60 common phrasal verbs

What is a phrasal verb?

a verb combined with an adverb or a preposition, or sometimes
both, to give a new meaning. (Oxford Dictionary)

gồm 1 động từ kết hợp với 1 trạng từ hoặc 1 giới từ, hoặc có
thể cả hai, để tạo thành 1 cụm từ có nghĩa khác.

a phrasal verb = a verb + an adverb/ a preposition

work out = work + out
belong to

• thuộc về ai đó
e.g.
That backpack belongs to my
brother.
• thành viên của tổ chức
e.g.
Does he belong to the Central Club?

3
break down

• hư, hỏng
e.g.
My iPhone has broken down.
• trở nên tồi tệ, xấu đi
e.g.
My teacher’s health broke down
due to the pressure of work.

4
bring sb up

nuôi nấng
e.g.
I am really thankful to my
grandparents, who brought me up
when my parents got divorced.

I was brought up by my sisters

when our parents worked in Sai
Gon.
5
bring sth up

đề cập đến vấn đề nào đó

e.g.
Hey Janes, remember to bring it up
in the meeting.

I’m glad that she brought up the

holiday issues in the meeting.

6
burn out

trở nên kiệt sức

e.g.
If he doesn’t stop to relax for a
minute, I think he’ll burn himself
out.

7
call off

hủy họp, hủy hẹn

e.g.
The appointment was called off
because of the absence of the CEO.

8
carry out

thực hiện
e.g.
Everybody has agreed to carry out
the project.

9
catch up with sb

bắt kịp
e.g.
I am a slow runner. I can’t catch up
with my friends.

It’s quite challenging for Mary to

catch up with her intelligent
classmates.

10
check in

nhận phòng, nhận vé

e.g.
I have checked in at the hotel. Room
606.

Please check in at least 45 minutes

before departure.

11
check out

trả phòng
e.g.
We have to check out by noon.

12
clean sth up

dọn sạch sẽ
e.g.
The nursery nurses have to clean up
the mess made by the children.

13
cling to

không buông bỏ, bám lấy

e.g.
She clings to the belief that there are
ghosts.

He has one last hope to cling to.

14
come across sth

tình cờ gặp ai đó/ tìm thấy

gì đó
e.g.
I came across my ex-boyfriend this
morning at Starbucks.

I came across this rusty gun when I

was gardening.

15
come back

quay trở lại; trở về nhà

e.g.
You have to come back by 10
o’clock.

Do you think she will come back to

him?

16
come up with sth

nãy ra ý tưởng
e.g.
John usually comes up with great
ideas when we discuss traveling.

17
count on sb

dựa vào ai đó
e.g.
Keith is a reliable co-worker. People
can count on him.

18
dress up

mặc trang trọng/ mặc trang

phục đặc biệt
e.g.
You don’t need to dress up, just come
as you are.

Kids love dressing up on Halloween.

19
drop by

ghé thăm
e.g.
Yesterday I dropped by my aunt on
the way to my hometown

20
end up

kết cục
e.g.
You need to make savings now or
you will end up in serious trouble
someday.

21
figure out

suy ngẫm để tìm đáp án

e.g.
I can’t figure out how to assemble
this table though I read the
instructions carefully.

22
get on with sb

hòa thuận, hợp tính với ai đó

e.g.
I get on well with my colleagues
although sometimes we disagree on
certain things.

23
get rid of

loại bỏ
e.g.
I think I have to get rid of bad habits
such as getting up late and smoking
when I become a flight attendant.

24
give up

từ bỏ, không còn cố gắng

e.g.
I never give up easily. I will try
harder next time.

25
go against

ngược lại, chống lại

e.g.
His explanations go against all
logic.

He never goes against his parents’

wishes.

26
go ahead

bắt đầu; tiếp tục

e.g.
“May I start now?” “Yes, go ahead.”

The establishment of the club will go

ahead as planned.

27
go on

tiếp tục
e.g.
She stopped speaking for a moment
and then went on.
xảy ra
e.g.
What is going on here?

28
grow up

lớn lên
e.g.
I grew up in Sai Gon

My older brothers have grown up

and left the house.

29
hand in

giao nộp; nộp bài

e.g.
The boy handed in the lost wallet to
the police.

All students have to hand in their

exams in 15 minutes.

