PHRASAL VERBS DICTIONARY

Phrasal Verb: * Meaning: Example:

ACT LIKE N To behave like____ My brother was acting like a wild animal last
night.
To act in a certain manner Many acted like she likes me, but I know she was
only pretending.
ACT UP N To behave badly The children in class acted up when the teacher
left the room.
ACT UP N To work improperly My computer has been acting up lately. It needs
to be repaired.
ADD ON S To increase something Our house was too small, so we added on another
bedroom
ADD UP S To find the amount How much is the tax? I don’t know, I’ll have to
add it up.
ADD UP TO N To find the total The clothes add up to $550.00! That’s a lot of
money!
ASK OUT S To invite someone on a date That handsome boy asked me out We’re going to
a movie.
BACK AWAY N To retreat The people asked away as the robber came into
the bank.
BACK DOWN N To not follow a threat Terry was going to hit the man, but then he
backed down when he saw that the man was
much bigger than he is!
BACK OFF N To retreat; not to follow a That car was following me closely, but finally it
threat backed off.
BACK UP N To move in reverse; move You are crowding me. Please back up a few
backwards steps.
BACK UP S To drive a vehicle in reverse; She backed the car up to the garage door.
move backwards
BACK UP S To make a protection copy Don’t forget to back up your important computer
files!
BACK UP S To confirm facts; support Frank backed Mary’s story up. He told us the
same facts that Mary told us.
BEAT UP S To hurt someone by hitting The men in the pub were trying to beat each other
and/or kicking them up. It was a terrible fight!
repeatedly
BEG OFF N To ask to be excused from My friends were supposed to come over for
something dinner, but they begged off.
BEND OVER N To bend at the waist Sam hurt is back when he bent over to pick up his
shoes.
BLEND IN WITH N To match the surroundings New immigrants often try to blend in with the
citizens of a country
BLOW UP S To explode; destroy with an The bomb blew up and hurt one person
explosion
BLOW UP N To explode with anger; Maxine blew up when I told her I lost her new
suddenly become very angry CD.
BLOW UP S To inflate something The clown blew up the balloons.
The clown blew the balloons up.
He blew them up
BONE UP ON N To study something Nick’s study group boned up on prepositions
completely for a short time; before the test.
refresh one’s memory with
information
BOSS AROUND S To tell someone what to do I hate when my sister tries to boss me around!
repeatedly
BREAK DOWN N To lose control of one’s Brent broke down in tears when he heard that his
Emotions wife had been saved from the fire.
BREAK DOWN S To dismantle, destroy The robbers broke the door down when they
came in last night.
BREAK DOWN S To separate something into The production costs were very high. When we
its component parts broke the costs down, we spent more on
marketing than on the actual product.
BREAK DOWN N To stop working Sara’s car broke down yesterday.
BREAK IN S To work something so as to My shoes hurt my feet because they haven’t been
be usable; wear something broken yet.
new until it is comfortable
BREAK IN S To train; get accustomed to a One of the manager’s duties is to break the new
new routine employees in.
BREAK INTO N To enter forcefully or Cory broke into a house and stole a TV. Now,
abruptly he’s in jail!
BREAK OFF S To end a conversation or Allen and I broke off our engagement. We’re not
relationship going to get married.
BREAK UP N To separate something; What time did the football game break up last
scatter, disperse night?
BREAK UP N To end a relationship Peter and June broke up yesterday.
BREAK UP WITH N To end a relationship Peter and June broke up with each other
yesterday.
BRING BACK S To return something My homework is due tomorrow. Will you please
bring my book back today?
BRING OFF S To accomplish something Nobody thought Carl could get an A in that class,
difficult; do the impossible but she brought it off!
or unlikely
BRING UP S To mention No one brought up the subject of employee raises
at the meeting.
BRING UP S To raise; rear I was brought up with very strict rules. I had to be
a good child, or I was punished.
BRUSH UP ON N To practice, to improve your Nick’s study group brushed up on pronouns
skills or knowledge before the test
BURN DOWN S To destroy by fire If you smoked in bed, you may burn the house
down.
(Note: For standing
Things- -trees, buildings, etc.
- -only.)
BURN UP S To destroy by fire All of their pictures burned up in the fire.
(Note: For non-standing
things & people only.)
BURN UP S To cause someone to become That rude woman really burned me up! Arrgh!!!!
very angry
BUTT INTO N To enter a conversation That rude man butted into our conservation
uninvited; impolitely
interrupt
BUTT IN N To enter uninvited; to The impatient women butted in the line at the
interrupt market.
BUTT OUT N To tell someone to mind Butt out! This is none of your business!
their own business.
BUTTER UP S To praise someone I guess Marilyn really wants to be promoted.
excessively with the hope of She’s been buttering her supervisor up all the
 getting some benefit week.
CALL BACK N To return a phone call; to call Could you call back later please?
again
CALL OFF S To cancel something Shelly called the wedding off because her
boyfriend cheated on her.
CALL ON N To ask a student to speak in The teacher called on Lee for the answer.
class
CALL ON N To visit somebody at their Frank called to Sara. They visited for two hours.
home
CALL OUT N To shout out When the lights went out, I called out for help.
CALL UP S To telephone someone The secretary will call the client up at 2:00pm.
CALM DOWN S To help someone/oneself Steve was so upset that nothing could calm him
become calmer, less upset; down.
stop being emotionally
distressed
CARE FOR N To like, want (Note: This is A) “Would you care for some dessert? We
usually negative, but it may have ice cream, cookies, or cake.”
be used in questions. B) “No thank you. I don’t care for sweets.”
