phrasal verbs often carry meanings that can be significantly different from their individual components, making them essential for understanding native speakers. They appear frequently in both spoken and written English, impacting fluency and comprehension. Moreover, phrasal verbs enrich vocabulary, allowing learners to express ideas more naturally and effectively, and achieving fluency in English.
phrasal verbs list
| phrasal verb | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| ask out | to invite someone on a date | He finally decided to ask her out to dinner. |
| add up | to calculate the total of numbers | I added up the grocery bill, and it came to $75. |
| Agree with | To have the same opinion as someone else | They agree with me that the project needs more time. |
| Allow for | To take something into consideration | His schedule doesn’t allow for much free time. |
| Answer back | To reply rudely or disrespectfully | He was scolded for answering back to the teacher. |
| Ask for | To request something or to seek help or information | She decided to ask for a raise. |
| back off | To retreat or withdraw from a situation, often to avoid conflict | The police told the crowd to back off. |
| back up | To support or confirm something | My colleagues backed me up during the meeting. |
| blow up | To explode or to become very angry | The fireworks blew up in the night sky. |
| Bend over | To lean forward from the waist | He bent over to pick up the coin. |
| Black out | To lose consciousness | He blacked out during the heatwave. |
| Book in | To make a reservation or to register for a service or event | We booked in at the hotel and went straight to our room. |
| Break down | to become very emotional | She broke down in tears after hearing the sad news. |
| Break up | To end a relationship | They decided to break up after five years together. |
| Bring up | to mention a topic | She decided to bring up the issue during the meeting. |
| Call after | To name someone after another person | She was called after her aunt. |
| Call off | To cancel something | They called off the game because of the rain. |
| Carry on | To continue doing something | The performance carried on despite the technical difficulties. |
| Chill out | To relax or calm down | You need to chill out and stop stressing about the exam. |
| Close down | To stop operating | The factory had to close down due to financial issues. |
| Come across | To find or discover something unexpectedly | I came across an interesting article online. |
| Come back | To return to a place | I’ll come back later. |
| count on | To rely on someone or something | You can count on me to help you. |
| drop off | To deliver someone or something to a specific place | Can you drop me off at the airport? |
| Drive off | To leave in a vehicle | They drove off before I could say goodbye. |
| Eat out | To have a meal at a restaurant instead of at home | We decided to eat out instead of cooking tonight. |
| End up | To finally be in a particular place or situation unexpectedly | We ended up getting lost on the way to the party. |
| Ease up | To become less severe or intense | You should ease up on the pressure |
| Fall apart | To break into pieces | The old chair fell apart when I sat on it. |
| Fall down | To drop or collapse to the ground | The old building is starting to fall down. |
| Fall for | To develop strong feelings of love or attraction | I think I might be starting to fall for her. |
| Fall in | to collapse | The roof of the cave fell in. |
| Fight back | To resist or defend oneself against an attack | She decided to fight back against the unfair treatment. |
| Figure out | To understand or solve something | I’m trying to figure out how to solve this puzzle. |
| Fill in | To complete a form or document | Please fill in the application form. |
| Find out | To discover information | How did you find out about the party? |
| Fit in | To belong or be accepted in a group or place | It took him a while to fit in at his new school. |
| Fly by | to pass quickly | The years seem to fly by. |
| Focus on | To concentrate attention on something | I need to focus on my studies. |
| Fool around | To behave in a silly or playful way | Stop fooling around and get back to work! |
| Freak out | To become very anxious or scared | She freaked out when she lost her phone. |
| Fuel up | To fill a vehicle with fuel | I need to fuel up the car before we leave. |
| Gang up | To join together against someone | The kids ganged up on him during the game. |
| Get along | To have a friendly relationship | They seem to get along despite their differences. |
| Get along with | To have a good relationship with someone | I get along with my colleagues. |
| Get across | To successfully communicate or convey an idea | He struggled to get across his point during the presentation. |
| Get in | To enter a place | Make sure to get in the house before it starts raining. |
| Get into | To become interested in something | She wants to get into photography as a hobby. |
