PHRASAL VERBS 2: A LIST

There are so many phrasal verbs that it is really difficult to make a list. Here you have some of the most common phrasal verbs, with their meaning and an example.
In order to learn them, we are going to make cards that include on one side the phrasal verb, the meaning and and example and on the other side a picture.


 

	Verb	Meaning	Example
1	1. blow up	explode	The racing car blew up after it crashed into the fence.
2	2. break down	stop functioning (vehicle, machine)	Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm.
3	3. break up	end a relationship	My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved to America.
4	4. bring someone up	raise a child	My grandparents brought me up after my parents died.
5	5. call something off	cancel	Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in love with his fiancé.
6	6. carry on	continue	The students carried on with the exercise.
7	7. catch up	get to the same point as someone else	You'll have to run faster than that if you want to catch up with Marty.
8	8. check in	arrive and register at a hotel or airport	We will get the hotel keys when we check in.
9	check out	leave a hotel	You have to check out of the hotel before 11:00 AM.
10	clean something up	tidy, clean	Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside.
11	come across something	find unexpectedly	I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet.
12	come up with	devise, invent	He came up with a really elaborated plan.
13	count on someone/something	rely on	I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out.
14	cut back on something	consume less	My doctor wants me to cut back on sweets and fatty foods.
15	deal with	Handle, manage	He has to deal with the customers.
16	dress up	wear nice clothing	It's a fancy restaurant so we have to dress up.
17	drop out	quit a class, school etc	I dropped out of Science because it was too difficult.
18	fall down	fall to the ground	The picture that you hung up last night fell down this morning.
19	feel like	have desire for	I don’t feel like going out.
20	fill something in	to write information in blanks (Br.E.)	Please fill in the form with your name, address, and phone number.
21	find out	discover	We don't know where he lives. How can we find out?
22	get something across/over	communicate, make understandable	I tried to get my point across/over to the judge but she wouldn't listen.
23	get along/on	like each other	I was surprised how well my new girlfriend and my sister got along/on.
24	get away with something	do without being noticed or punished	Jason always gets away with cheating in his maths tests.
25	get back at someone	retaliate, take revenge	My sister got back at me for stealing her shoes. She stole my favourite hat.
26	get over something	recover from an illness, loss, difficulty, overcome a problem	I just got over the flu and now my sister has it. The company will have to close if it can't get over the new regulations.
27	get up	get out of bed	I got up early today to study for my exam.
28	give someone/something away	reveal hidden information about someone ruin a secret	His wife gave him away to the police. My little sister gave the surprise party away by accident.
29	give in	reluctantly stop fighting or arguing	My boyfriend didn't want to go to the ballet, but he finally gave in.
30	give something up	quit a habit, stop trying	I am giving up smoking as of January 1st. My maths homework was too difficult so I gave up.
31	give up	stop trying
32	go after someone	follow someone	My brother tried to go after the thief in his car.
33	go without something	suffer lack or deprivation	When I was young, we went without winter boots.
34	grow apart	stop being friends over time	My best friend and I grew apart after she changed schools.
35	grow up	become an adult	When Jack grows up he wants to be a fireman.
36	grow out of something	get too big for	Elizabeth needs a new pair of shoes because she has grown out of her old ones.
37	hand something in	submit	I have to hand in my essay by Friday.
38	hand something out	to distribute to a group of people	We will hand out the invitations at the door.
39	hang on	wait a short time (informal)	Hang on while I grab my coat and shoes!
40	hang out	spend time relaxing (informal)	Instead of going to the party we are just going to hang out at my place.
41	hold on	wait a short time	Please hold on while I transfer you to the Sales Department.
42	keep on doing something	continue doing	Keep on stirring until the liquid comes to a boil.
43	let someone down	fail to support or help, disappoint	I need you to be on time. Don't let me down this time.
44	let someone in	allow to enter	Can you let the cat in before you go to school?
45	log in (or on)/out (or off)	sign in/out (to a website, database etc)	I can't log in to Facebook because I've forgotten my password. If you don't log off somebody could get into your account.
46	look after someone/something	take care of	I have to look after my sick grandmother.
47	look down on someone	think less of, consider inferior	Ever since we stole that chocolate bar your dad has looked down on me.
48	look for someone/something	try to find	I'm looking for a red dress for the wedding.
49	look forward to something	be excited about the future	I'm looking forward to the Christmas break.
50	look into something	investigate	We are going to look into the price of snowboards today.
51	look out	be careful, vigilant, and take notice	Look out! That car's going to hit you!
52	look up to someone	have a lot of respect for	My little sister has always looked up to me.
53	make something up	invent, lie about something	Josie made up a story about why we were late.
54	make up	forgive each other	We were angry last night, but we made up at breakfast.
55	make someone up	apply cosmetics to	My sisters made me up for my graduation party.
56	pass away	die	His uncle passed away last night after a long illness.
57	put someone down	insult, make someone feel stupid	The students put the substitute teacher down because his pants were too short.
58	put something off	postpone	We are putting off our trip until January because of the hurricane.
59	put up with someone/something	tolerate	I don't think I can put up with three small children in the car.
60	put something on	put clothing/accessories on your body	Don't forget to put on your new earrings for the party.
61	run into someone/something	meet unexpectedly	I ran into an old school-friend at the mall.
62	run over someone/something	drive a vehicle over a person or thing	I accidentally ran over your bicycle in the driveway.
63	run away	leave unexpectedly, escape	The child ran away from home and has been missing for three days.
64	run out of	have none left	We ran out of shampoo so I had to wash my hair with soap.
65	send something back	return (usually by mail)	My letter got sent back to me because I used the wrong stamp.
66	show off	act extra special for people watching (usually boastfully)	He always shows off on his skateboard
67	sleep over	stay somewhere for the night (informal)	You should sleep over tonight if the weather is too bad to drive home.
68	switch something off/on	Stop/start the energy flow, turn off/on	The light's too bright. Could you switch it off.
69	take after someone	resemble a family member	I take after my mother. We are both impatient.
70	take off	start to fly	My plane takes off in five minutes.
71	think something over	consider	I'll have to think this job offer over before I make my final decision.
72	throw something away	dispose of	We threw our old furniture away when we won the lottery.
73	turn something down	decrease the volume or strength (heat, light etc)	Please turn the TV down while the guests are here.
74	turn something down	refuse	I turned the job down because I don't want to move.
75	turn something off/on	stop/start the energy flow, switch off	Your mother wants you to turn the TV off and come for dinner.
76	turn something up	increase the volume or strength (heat, light etc)	Can you turn the music up? This is my favourite song.
77	turn up	appear suddenly	Our cat turned up after we put posters up all over the neighbourhood.
78	wake up	stop sleeping	We have to wake up early for work on Monday.
79	work out	be successful,	Our plan worked out fine.
80	work something out	make a calculation	We have to work out the total cost before we buy the house.