CARE FOR N To take care of; give care to; Emily’s grandfather got out of the hospital last
attend/watch week. Her family is caring for him at home.
CARRY ON S To continue I’m sorry I interrupted you. Please carry on.
CARRY OUT S To complete a task The secretary carried her boss’s orders out
exactly.
CATCH ON N To become popular Orange hats with purple feathers will never catch
on!
CATCH ON N To gain understanding or My mom had never used e-mail until her
knowledge of something company went online, but she caught on very
quickly and she sends email to everyone she
knows.
CATCH UP N To stop being behind; to get The new employees are slow workers, but they’ll
to the same level as others catch up as they learn more.
CHECK IN N To register (usually at a Thomas checked in at the front desk.
meeting, hotel, airport, or
hospital)
CHECK INTO N To investigate; find Leonardo DiCaprio’s agent checked into the
information rumor about Leo marrying his co-star. The rumor
was untrue.
CHECK OFF S To make a mark to indicate The teacher checked off the student’s homework
that something on a list has as they handed it in.
been completed
CHECK OUT N To follow procedures for Thomas checked out on Friday.
leaving (a meeting, hotel,
hospital, etc.)
CHECK OUT N To investigate; find Leonardo DiCaprio’s agent checked out the
information rumor about Leo marrying his co-star. The rumor
was untrue.
CHECK OUT S To follow procedures for Peter checked that book out of the library.
borrowing something
(usually for a period of time)
CHECK OUT S To look at (slang) Check that girl out; she is beautiful!
To appraise I asked the jeweller to check my ring out. It’s
loose.
CHEER UP S To help someone feel less Henry was sad about failing his test, so I took
worried, depressed or sad him out to dinner to cheer him up.
CHEW OUT S To berate; scold someone My supervisor chewed out my co-worker today.
severely
CHICKEN OUT N To lose the courage or Mark was going to ask Lisa for a date when he
confidence to do saw her, but he chickened out.
something—usually at the
last minute
CHIP IN N To add money to something Everyone chipped in and we bought our manager
done by a group a birthday gift.
CLAM UP N To refuse to talk about The robber clammed up when the police
something questioned him about his partner.
CLAM UP N To suddenly become quiet My friends clammed up when I walked into the
room. Nobody would tell me what they were
talking about.
CLEAN UP S To clean something Kids-clean your room up and then we’ll leave.
completely
CLEAR UP S To clarify; explain Her explanation cleared up the misunderstanding.
CLEAR AWAY S To remove When the dinner dishes were cleared away, they
played cards at the table.
COME ACROSS N To find; discover I came across an old picture in my desk drawer.
unexpectedly; find by chance
COME DOWN WITH N To become ill with (a Fred came down with the flu yesterday. I hope
sickness) his children don’t come with it too.
COME TO N To regain consciousness; A) “Nurse, has the patient come yet?”
come awake B) “Not yet doctor. He’s still in a coma.”
COME TO N To total an amount Let’s see… 5 hamburgers and 10 hotdogs comes
to $12.00 please.
COME UP N To be mentioned Did the topic of Susan and Frank’s wedding
come up at the meeting yesterday?
COME UP WITH N To suddenly think of an idea The marketing department came up with a
brilliant idea.
COPY DOWN S To record writing Patty gave Max her phone number and Max
copied it down.
COUNT ON N To rely on; depend on; trust Are you crazy? You can’t count on winning the
that something will happen; lottery! Stop using your credit card so much!
trust that someone will do as
expected
CROSS OUT S To draw a line through Sara crossed out her spelling mistake, and then
mistakes; show that wrote the correct word.
something written is wrong We can’t afford to buy everything on the food
or unnecessary by making an list, so I crossed all the unnecessary things out.
X across it
CUT BACK ON N To reduce; to lower; to use The doctor told me to cut back on sugar and fat in
less of something my diet.
CUT DOWN S To chop something down They cut the tree down.
CUT DOWN ON N To reduce; to lower; to use The doctor told me to cut down on sugar and fat
less of something in my diet.
CUT OFF S To stop service When we didn’t pay the bill, the electricity was
cut off.
CUT OFF S To sever The doctor cut off the infected finger.
CUT OFF N To eliminate from contact He was cut off by the storm. He couldn’t get
home.
CUT OUT S To remove something I cut the picture out of the magazine.
CUT OUT S To stop something She cut out smoking and now her health is better.
CUT UP S To slice We cut the watermelon up and gave everyone a

DIE DOWN N To decrease
DIG UP S To look for and find hidden
information; to uncover
information
DO IN S To make tired; to exhaust
DO IN S To kill; to murder
DO OVER S To do something again;
repeated a task
DO UP S To fasten; to close
DO WITH N To be related to something
DO WITHOUT N To get along without a
necessary item or to manage
without a necessary item
DRAG ON N To continue for an extremely
long time; last much longer
than expected or is necessary
DRAW OUT S To prolong something longer
than necessary; make
something last far longer
than normal
DRAW UP S To create a formal document;
to compose
DREAM UP S To think of something new;
create
DRESS UP S To put on formal clothing
DRINK UP S To finish a drink
DROP BY N To visit informally (usually
without scheduling a specific
time)
DROP IN ON N To visit informally (usually
without scheduling a specific
time
DROP OFF S To deliver something
DROP OFF S To give someone a ride
DROG OUT OF N To stop attending a class;
quit school
EAT OUT N To go out and eat; have a
meal in a restaurant
EAT UP S To finish a meal; to eat all of
something
EGG ON S To encourage someone
greatly to do something
(usually something negative)
END UP N To finally arrive at; to arrive
at an unexpected place
END UP N To arrive somewhere as a
result or consequence of
slice.
