparecer.
ex. "He showed up at his aunt's house at 4 o'clock in the morning." (Lleg a la casa de su ta a
las 4:00 de la maana.) 2) To show (someone) up - Hacer quedar mal (a alguien)
ex. "The opening band showed the headliners up"

Shut down:
Cerrar para siempre (un restaurante, bar, etc.)
ex. "They shut down that restaurant last year." (Hace un ao cerraron ese restaurante.)

Shut up:
Callar(se).
ex. "Mike just kept talking. He never knows when to shut up." (Mike no dej de hablar. l nunca
sabe cundo callarse.)

Shy away from (doing something):


Evitar (algo), [por miedo, verguenza, etc.]
ex. "My sister tends to shy away from things like that." (Normalmente, mi hermana evita este
tipo de cosas.)

Side with (someone):


Tomar el lado (de alguien). Appoyar (a alguien/algo).
ex. "When I found out that my sister and her friend were arguing, I sided with my sister."
(Cuando me enter de que mi hermana estaba discutiendo con su amiga, tom el lado de mi
hermana.)

Sign in:
Entrar (pginas web, etc.). Firmar la entrada. (trabajo, edificios pblicos, etc.). Registrarse
(hoteles, etc.)

Sign off on (something):


Approbar (algo). Firmar (algo).
ex. "Robert signed off on the proposal on Wednesday morning." (Robert aprob el proyecto el
mircoles en la maana.)

Sign up (for something):


Registrarse.
ex. "I signed up for an intensive English course in New York City." (Me registr para un curso
intensivo de ingls en Nueva York.)

Sink in:
Asimilar. Asumirse (de algo).
ex. "The truth that she would never see her grandfather again began to sink in." (Empez a
asumirse del hecho que nunca volevera a ver a su abuelo.)

Sit around/sit by:


Sentarse (a esperar). No hacer nada.
ex. "The police officers just sat by while the man was being beaten by the gang." (Los policas
no hicieron nada mientras los pandilleros golpeaban al hombre.)

Sit down:
Sentarse.
ex. "She sat down." (Ella se senti.)

Sit in for (someone):


Sustituir (a alguien).
ex. "I'm sitting in for my boss this week." (Esta semana estoy sustituyendo a mi jefe.)

Sit in on (a meeting, etc.):


Estar presente en (una reunin, etc.)
ex. "The head of our marketing team will be sitting in on this meeting." (El director de nuestro
equipo de marketing estar presente en este reunin.)

Sit out:
No participar, no jugar, etc. No tomar parte.
ex. "I'm going to sit this game out." (No voy a particpar en este juego.)

Slack off:
Flojear. ex. "John has been slacking off recently." (John ltimamente flojea mucho.)

Sleep in:
Dormir hasta (ms) tarde. ex. "I like sleeping in on weekends." (Me gusta dormir hasta ms
tarde los fines de semana.)

Sleep on (something):
Consultar (algo) con la almohada.
ex. "Let me sleep on it, and tomorrow I'll let you know what I decide." (Djame consultarlo con
la almohada, y maana te aviso.)

Sleep over:
Quedarse a dormir en la casa de alguien.
ex. "Mary slept over last night." (Mary se qued a dormir aqui anoche.)

Slip out:
Escabullirse.
ex. "I slipped out for a coffee." (Me escabull por un caf.)

Slip up:
Meter la pata. Hacer un error. Fallar.
ex. "The press secretary slipped up and told the reporters more than he was supposed to." (El
secretario de prensa miti la pata en diciendo a los peridistas ms de lo que deba decir.)

Slow down:
Hacer (algo) ms despacio, lento, etc.
ex. "Could you please slow down? I'm finding it hard to understand what you're saying."
(Podras hablar ms despacio por favor? Me es difcil entender lo que ests diciendo.>

Snap off (a piece of something):


Romper/quitar (un pedazo de algo).
ex. "He snapped off a piece of the chocolate bar." (Le quit un pedazo del chocolate.)
Snap out of (it):
Espabilar(se).
ex. "Hey, snap out of it! You're beginning to scare me." (Oye, espablate! Me empiezas a
asustar.)

Sober up:
Ponerse sobrio. Quitarle la borrachera (a alguien).
ex. "I sobered up by midnight." (Para la medianoche ya se me pas la borrachera.)