30
help sb out

giúp đỡ ai đó
e.g.
When I bought a car, my friends
helped me out with a loan.

31
lay off

sa thải
e.g.
The bank laid off thousands of
employees to restructure the
company.

32
let sb down

làm thất vọng

e.g.
I’ll try my best in this semester. I
don’t want to let my parents down.

33
look after sb

chăm sóc
e.g.
The nurses patiently looked after the
elderly in the nursing home.

34
look forward to sth/ V-ing

mong chờ
e.g.
I’m so tired of working. I look
forward to the weekend so badly.

I look forward to seeing you again.

35
look up to

kính trọng
e.g.
In Vietnam, students do look up to
their teachers.

36
make sth up

bịa đặt
e.g.
That’s not true. You made that up!

She made up story about her debt to

receive aid from her brothers.

37
make up (to sb) for sth

đền bù; bù đắp thiệt hại

e.g.
It’s important that the airline makes
up to the passengers for the delay.

38
pick sb up

đón ai đó
e.g.
Hi mom, could you pick me up at
school at 5 p.m?

I have to go to the airport to pick up

my parents now.

39
pick sth up
nhặt đồ
e.g.
Look! Someone has dropped the
wallet on the road. Pick it up and
hand it in to the police.

vô tình nghe được, nắm

bắt được
e.g.
This is the tip I’ve picked up from
my teacher.
40
put away

dọn dẹp, để lại chỗ cũ sau

khi dùng
e.g.
We put away the documents and
gadgets after the meeting finished.

41
put forward sth

đưa ra ý kiến
e.g.
Peter, please put forward your idea!

Daniel seems to always disagree

whenever I put forward a suggestion.

42
put off

hoãn lại, trì hoãn

e.g.
I had to put off the appointment with
the dentist due to heavy rain.

43
put sb off

làm nản chí, thất vọng

e.g.
The smell of durian really puts me
off.

She’s charming but what she says

often puts people off.

44
put up with sb

chịu đựng ai đó
e.g.
I can’t put up with the noise from my
neighbor anymore.

The dog puts up with the annoyance

of the kittens.

45
run into

vô tình gặp
e.g.
I ran into the girl I have a crush on
when I go shopping this morning.

46
run out of

hết, cạn kiệt

e.g.
We should drop by the gas station.
We are running out of gas.

47
set sth up

thành lập
e.g.
Could you set up a meeting this
afternoon?

My brother and his friends set up a

business on wristwatches 2 months
ago.

48
settle down

ổn định cuộc sống, an cư

e.g.
After many years working hard and
traveling worldwide, my sister has
finally got married and settled down.

49
show off

khoe khoang, thể hiện

e.g.
He often shows off whenever he sees
the girl he likes.

50
show up

xuất hiện
e.g.
She showed up at the party even
though she said she would not come.

51
slow down

chậm lại
e.g.
Could you slow down a bit? It’s
dangerous to drive too fast.

52
speed up/ speed sth up

tăng tốc; làm nhanh hơn

e.g.
The train speeded up as it left the
railway station.

Could you try and speed things up?

53
stand by

ủng hộ, bên cạnh giúp đỡ

e.g.
Henry always stands by me
whenever I am in trouble.

54
stick to

bám vào kế hoạch, kiên trì

e.g.
Sticking to a diet seems quite
difficult to most people.

He sticks to his promise no matter

how hard it is.

55
take off

cất cánh
e.g.
The plane took off 30 minutes late.

The plane speeds up as it is taking

off.

56
try sth out

thử sử dụng để kiểm tra

chất lượng
e.g.
They’re trying out the new projector
for the presentation.

57
turn down

từ chối
e.g.
He asked her out for dinner but she
turned him down.

He was turned down by 10

companies because of lack of
experience.

58
turn off

tắt thiết bị điện

e.g.
The kids need to take a nap. Could
you turn off the radio please?

59
turn on

bật thiết bị điện

e.g.
Don’t turn on the ceiling light. Use
the torch. Everyone is sleeping.

60
turn out

kết cục là, hóa ra là, thành

ra là
e.g.
He turned out to be a liar.

Despite my worries the party turned

out to be a success.

61
work out

tập thể dục

e.g.
I need to get fit to become a flight
attendant, so I am trying to work out
regularly at the gym.

62
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