I think the wind is finally dying down. Tomorrow
will be clear.
Politicians like to dig up embarrassing
information about other politicians.
Working in the factory really did me in today.
I’m exhausted.
The killer did his victim in by shooting him.
Please do your composition over. There are too
many mistakes.
Please do up your jacket before you go outside.
“What’s a carburetor?” “It has something to do
with cars.”
We don’t have any lettuce, so we’ll have to do
without salad.
That boring movie dragged on and on. I thought
It would never end!
Our boss drew the meeting out until we were all
bored and disinterested.
The lawyer drew up the company contract.
Versace dreamed a lot of new fashions up.
I couldn’t believe that the bride didn’t dress up
for her own wedding! She wore blue jeans!
Drink up everyone! The pub is closing in five
minutes!
If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you. Please
drop by any time.
If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you. Please
drop in on us any time.
I can take that letter to the post office. I’ll drop it
off when I leave.
I can drop Sam off on my way home.
Did you hear? Brett dropped out of school last
week. He decided to join the Navy.
Let’s eat out at the Hard Rock Café.
The boys ate all of the food in the refrigerator up!
Now we have nothing to eat.
At first the guys were just having a small
argument, but their friends egged them on until
they started fighting.
At first we got totally lost, but we finally ended
up at the right restaurant.
If you don’t stop stealing, you’ll end up in jail!
 one’s actions
EVEN OUT S To make something equal
FACE UP TO N To admit to; take
responsibility for
FALL DOWN N To fall to the floor ground
FALL THROUGH N To not happen (Used for
events that were planned but
did not happen.)
FELL UP TO N To fell strong enough or
comfortable enough to do
something
FIGHT OFF S To keep something or
someone away
FIGURE OUT S To logically find the answer
to a problem by thinking
about it carefully
FIGURE OUT S To understand why someone
behaves a certain way
FILL IN S To add missing details
FILL IN S To supply information that
someone doesn’t know
FILL IN FOR N To temporarily do someone
else’s work; temporarily
substitute for another person
FILL OUT S To complete information on
a form or application
FILL OUT N To gain weight and look
healthy
FILL UP S To fill completely
FIND OUT S To learn about something;
get information; discover
information
FIT IN N To get along with others in a
group; be part of a group
FOOL AROUND N To have fun while wasting
time
GET ACROSS S To make something
understood; communicated
something understandably
GET AHEAD N to achieve success
GET ALONG WITH N To have friendly relationship
with
GET AROUND N To move from place to place
GET AROUND N To avoid having to do
something
GET AROUND TO N To finally do something; to
do something eventually
GET AT N To try to prove or make clear
GET AWAY N To escape
After my sister cut her hair by herself, we had to
take her to a hairdresser to even her hair out!
You need to face up the truth. You are not doing
a good job.
Betty fell down and hurt her arm.
Our plans to go to the beach fell through because
Sally couldn’t go.
Is your cold better now? Do you feel up to going
to work today?
I’m trying to fight a cold off. Sara fought off her
attackers.
Did you figure that math problem out yet?
I just can’t figure out why President Clinton did
that! What a stupid thing to do!
It’s not a good idea to fill your email address in
forms over the internet.
What happened at the meeting? Can you fill me
in please?
The secretary filled in for his boss at the
conference.
My brother filled a loan application out. He
wants to buy a house.
Arnold used to be a very small boy, but now he’s
really filled out. He’s got muscles everywhere!
You may borrow my car, but please fill up the
gas tank before you return it.
Can you find out where I need to go please?
Amy has few friends. She doesn’t really fit in
with her classmates. It’s a sad situation.
We fooled around at Jack’s house.
Gary couldn’t get his message across in Japanese.
Finally he got the message across in English.
After several slow business years, our company
finally get ahead of the competition.
Do you get along with your family?
Walter gets around town on his bicycle.
The kids tried to get around doing the dishes, but
they weren’t successful.
I’ll get around doing the laundry soon, but I’m
busy right now.
I couldn’t understand what Gary was getting at.
He didn’t make any sense.
Walter tried to get away from the office, but he
 had too much work to do.
GET AWAY WITH N To escape punishment, to Edgar got away with stealing that money. He
avoid criticism should have gone to jail!
GET BACK N To return; What time will you get back home tonight?
GET BY N To survive, financially, in a After the fire, the family had to get by without a
difficult situation house.
GET EVEN WITH N To get revenge; seek When Terry told a lie about me, I got even with
revenge; repay in kind him.
GET IN N To enter I lost my keys and so I couldn’t get in the house.
GET IN N To enter a small, closed Sara got in her car and drove away.
vehicle
GET IN N To arrive What time will you flight get in tonight?
GET INTO N To become strongly involved I’m sorry; I just can’t get into the game right
with or deeply interested in now. I’m thinking about work.
GET OFF N To dismount Charles got off the horse, and then walked him to
the barn.
GET OFF N To be excused from work, Pam got off doing homework because she had
class, or other regularly already finished her lessons.
schedule activities
GET OFF N To finish your workday I get off at 5:30. Let’s meet for dinner.
GET OFF N To receive a lesser Edgar got off easy after he stole that money. He
punishment than what might should have gone to jail!
be expected
GET OFF N To leave a large, closed Martin will get off the bus in Los Angeles.
vehicle
GET ON N To enter a large, closed Quick! Get on the train, it’s about to leave.
vehicle
GET ON N To mount something Let’s go. Get on your bicycle, it’s time to leave.
GET ON N To upset; to make angry That rap “music” is really getting on my nerves!