Sort out:
Resolver.
ex. "We sorted our our differences and came to an agreement." (Resolvimos nuestras diferencias
y llegamos a un acuerdo.)

Sound off/Speak out:


Quejarse. Hablar sin tapujos.
ex. "The speaker sounded off on the terrible treatment of animals." (El orador habl sin tapujos
sobre en terible trato de los animales.)

Speak out about (something):


Hacerse or.
ex. "The senator spoke out about the recent corruption scandal." (El senador se hizo or sobre el
reciente escndalo de corrupcin.)

Speak out against (something):


Hablar en contra de (algo).

Speak out for (something):


Hablar en favor de (algo).

Speak up:
Hablar ms fuerte. Hablar ms alto.
ex. "Please speak up. I can't hear you." (Por favor, habla ms alto. No te oigo.)

Spell (something) out (for someone):


Explicar con detalle.
ex. "It's pretty obvious. I don't have to spell it out for you." (Es bastante obvio. No tengo que
explicartelo con detalle.)

Split up:
1) Separarse.
ex. "Peter and his girlfriend split up last week." (Peter y su novia se separaron la semana
pasada.)
2) Tomar rumbos distintos.

Square off (against an opponent):


Enfrentarse.
ex. "The teams will square off this Saturday." (Los equipos se van a enfrentar este sbado.)

Stamp out:
Eliminar.
ex. "The senator started a campaign to stamp out corruption." (El senador empez una campaa
para elimiar la corrupcin.)

Stand for:
1) Significar.
ex. "VIP stands for very important person." (VIP significa "very important person".)
2) Tolerar.
ex. "I won't stand for this type of behavior." (No voy a tolerar este tipo de comportamiento.)
3) Representar.
ex. "This candidate say he stands for justice." (Este candidato dice que representa a la justicia.)

Stand out:
Destacar. Destacarse.
ex. "It stands out from its competitors." (Se destaca de su competencia.)

Stand (someone) up:


Dejar (a alguien) plantado.
ex. "She got really angry when he stood her up on Saturday." (Ella se enoj mucho cuando l la
dej plantado el sbado.)

Stand up for (a cause, etc.):


Apoyar activamente (a una causa, etc.)

Stand up to (:
Enfrentar (a alguien). Hacerle frente (a alguien).
ex. "The boy showed showed how brave he was by standing up to the school bully." (El nio
mostr lo valiente que era en hacerle frente al abusador de la escuela.)

Start out:
Empezar.
ex. "He started out as a dishwasher." (Empez como lavaplatos.)

Stay in:
Quedarse en casa. No salir.
ex. "Let's stay in tonight." (Nos quedamos en casa esta noche?)

Stay on:
Permanecer. Quedarse.
ex. "I decided to stay on despite the low salary." (Decid quedarme a pesar del bajo salario.)

Stay over:
Quedarse a dormir en la casa de alguien.
ex. "Mary stayed over last night." (Mary se qued a dormir aqu anoche.)

Stay up:
Quedarse levantado. No acostarse. ex. "Jamie's parents let him stay up until 11:00 PM on
weekends." (Los paps de Jaime le permiten quedarse levantado hasta las 11 de la noche los
fines de semana."

Step down:
To leave a job, position, etc.
ex. "I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson stepped out for a bit. He'll be back in 30 minutes."

Step in:
Intervenir.
ex. "The teacher stepped in when he the two boys arguing." (El maestro intervino cuando vio a
los dos chicos discutiendo.)

Step out:
Salir (por un rato).
ex. "I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson stepped out for a bit. He'll be back in 30 minutes." (Lo siento, pero
Sr. Johnson sali por un rato. Va a regresar en 30 minutos.)

Stick around:
Quedarse (en un lugar, etc.)
ex. "I think I'll stick around for a bit." (Creo que voy a quedarme un rato.)

Straighten (something) out:


Aclarar (algo).
ex: "They was a mistake on my bill, but they straightened it out for me." (Haba un error en mi
cuenta, pero me lo aclararon.)

String (someone) along:


Darle falsas esperanzas (a alguien).
ex: "I thought she loved me, but it turned out that she was just stringing me along." (Yo
pensaba que ella me quera, pero result que slo me daba falsas esperanzas.)