| Get off | To leave a vehicle | I’ll get off the bus at the next stop. |
| Get out | To leave or escape from a place | Please get out of my house! |
| Get over | To recover from something | It took him a long time to get over the breakup. |
| get up | To rise from bed or from a sitting position | I get up at 8:00 every morning. |
| Give in | To surrender or to stop resisting | After a long argument, she finally gave in. |
| Give up | To stop trying or to quit something | Don’t give up on your dreams. |
| Go after | To pursue or seek something | She’s going after her dream job. |
| Go ahead | To proceed or continue with something | Please go ahead with your presentation. |
| Go away | To leave a place | Go away and leave me alone. |
| Go back | To return to a previous place or state | I need to go back home and grab my keys. |
| Go on | To continue or proceed | The show will go on despite the rain. |
| Grow up | To mature or develop from childhood to adulthood | When I grow up, I want to be a doctor. |
| Hand back | To return something to someone | The teacher handed back our tests. |
| Hang out | To spend time relaxing with friends | I like to hang out with my friends on the weekends. |
| Hate on | To criticize or express dislike for someone or something | Don’t hate on her just because she’s successful. |
| Hear about | To learn information about something | I heard about the accident on the news. |
| Hear from | To receive communication or news from someone | I haven’t heard from my sister in months. |
| Hear of | To have knowledge of someone or something | Have you heard of that new restaurant downtown? |
| Help out | To assist or support someone | Could you help me out with this project? |
| Hold on | To wait for a moment | Hold on a second while I grab my jacket. |
| Joke around | To make jokes or be playful | He likes to joke around with his friends. |
| Jump on | To quickly take advantage of an opportunity | He decided to jump on the chance to travel abroad. |
| Keep around | To keep something nearby | I like to keep around some old photos for nostalgia. |
| Keep up with | To stay at the same pace or level as someone or something | It’s hard to keep up with the latest fashion trends. |
| Kick off | To start something | The football game kicks off at 3:00 PM. |
| Knock off | To complete something quickly | Let’s knock off work early today since it’s Friday. |
| Lay down | to establish rules or principles | The company has laid down new guidelines for employees. |
| Lead to | To cause or result in something | Smoking can lead to serious health problems. |
| Lean on | To rely on someone for support or assistance | You can always lean on me for help. |
| Leave out | To omit or exclude something | don’t leave out any important details in your report. |
| Let down | To disappoint someone | I felt terrible for letting her down. |
| Lie down | To recline or rest | She lay down on the sofa and fell asleep. |
| Light up | to show excitement or happiness | Her face lit up when she saw him. |
| Line up | To arrange people or things in a line | The children lined up for the bus. |
| Listen up | To pay attention | Listen up, I have an important announcement. |
| Look after | To take care of someone or something | She has to look after her younger siblings after school. |
| Look up | To search for information in a book or online | I looked up the meaning of the word in the dictionary. |
| Look up to | To admire and respect someone | He looks up to his coach as a role model. |
| Look forward to | To anticipate something with pleasure | I look forward to our vacation next month. |
| Make up | To invent a story or excuse | She decided to make up an excuse for being late. |
| Man up | To be brave and face a difficult situation | It’s time to man up and face the consequences of your actions. |
| Mark up | To increase the price of an item | The store marked up the prices for the holidays. |
| Marry out | To marry someone from a different social group, race, or religion | She chose to marry out, which surprised her traditional family. |
| Max out | To reach the limit of something | I’ve maxed out my credit card. |
| Melt down | To change from a solid to a liquid by heating | The heat caused the chocolate to melt down into a smooth liquid. |
| Mess around | To behave in a silly or playful way | The kids were messing around in the classroom. |
| Mess with | To interfere with or annoy someone | I wouldn’t mess with him if I were you. |
| Mix up | To confuse things | I always mix up their names because they sound so similar. |
| Mouth off | To speak in a rude or disrespectful way | He got in trouble for mouthing off to the teacher. |
| Move ahead | To make progress | We will move ahead with the project as scheduled. |
| Move away | To leave one place to live in another | They moved away from the city to the countryside. |
| Move in | To begin living in a new place | When did you move in to your new apartment? |