GET OUT OF N To leave a small, closed Get out of the taxi now because we’re here!
vehicle
GET OUT OF N To avoid having to do The kids tried to get out of doing the dishes, but
something they weren’t successful.
GET OVER N To recover from an illness or I hope Jeffrey gets over his cold soon.
painful experience;
overcome; surmount
GET OVER N To finish (for individual What time does the party get over?
activities, not repeated
actions)
GET RID OF N To dispose of, give away or I think it’s time to get rid of those shoes. They
throw out have too many holes in them!
GET RID OF N To fire someone from a job; The manager got rid of the secretary because he
cause someone to leave; wasn’t doing his job properly.
dismiss someone
GET THROUGH N To move past a difficult After John’s wife died, he had to get through his
time/place sadness.
GET TOGETHER N To meet; gather assemble in Let’s get together at Marta’s apartment.
a group
GET UP N To leave bed after sleeping When Steve got up this morning it was still dark.
and begin your daily
activities
GIVE AWAY S To dispose of; get rid of or We gave our old sofa when we bought a new one.
throw out
GIVE AWAY S To reveal a secret; tell Peter gave the surprise away when he talked to
 information Frank.
GIVE BACK S To return something Please give me my book back.
GIVE OUT S To distribute The manager gave the awards out at lunchtime.
GIVE UP S To stop, quit, or abandon You can learn English! Don’t give up!
GIVE UP S To stop a habit You’ll get cancer if you don’t give up smoking.
GO AFTER N To seek; try to obtain I plan to go after the new position at work.
something
GO AHEAD N To give permission to Go ahead and take an early lunch.
proceed
GO AWAY N To leave; to command I’ll be going away on vacation for a while. I’ll
someone to leave send you a postcard.
GO BACK N To return Although he’s forty-two, he’s going back to the
University to get his degree.
GO BACK ON N To betray, rescind one’s He said he’d help me, but then he went back on
word his promise.
GO DOWN N To decrease The price of fruit goes down in the summer.
GO FOR N To try to secure or attain Every Olympic athlete wants to go for the gold.
Each team wants to win.
GO FOR N To want something I could go for a big juicy cheeseburger right now!
GO OUT N To have a date with, be in a Do you know if Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben
relationship with someone Affleck are going out? Or are they just friends?
GO OUT WITH N To have a date with, be in a Do you know if Rita is going out with Samuel
relationship with someone next Friday night?
GO OVER N To examine My supervisor went over my report carefully.
GO THROUGH N To examine; to search The customs officer went through my bag.
GO THROUGH N To perform; to carry out The salesclerk went through her duties without
thinking. That’s how she lost the money.
GO THROUGH N To experience I am going through a difficult time right now.
GO UP N To increase; to rise The price of cigarettes went up in January 1992.
GO WITH N To coordinate; to look Your shirt really goes with your eyes. His tie
pleasing together doesn’t go with his shirt!
GO WITH N To date; to be in a Is Gwyneth Paltrow going with Ben Affleck? Or
relationship are they just friends?
GOOF OFF N To waste time being lazy; do We goofed off last night. It was fun to relax.
nothing in particular
GROW INTO N To change to fit something Stewart’s shirt doesn’t fit right now, but in six
months, he’ll grow into it.
GROW UP N To change from child to Sometimes men don’t grow up!
adult; behave responsibly
HAND IN S To submit work you have Harold handed his report in. his boss really liked
done it.
HAND OUT S To distribute Harold’s boss handed some award out. Harold
got one.
HANG AROUND N To have fun while wasting The local kids like to hang around the mall.
time
HANG ON N To wait; to wait on the Please hang on for a minute. I need to find a pen.
telephone
HANG OUT N To have fun while wasting The local kids like to hang out at the mall.
time
HANG UP S To end a phone conversation My ex-husband hung up when I phoned him.
HANG UP S To put away your clothes on Please hang your shirts up before the get
a hanger wrinkled.
HOLD BACK S To restrain That man was so rude! I had to hold myself back
from hitting him!
HOLD DOWN S To keep a job Jeremy just can’t seem to hold a job down.
HOLD ON S To wait Hold on a minute! I need to tie my shoe.
HOLD UP N To raise; lift to a higher- Hold your arm up so I can fix this sleeve.
than-normal position
HOLD UP S To delay; to cause a delay The traffic was so bad that it held me up for 2
hours.
HOLD UP S To rob; to steal In New York, many people get held up every
day.
HURRY UP S To go faster, to rush We need to hurry up and leave or we’ll be late!
IRON OUT S To reach an agreement; to Pablo and Lee will iron their difficulties out after
resolve difficulties or the meeting.
problems
JACK UP S To lift by using a jack We’ll need to jack the front of the car up before
we can change the tire.
JACK UP S To raise prices The oil company jacked the price of gasoline up
recently.
JOT DOWN S To write something down; Max jotted down Sarah’s phone number.
take notes
JUMP ALL OVER N To scold someone severely; When my report was late, my supervisor jumped
berate someone all over me.
KEEP AWAY S To not allow to come near In stories and legends, garlic keeps vampires
away.
KEEP ON (-ing) N To continue Keep on going! You can do it!
KEEP ON N To continue to remind My boss always keeps on me. She thinks I’ll
someone to do something forget my own name if she doesn’t remind me!
until it is done (even if it
angers the person); nag
KEEP UP WITH N To maintain contact with I can’t keep up with my father when we go riding
because he goes too fast.
KEEP UP N To continue without The rain kept up all the night. I thought we’d
interruption have a flood.