Tack on:
Agregar. Aadir.
ex. "The lawyer tried to tack on an additional $100 in fees." (El abogado quera cobrar $100 ms
en honorarios.)

Tag along:
Acompaar (a alguien).
ex. "Do you mind if I tag along?" (Te molesta si te acompao?)

Tail off:
Disminuir. Reducirse.
ex. "The protests tailed off in the major cities yesterday." (Las protestas disminuyeron ayer en
las ciudades principales.)

Take aback (by something):


Sorprenderse (por algo).
ex. "I was taken aback by his reaction." (Me sorprendi su reaccin.)

Take after:
Parecer(se).
ex. "She really takes after her father." (Parece mucho a su pap.)

Take apart:
Desmontar. Desbaratar. Desarmar.
ex. "She took the computer apart, but couldn't reassemble it afterwards." (Ella
debarat/desmont la computadora, pero no la pudo volver a montar.)

Take care of:


1) Cuidar.
ex. "John took good care of his car." (John cuid su coche muy bien.)
2) Encargarse.
ex. "P1: Who's going to tell him? P2: I'll take care of it." (P1: Quien va a decirle? P2: Yo me
encargo de eso.)

Take down:
Apuntar.
ex. "Take this down." (Apntalo.)

Take in:
1) Alojar. Recibir. Adoptar.
ex. "They took in two stray cats." (Adoptaron a dos gatos callejeros.)
2) Comprender. Absorber.
ex. "It's impossible to take in all this information at once." (Es imposible absorber toda esta
informacin en una vez.)
3) Take in the sights = Hacer turismo, turistear
4) Don't be taken in = No te dejes engaar
Take off:
1) Quitar.
ex. "Please take off your hat when you're indoors." (Por favor, qutate el sombrero cuando ests
dentro.)
2) Irse. Partir.
ex. "I think I'm going to take off. I'm really tired." (Me voy a ir. Estoy muy cansado.)
3) Despegar.
ex. "When the plane took off I felt very nervous." (Cuando despeg el avion, me puse
nerviosa.)

Take on:
Aceptar.
ex. "He took on another project." (Acept un proyecto ms.)

Take out:
1) Invitar a salir (a alguien).
ex. "I took my mom out to diner on her birthday." (La invito a salir a mi mam para su
cumpleaos.)
2) Sacar. (libros de la biblioteca, dinero de un cajero automatico, etc.)
ex. "Tom took out three books from the library." (Tom sac dos libros de la biblioteca.)
3) Matar.
ex. "The drug dealers took him out." (Los narcotraficantes lo mataron.)

Take (something) out on (someone):


Desquitarse (algo con alguien). Desahogarse (algo con alguien)(SP).
ex. "Why do you always take your anger out on me?" (Porqu siempre desquites tu enojo
conmigo?)

Take over:
Asumir (control sobre).
ex. "After Jim left the company, Nancy took over his position." (Despus de que Jim dej la
empresa, Nancy asumi su puesto.)

Take up:
1) Tomar mucho tiempo.
ex. "This business takes up a lot of his time." (Le dedica mucho tiempo a este negocio.) 2)
Comenzar a dedicarse (a algo).
ex. "He took up bowling." (Comenz a jugar a los bolos/Comenz a dedicarse a los bolos).
3) Take (someone) up on (something) = Tomarle la palabra (a alguien)

Take (something) upon oneself:


Asumir la responsibilidad (de que algo pase). Ocuparse (de algo). Encargarse (de algo).
ex. "I'm going to take it upon myself to teach him to speak English." (Yo voy a encargarme de
ensearle ingls.)

Talk back:
Contestar.
ex. "Don't talk back to your father like that!" (No le contestes a tu pap!)

Talk down to (someone):


Hablar en tono condescendiente (con alguien). Hacer de menos (a alguien).
ex. "He always talks down to his little brother." (Siempre habla en tono condescendiente con su
hermano menor.)

Talk (someone) into (something):


Convencer (a alguien) a hacer algo.
ex. "He talked me into buying a Mazda." (Me convenci a comprar un Mazda.)
Talk (someone) out of (something):
Convencer a alguien para que no haga algo. Disuadir a alguien de hacer algo.
ex. "I was going to buy a Mazda, but my cousin talked me out of it." (Iba a comprar un Mazda,
pero mi primo me convenci de no hacerlo.)