KICK OUT S Expel; force someone to The health club kicked Frank out because he
leave because of his/her poor didn’t pay his dues.
performance or unacceptable
behaviour
KNOCK DOWN S To strike to the ground with My grandfather’s old house was knocked down
or as if with a sharp blow and a bank was built.
KNOCK OUT S To make unconscious The fight ended when one boxer knocked the
other one out.
LAY OFF S To dismiss from a job due to I feel bad for Jerry. His company laid him off
lack of work or money – yesterday.
often temporarily
LAY OFF N To leave someone alone I wish my mom would lay off me. I’m tired of
her complaining.
LEAVE OUT S To forget; omit Oh no! When I retyped my essay, I left one
paragraph out!
LET DOWN S To disappoint; to fall short of The kids let their parents down when they ended
someone’s expectations up in jail.
LET FLY S To throw an object The baseball player let the ball fly.
LET GO S To dismiss someone from a If Jerry had done better work, his company
job for poor performance; to wouldn’t have let him go.
fire someone
LET IN S To admit; to allow (obj.) to Susan opened the door and let the cats in.
enter
LET ON ABOUT N To reveal a secret Nobody let on about the surprise party.
LET ON N To make acknowledgement Frank didn’t let on that he knew he was in
trouble.
LET OUT N To conclude a session or School will let out in June.
performance
LET OUT S To allow (obj.) to exit Perry opened the door and let the cats out.
LET OUT S To expand; to make larger The tailor let Mack’s pants out because Mack
(for clothes) gained weight.
LET UP N To cease; to stop Will the rain ever let up? It’s been raining for two
weeks!
LIE DOWN N To recline If you are tired, lie down on the sofa.
LIE DOWN N To submit meekly or abjectly Your friend insulted you? Don’t take his insult
to defeat, disappointment, or lying down-tell him he is wrong about you!
insult
LIE DOWN N To fail to perform or to Jerry was fired because he was lying down on the
neglect one’s part job. He never finished anything!
deliberately
LINE UP N To go stand in a line; to The prisoners lined up to receive their dinner.
assume an orderly linear
arrangement
LOCK IN S To lock the door so that The prisoners are locked in jail. They cannot get
someone can’t leave until they serve their time.
LOCK OUT S To lock the door so that My brother came home late to find that my
someone can’t enter parents had locked him out of the house. He had
to sleep outside!
LOOK AFTER N To take care of My sister looks after the children when we go
away.
LOOK AROUND N To explore an area Maxine went to Los Angeles and looked around
the downtown area for 2 hours.
LOOK BACK (ON) N To think about the past; On birthdays, many people like to look back on
reflect; ponder their life for the past year.
LOOK DOWN ON N To have no respect for Josephine looked down on the French people.
something or someone; to She said, “let them eat cake.” But she didn’t
consider inferior understand that they had no food at all.
LOOK FOR N To search I spent two hours looking for my glasses before I
found them.
LOOK FORWARD TO N To anticipate something with I am looking forward to my vacation.
joy; to think about a pleasant
thing before it happens
LOOK IN ON N To visit someone in order to I need to look in on my grandmother. She just got
check on his/her condition home from the hospital.
LOOK INTO N To research; investigate; find The police will look into the crime.
the truth about something
LOOK LIKE N To resemble Larry looks like his cousin jack.
LOOK OVER S To check; review My co-worker looked my report over before I
gave it to the boss.
LOOK OUT N To warn someone to be Look out!-There’s a car coming.
careful
LOOK OUT FOR N To take care of oneself Why did president Clinton lie? He was just
looking out for number one.
LOOK UP S To find information in a If you don’t understand the word, look it up in a
book; to seek out especially dictionary.
for a brief visit
LOOK UP S Find where someone lives or My friend gave me her brother’s address. When
 works and visit him/her I’m in Florida next month, I’ll be sure to look
him up.
LOOK UP TO N To respect something or He looks up to his grandfather.
someone
LUCK OUT N To be unexpectedly lucky Jennifer was worried because she wasn’t
prepared to give a speech in class, but she lucked
out because the class was cancelled.
MAKE FUN OF N To make unkind jokes about The cruel children made fun of the man walking
someone; to tease someone with a limp.
MAKE OUT s To find or grasp the meaning The doctor’s writing was terrible. The nurse
of; to see and identify with couldn’t make out what he wrote.
difficulty or effort
MAKE OUT S To complete a printed form Please make that check out to Kaye.
MAKE OUT S To represent as being; to Sam made Barbara out to be ugly, but she’s really
pretend to be true quite pretty.
MAKE UP S To invent a story Franz made up the most ridiculous excuse for
being late.
MAKE UP S To compensate for missing I’m sorry I missed the test. May I make it up
work by doing extra or tomorrow?
equivalent work
MAKE UP S To re-establish a friendly Sally and Sara you must make up with each
relationship by admitting other. It’s not nice for sisters to fight.
guilt
MARK DOWN S To reduce prices: to lower I hope the clothing store marks that jacket down
prices soon. I want to buy it, but it is too expensive.
MARK UP S To increase prices; to raise The clothing store will probably mark that jacket
prices up. They always mark up the things I like!
MOVE ON N To progress onward The meeting moved on a slow pace.
MIX UP S To confuse Peter always mixes ‘there’ and ‘their’ up.
MIX UP S To blend together The directions say to mix 2 eggs up with some
milk.
NOD OFF N To fall asleep unintentionally The movie was so boring that several people
(usually) nodded off in the middle of it!
A) What time did you go to sleep last night!
B) I nodded off on the sofa around 8:30
OPEN UP N To talk openly Susan really opened up to me about her family
situation. I think she just needed to talk to
someone for a while.
PAN OUT N To succeed; to happen as A) Weren’t you planning to buy a car?
expected- used for plans B) Yes, but the deal didn’t pan out.
PASS AWAY N To die Nurse: “The patient passed away at 5:00.
Doctor.”
PASS OFF S To pretend that work is yours Dan tried to pass a Shakespeare poem off as his.
What an idiot!
PASS OUT S To distribute The teacher passed the test papers out.
PASS OUT N To lose consciousness; to Tom drank too much beer. He passed out around
faint 9:00 and didn’t wake up until the morning.
PAY BACK S To repay a loan or a deed Sam shouldn’t have told them my secret. I will
pay him back one of these days!
PAY OFF S To completely pay all of the If I won the lotto, I’d pay all of my bills off. Then
money you owe I’d buy a house!
PAY OFF S To bribe someone; to pay In some countries you can pay off the police.
someone in order to avoid
trouble
PICK OFF S To shoot or bring down Max really knows how to shoot. He picked the
especially one by one bottles off with no trouble at all!
PICK ON N To intentionally try to make It’s not nice to pick on people, but kids do it all
someone upset; to bully the time.
someone
PICK OUT S To choose; to select Mom: “When you go to the store, pick a good
melon out for dessert.”
PICK UP S To lift, to take up Please pick your books up from the dinner table
now.
PICK UP S To give someone a ride I can pick you up for work at 7:30, ok?
PICK UP S To but; to get I need to pick up some eggs at the store.
PICK UP S To revitalize; to refresh I felt much better after I ate lunch. It really
picked me up.
PITCH IN N To work together; to help; to The villagers pitched in and built a community
join together to accomplish house in only two days.
something
PLAY DOWN S To make something seem Sara played the award down, but she really
less important should be proud herself.
PRINT OUT S To print something from a Please print my composition out for me.
computer
PULL AWAY N To move off or ahead The speeding car pulled away from the police
car.
My parents are pulling away from each other. I
hope they don’t get a divorce.
PULL DOWN S To pull something so that it Bobby! Don’t pull your pants down outside!
comes down
PULL OFF N To escape punishment; to Edgar pulled off the bank robbery. He never got
avoid criticism caught!
PULL OVER S To drive a vehicle to the side The police officer pulled me over and gave me a
of the road ticket for speeding.
PULL TOGETHER N To work together; to help; to The villagers pulled together and built a
join together to accomplish community house in only two days.
something
PUT AWAY S To return something to its Please put your books away. It’s time for dinner
proper place now.
PUT BACK S To replace something where If you’re finished with my dictionary, can you
it was previously please put it back?
PUT DOWN S To insult someone It’s not nice to put people down, but kids do it all
the time.
PUT DOWN S To kill a sick or injured When the police dog got sick, the vet said it was
animal necessary to put him down. The dog would not
recover from his injuries.
PUT OFF S To postpone; to delay Many students put off doing their homework
until it’s too late.
PUT ON S To dress oneself; to don Put your coat on or you’ll get cold.
PUT ON S To gain weight Steve looks like he is putting a little weight on.
PUT ON S To kid; to tease; to mislead Don’t believe a word of what Sara was saying.
someone for amusement; to She was just putting us on!
try to make someone believe
something ridiculous or
untrue
PUT OUT S To extinguish The fire fighters put the fire out.
PUT OUT S To inconvenience; to cause I’m sorry to put you out, but can you give me a
difficulties for someone ride to the train station?
PUT OUT S To publish; to issue Did you know that People Magazine is put out by
the same company as Time Magazine?
PUT UP S To return something to its Please put your books up. It’s time for dinner
proper place now.
PUT UP S To give food and shelter; to Don’t get a hotel room! I’d be happy to put you
provide someone with a up!
place to sleep
PUT UP S To preserve for future use; to My grandma Ruby used to put tomato juice up
can; to make preserves every summer. It tasted really good!
PUT UP WITH S To tolerate; to endure I don’t like to put up with noisy children.
QUIET DOWN S To be less noisy Hey children, please quiet down. I’m trying to
watch TV.
RIP OFF S To cheat; to steal; to take Someone ripped my motorcycle off when I was at
advantage of; to charge to work.
much
ROUND OFF S To change from a fraction to Round all sums off the closet whole number. For
the nearest whole number example, round 78.9% to 79%.
RUN ACROSS N To find something I ran across an old love letter when I was
unexpectedly; to discover by cleaning my room. It was such a surprise. I
chance thought I’d burned them all!
RUN AFTER N To pursue; to chase The police were running after a bank robber
when they accidentally hit my car.
RUN ALONG N To go away; to be on one’s Thanks for the tea. I have to run along now.
way
RUN AWAY N To escape from your The Boxcar Children Is a fun book about 5 kids
guardians; to leave home who ran away from home and travelled around in
secretly the boxcar of a train.
RUN DOWN N To cease to operate because The radio isn’t working because the batteries
of the exhaustion of motive have run down. We need to buy some more
power batteries.
RUN DOWN N To decline in physical I’m feeling very run down this week. I hope I’m
condition or vigor not getting sick. Maybe I need some vitamins.
RUN IN S To arrest for a usually minor The police ran Jeff in yesterday. He had 12
offence parking tickets!
RUN INTO N To meet by chance; to see When Sara went shopping, she ran into Julia
someone you know Roberts. Sara was too surprised to speak.
unexpectedly
RUN OFF S To chase (obj.) away That crazy dog ran the bear off. I couldn’t believe
my eyes!