Talk (something) over:


Discutir.
ex. "It sounds like a good deal, but I have to talk it over with my husband." (Suena como un
buen trato, pero tengo que discutirlo con mi esposo.)

Talk (someone) through (something):


Explicarle a alguien algo, paso a paso.
ex. "I started to understand the process after Bill talked me through it." (Empez a entender el
proceso mejor despues de que Bill me lo explic paso a paso.)

Tear into:
Criticar (a alguien/algo) muy duro. Atacar verbalmente.
ex. "Barack Obama really tore into John McCain during their debate." (Barack Obama atac
verbalemente a John McCain durante su debate.)

Tear up:
Romper (un papel, etc.) Hacer pedazos.
ex. "The student tore up his report card when he saw his grades." (El estudiante rompi su
boletn de notas/boleta de notas (MX) cuando vio sus calificaciones.)

Tell off:
Criticar. Regaar.
ex. "I told the babysitter off for not having taken good care of my son." (Rega a la niera por
no haber cuidado bien a mi hijo.)

Tell on:
Ir (a alguien) con el chisme. Delatar. Chivarse (SP).
ex. "Every time I did something wrong, my brother would tell on me." (Cada vez que hice algo
mal, mi hermano me iba con el chisme/me delat.)

Think (something) over:


Pensar (en algo) bien. Reflexionar.
ex. "Think it over. Maybe you'll decide to join us." (Piensalo bien. A lo mejor decidirs unirte con
nosotros.)

Think up:
Inventar.
ex. "He thought up some story." (Invent alguna historia.)

Throw away/ Throw out:


Tirar.
ex. "Maria, stop playing with that paper. Throw it out!" (Maria, deja de jugar con este papelito.
Tiralo!)

Throw (someone) off:


Confundir. Despistar.
ex. "I know you're doing that just to throw me off, but it's not going to work." (Ya se que ests
haciendo eso slo para confundirme/despistarme, pero eso no va a funcionar.)

Throw up:
Vomitar.
ex. "If you drink too much alcohol, you might throw up." (Si tomas demasiado alcohol, puedes
vomitar.)

Tick off:
Enojar. Enfadar.
ex. "He really ticked me off!" (l realmente me enoj.)

Tie up:
1) Atascar.
ex. "Traffic is tied up for 5 miles." (El trfico est atascado por 5 milas.)
2) Estar ocupado.
ex. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Smith is tied up right now." (Lo siento, pero Sr. Smith est ocupado
actualmente.)

Tip off:
Avisar. Sealar.
ex. "Someone tipped the police off about where he was hiding." (Alguien seal/avis a la polica
donde se estaba escondiendo.)

Tone down:
Suavizar. Hacer (algo) menos extremo.
ex. "He toned down his more harsh remarks in order to appeal to a wider audience." (Suaviz
algunas de sus afirmaciones ms duras para atraer a un pblico mayor.)

Touch down:
Aterrizar (un avion, un cohete, etc.)
ex. "The plane touched down an hour ago." (El avion se aterriz hace una hora.)

Try back:
Volver a llamar a alguien por telefono (porque no est, etc.)
ex. "Richard isn't around right now. Try back in 30 minutes." (Richard no est. Puede volver a
llamarle en 30 minutos.)

Try on:
Probarse.
ex. "She tried on seven dresses, but didn't like any of them." (Se prob siete vestidos, pero
ninguno de ellos le gust.)

Try out for:


Probar por/en (un equipo, un grupo, etc.)
ex. "She tried out for the basketball team, but they told her that she was too short." (Prob por
el equipo de baloncesto, pero le dijeron que no era lo bastante alta.)

Tuck in:
1) Tuck someone in = Arropar a alguien (en la cama)
ex. "When I was a child, my mom used to tuck me in every night." (Cuando era nio, mi mam
me arropaba cada noche.)
2) Tuck in (a shirt, etc.) = Meterse (la camisa en el pantalon, etc.)

Tuck away:
Esconder.
ex. "He tucked away the money that his grandfather gave him." (Escondi el dinero que le dio su
abuelo.)