RUN OFF WITH N To steal; to carry off The kids ran off with some candy from the store.
RUN OUT OF N To use the last of; to finish We ran out of milk, so we had to go to the
the supply of something market.
RUN OVER S To hit (obj.) with a vehicle Did you hear? Some idiot ran Stephen king over!
RUN THROUGH N To spend or consume Some women can run through money like it
wastefully and rapidly grows on trees.
RUN UP S To increase a total amount Some men run their credit card bills up so high
that they can’t pay them at the end of the month.
RUSH IN N To enter quickly We rushed in because we were late.
RUSH OUT N To exit quickly The workers all rushed out because it was time to
go home.
SAVE UP S To collect money for future Mimi and Charles are saving up for a new car.
use
SELL OUT S To sell the entire supply of The tickets to the Rolling Stones concert have
something been sold out. We can’t go.
SEND BACK S To return something I sent the package back because I didn’t order it.
SET BACK S To cause a delay in There is a problem with the report that has set us
scheduling back at least two days.
SET BACK S To cost money How much did your new coat set you back?
SET OFF S To set in motion; to cause to The crazy man set a bomb off.
begin
SET OFF N To leave; to depart We set off to Los Angeles early to avoid the
traffic.
SET UP S To start, organize, or Jenny talked to Sara about setting up her
configure computer.
SET UP S To make arrangements for I’m going to set a meeting up for 9:30. Is that
something OK?
SETTLE DOWN N To start living a quiet family You’re already 30 years old. It’s really time for
life you to settle down.
SETTLE DOWN S To get someone to quiet We need to settle the baby down. The neighbors
down are trying to sleep.
SHAKE OFF S To free oneself from Are you ever going to shake that cold off?
You’ve been coughing for three weeks!
SHAKE UP S To stir someone’s feelings; Patrick was really shaken up when he saw the
to upset someone bank robber.
SHAKE UP S To jar or jolt The collision shook up both drivers.
SHAKE UP S To reorganize something on The company shook the management structure up
a large scale and fire a lot of employees.
SHAVE OFF S To remove hair by shaving Why did Sinead O’Conner shave all her hair off?
SHOOT DOWN S To make something hit the Charles shot a duck down when he went hunting.
ground by shooting it
SHOOT DOWN S To reject an idea, suggestion Danielle shot Pablo down when he asked her to
or proposal go out on a date with him.
SHOP AROUND N To go to many different I really like the Chanel dress, but I am going to
merchants to find the best shop around to see if I can find a better price.
price
SHOW OFF N To try to impress by doing or Brett rode his bicycle off the stairs to show off.
showing something Too bad he broke his arm!
SHOW OFF S To display something to Some parents dress their kids in expensive
impress others clothes to show them off.
SHOW UP N To arrive, to appear The manager was very upset when you didn’t
show up for the meeting. Where were you?
SHOW UP S To do noticeably better job Everyone thought the red team would win, but
than someone else the blue team did. The blue team really showed
them up.
SHUT OFF S To turn something off; to Bill shut the gas off after the earthquake.
stop a machine
SIMMER DOWN N To become less angry Steve let his wife simmer down before he asked
her for forgiveness.
SIT AROUND N To just sit not doing much A) What did you do last weekend?
B) Not much. I just sat around and watched TV.
SLIP UP N To make a mistake You slipped up when you told Sara about her
surprise party. You shouldn’t have done that.
SPEAK UP N To speak more loudly You should speak up in class. Nobody can hear
you.
SPEED UP S To increase speed suddenly The car speeded up to avoid the red light.
SPLIT UP S To divide The bank robbers split the money equally.
STAND FOR N to represent A.S.A.P. stands for as soon as possible.
STAND FOR N To tolerate; permit The manager won’t stand for his workers to be
 late. He fires anyone who comes late more than 3
times.
STAND IN FOR N To take someone’s place In old times, the oldest brother stood in for his
father when he went to war.
STAND OUT N To be noticeably better than Pam’s work really stands out from the other
other similar people or things employees. Her work is fantastic.
STAND UP S To make a date but not keep Peter planned to go dancing with Mary, but she
it stood him up and went with Carlos instead.
STAND UP N To rise standing position When the President entered the room, everyone
stood up.
STAY IN N To not go out Barry decided to stay in this weekend because it
was raining.
STAY OUT N To remain away from home Would you get angry if your boyfriend stayed out
for the evening; to not return all night?
home
TAKE AFTER N To resemble Pat takes after his mother. They are both short
and blonde.
TAKE APART S To dismantle or disassemble Martin took his watch apart, but he couldn’t put it
back together.
TAKE BACK S To retrieve something you My friend gave me a gift, but then he rudely took
gave or said it back!
TAKE BACK S To return Pam took the radio back to the store because it
was broken.
TAKE CARE OF N To provide care for; to watch I have been taking care of my sister since she
one’s health returned home from the hospital.
TAKE CARE OF N To take responsibility for; to A) I need to wash the dishes.
make arrangements
B) No no. let me take care of them.
TAKE OFF N To depart; to leave The flight of Bermuda took off at 6 p.m.
TAKE OFF S To remove clothes Take your coat off and stay for a while.
TAKE OFF S To be absent from work I’m taking next week off, so hold my messages
please.
TAKE OUT S To go somewhere with a Frank took his supervisor out for dinner. Steve
friend; to invite someone on took Mary out three times last week.
a date
TAKE OUT S To remove something form Please take your books out and turn to page 47.
an enclosed place
TAKE OVER S To gain control of Do you think Bill Gates is trying to take over the
world?
TAKE UP S To begin a new hobby Betty took knitting up at last month and she made
me sweater.