Tune in:
Sintonizar.
ex. "Tune in to our live podcast every Monday at 7:00 PM." (Sintoniza para escuchar nuestro
podcast en vivo cada lunes a las 7 de la tarde.)
Turn down:
1) Rechazar. Rehusar. Declinar.
ex. "Jim turned down the offer." (Jim rechaz la oferta.)
2) Bajar (el volumen, etc.)

Turn in:
Acostarse.
ex. "It's late. We're going to turn in." (Ya es tarde. Nos vamos a acostar.)

Turn into:
Hacerse (algo). Convertirse (en algo).
ex. "She kissed him, and the frog turned into a prince." (Le dio un beso y el sapo se transform
en un prncipe.)

Turn on:
1) Prender.
ex. "Turn on the light." (Prende la luz.); "Girls like her turn me on." (Me prenden las chicas como
ella.)

Turn out:
1) Resultar.
ex. "I thought he was an honest man, but it turns out that he wasn't." (Pensaba que era un
hombre honesto, pero resulta que no lo era.)
2) Asistir. Venir (a un lugar).
ex. "500,000 people turned out for Madonna's concert." (500,000 personas asistieron al
concierto de Madonna.)

Turn up:
Aparecer.
ex. "I'm sure your wallet will turn up somewhere." (Estoy seguro de que tu cartera va a aparecer
en algun sitio./Estoy seguro de que van a encontrar tu cartera en algun sitio.)

Turn (a radio, etc.) up:


Subir el volumen (del radio, etc.)
ex. "Turn up the radio. I love that song!" (Sube el volumen del radio. Me encanta esta
cancin!)

Use up:
Acabar. Terminar. ex. "You used up all the toothpaste. How am I supposed to brush my teeth?"
(Te acabaste la pasta [dentfrica]. Cmo voy a lavarme los dientes?

Veer away from:


Evitar.
ex. "As a cameraman, I would veer away from those types of shots." (Como cameraman, yo
evitara este tipo de toma.)

Veg out:
Descansarse. Relajarse. No hacer nada.
ex. "Jim was just vegging out at home." (Jim solo estaba relajandose en su casa.)

Vote down:
Rechazar.
ex. "The senate voted down the bill." (El senado rechaz el proyecto.)

Wait on:
Servir (a alguien) en un restaurante, etc. Trabajar de mesero.
ex. "I don't want to wait on tables forever." (No quiero trabajar de mesero para siempre.)
Wait (something) out:
Esperar el fin de (algo).
ex. "We went into a cafe to wait out the storm." (Entramos en un caf para esperar que la
tomenta pasara.)

Wait up (on/for) someone:


Esperar (a alguien). Esperar levantado (a alguien).
ex. "Don't worry, they'll wait up for you." (No te preocupes, te van a esperar [levantado].)

Wake up:
Despertarse.
ex. "I woke up at 7:00 AM this morning." (Me despert a las 7 esta maana.)

Walk in on (something/someone):
Entrar.
ex. "My parents walked in on us kissing." (Mis padres entraron cuando estbamos besando.)

Walk off with (something):


Salir con (algo).
ex. "The thieves walked off with 20 thousand pesos." (Los ladrones se llevaron 20 mil pesos.)

Wash out (usually used in the passive form):


1) "The game was washed out." = "El partido fue cancelado por la lluvia."
2) "A washed out image, etc." = "Una imagen borrosa."

Wash up:
Lavarse las manos, etc.
ex. "Make sure you wash up before eating." (No olvides de lavarte las manos antes de comer.)

Watch out (for):


Tener cuidado (con).
ex. "There's a school at the end of this block. Watch out for children crossing the street." (Hay
una escuela ah en la esquina. Cuidado con los nios cruzando la calle.)

Water down:
Aguar.
ex. "This beer is watered down." (Esta cerveza est aguada.)

Wear in:
Gastar (los zapatos, etc.)
ex. "I've worn in my new sneakers." (Ya gast mis nuevos tenis.)

Wear off:
Pasar.
ex. "The effect of the drug will wear off in two hours." (El efecto de la medicina pasar en dos
horas.)

Wear on:
Avanzar (gradualmente).
ex. "He got more and more drunk as the night wore on." (Se iba emborrachando ms y ms
mientras avanzaba la noche.)