TALK INTO S To persuade to do something Peter talked Mary into helping him move.
TALK OUT OF S To persuade not to do Mary talked Peter out of moving.
something
TEAR AWAY S To remove reluctantly Romeo tore himself away from Juliet.
TEAR DOWN S To dismantle; to disassemble The old hotel was torn down last year.
TEAR OFF S To remove something by The soccer player tore his shirt off when his team
tearing won the game.
TEAR OUT S To remove something form a Don’t tear the pages out of your book. You’ll ruin
book by tearing it!
TEAR UP S To damage, remove, or make The construction workers tore up the street to lay
an opening in a new water pipe.
TELL OFF S To speak to someone bluntly The supervisor told Frank off in front of the
and negatively, saying entire office.
 exactly what she or he did
wrong
THINK OVER S To contemplate; to give Before making any big decision, you should think
something a lot of thought it over for a long time.
THROW AWAY S To discard as trash; to put in Don’t throw these documents away because we’ll
the garbage need them later.
THROW OUT S To discard as trash; to put in Don’t throw these documents out because we’ll
the garbage need them later.
THROW OUT S To forcibly make someone Those people are drunk and making everyone
leave uncomfortable. The manager should throw them
out.
THROW UP S To vomit Ulysses threw his lunch up all over his desk.
Yuck!
TICK OFF S To make someone angry; to When people smokes near me, it really ticks me
irritate someone off!
TIP OFF S To inform Martin tipped the police off about the bank
robbers’ location.
TRY ON S To put clothes on to see if Terry tried the blue sweater on, but it was too big.
they fit
TRY OUT S To use a machine briefly to I’d like to try a Mac computer out. I’ve never
determine how well it works; used one before.
to test to see if something is
suitable
TRY OUT N To audition; to try to win a Billy tried out for the basketball team, but he was
place on a team too short.
TURN AROUND S Move so that you are facing I want my desk facing the window. Will you help
the opposite direction me turn it around?
TURN AROUND S To make changes for the The drug addict really turned his life around.
better He’s a best-selling author now.
TURN DOWN S To decrease the volume of Turn the radio down before you wake the dead!
something
TURN DOWN S To decline; to reject Tina turned Patrick down for a date. Poor
Patrick’s heart was broken.
TURN IN S To submit or give work done I turned the report in to my manager.
for someone
TURN IN N To go to bed I’m pretty tired. I’m gonna turn in now.
TURN IN S To report wrongdoers to The witness turned the robber in. Now he’s going
authorities to get a reward.
TURN OFF S To stop a machine or Please turn off the lights when you leave the
electrical device room.
TURN OFF S To disgust; to repel People who smoke really turn me off.
TURN ON S To start a machine; or Turn on the TV please. I want to watch Judge
electrical device Judy.
TURN ON S To interest very much; to Do romantic walks on the beach turn you on?
excite
TURN UP S To increase the volume of Turn up the TV, I can’t hear it!
something
TURN UP N To appear unexpectedly We were all surprised when Julia Roberts turned
up at the party!
USE UP S To use the last of; to finish We used up all the milk, so we had to go to the
the supply of something market.
UP ON N To be familiar with the most How’s your French? Are you up on the latest
recent news, trends, rumors, idioms?
etc.
WAIT FOR N To wait until someone or
something arrives; to wait
until someone or something
is finished
WAIT ON N To serve
WAKE UP S To stop sleeping
WALK OUT N To leave as a sign of protest
WATCH OUT (FOR) N To be careful of; beware of
WATER DOWN S To make weaker
WEAR DOWN S To become weary from
persistent resistance or
pressure; to cause to be worn
or weak
WEAR OFF N To no longer affect someone
WEAR OUT S To wear something / use
something until it can no
longer be worn / be used
WEAR OUT S To cause to become
exhausted; cause to become
very tired
WHIP UP S To create quickly
WORK ON N To practice in order to
improve
WORK OUT N To exercise
WORK OUT S To resolve a difficult
situation; to solve a problem
WRAP UP N To put something around
(obj.) to get warm; to wear
enough clothes to keep warm
WRAP UP S To finish something; bring
something to a conclusion
WRITE DOWN S To record something in
writing
WRITE UP S To make a report in writing
ZIP UP S To close a zipper
ZONE OUT N To stop paying attention to
(obj.)
ZONK OUT N To fall asleep quickly
because of exhaustion
I’ve been waiting for the bus for almost an hour!
A) Who is your waitress?
B) I think Betty is waiting on us today.
Wake the kids up please. They’re going to be late
for school.
The workers walked out to protest the new
contract.
There’s a lot of road work in the area. Watch out
for holes in the street.
Some bartender’s water down the drinks they
make in order to save money and cheat the
customers.
Your constant complaining is wearing us down.
My medicine is wearing off. I need to take some
more.
I need to get some new shoes. This pair is almost
completely worn out.
The children wore me out today. It’s your turn to
watch them!
A) Where did you get this delicious cake?
B) I Whipped it up myself!
A) Why do you keep repeating those words?
B) I’m working on my pronunciation.
A) Where is Sara?
B) She’s working out at the gym.
My husband and I need to work things out in our
relationship.
A) Why are you wrapped up in that blanket?
B) I’m freezing! I think I have a fever.
Let’s wrap our discussion up and go get dinner!
Did you write the phone number down?
I’ve already written the report up. I’m leaving
now.
Hey! Zip your pants up!
I tried to watch the movie, but I zoned out after
half an hour.
I wanted to call you last night, but I was so tired
that I zonked out as soon as I got home.

N=non separable, S=separable