Wear out:
1) Desgastar (los zapatos, etc.)
ex. "I wore out the shoes in about six months." (Desgast los zapatos en seis meses.)
2) Agotar a alguien. Hacer cansado a alguien.
ex. "My daily routine really wears me out." (La rutina diaria me agota/cansa mucho.)
Weed out:
Eliminar.
ex. "They weeded out all the rotten berries." (Eliminaron todos los bayos podridos.)

Whip out:
Sacar algo de golpe, de forma rapida, etc.
ex. "We were talking about my favorite book, when he whipped it out of his backpack."
(Hablbamos de mi libro favorito, cuando l lo sac de su mochila.)

Whip up:
Preparar algo rpidamente.
ex. "He whipped up some sandwiches." (Prepar rpidamente unos sandwiches.)

Wiggle/wriggle out (of something):


To avoid doing something through excuses, explanations, etc.

Wind down:
Descansarse. Relajarse.
ex. "I just need to wind down for a couple of hours." (Slo necesito descansarme por unas
horas.)

Wind up:
Terminar. Acabar.
ex. "If he doesn't get his act together, he is going to wind up in jail." (Si no se las arregle, va a
terminar en la crcel.)

Wipe (someone) out:


1) Agotar a alguien. Cansar mucho a alguien.
ex. "That hike really wiped me out!" (Esta caminata me agot.)
2) Exterminar. Acabar con.
ex. "Hunters have wiped out all the deer in this region." (Los cazadores han
matado/exterminado a todos los venados en esta regin.)
3) To wipe out a debt = Eliminar una deuda

Work in:
1) Introducir/meter algo en algo.
ex. "The writer worked in a couple of extra passages into his book." (El escritor meti unos
pasajes ms en su libro.)
2) Agregar gradualmente.
ex. "Now we have to work in the flour." (Ahora tenemos que agregar gradualmente la harina.)

Work off:
Perder (peso, etc.)
ex. "I need to work off a few kilos." (Tengo que perder unos kilos.)

Work out:
1) Salir/resultar bien.
ex. "I'm glad your new business is working out." (Me agrada que tu nuevo negocio est saliendo
bien.)
2) Hacer ejercicio.
ex. "Martin works out three times a week." (Martin hace ejercicio tres veces por semana.)
3) To work out a problem = Resolver un problema

Work up:
1) To work up an appetite (from running, playing sports, other physical activity) = Hacer entrar
hambre a alguien /Abrir el apetito a alguien (despues de correr, hacer deporte, o otra actividad
fsica)
2) To work up a sweat = Empezar a sudar despues de una actividad fsica
3) To work oneself up/To get worked up = Ponerse nervioso, molesto

Write (something) down:


Escribir/apuntar (algo).
ex. "Write down your name." (Escribe tu nombre.)

Write (something) off:


1) Dar a alguien/algo por perdido.
ex. "He wrote it off." (Lo dio por perdido.)
2) Cancelar (una deuda, etc.)

Write up:
1) Preparar. Escribir.
ex. "He wrote up the report." (Prepar el informe.)
2) Multar (a alguien).
ex. "The police officer wrote him up for speeding." (El polica lo mult por exceso de velocidad.)

Wrap up:
Terminar.
ex. "We have to wrap up the meeting." (Tenemos que terminar la reunin.)

Yak on:
Seguir hablando.
ex. "He kept yakking on for hours about how great things were going for him." (Sigui hablando
por horas de lo bien que le iban las cosas.)

Zero in on:
1) Dirigir todos sus esfuerzos a.
ex. "The authorities zeroed in on capturing the thieves." (Los autoridades dirigieron todos sus
esfuerzos a atrapar a los ladrones.)
2) Identificar.
ex. "They zeroed in on the thieves' location." (Identificaron la ubicacin de los ladrones.)

Zip around:
Ir de un lugar a otro.

Zone in on (something/someone):
Concentrarse (en algo/alguien).

Zone out:
Estar en las nubes. Estar distrado.
ex. "I'm sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?" (Perdon, estuve en las nubes. Qu dijiste?)

Zoom in:
Hacer un acercamiento. Enfocar en primer plano.
ex. "Zoom in so that you can see it better." (Haz un acercamiento para que lo veas mejor.)

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