1.
|
be about to
|
be on the point of
|
I was about to leave when the
customer arrived.
|
2.
|
be after
|
want something
|
What are you after?
|
3.
|
blow up
|
explode
|
The racing car blew up after it crashed into the fence.
|
4.
|
break down
|
stop functioning (vehicle, machine)
|
Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm.
|
5.
|
break into
|
enter a building by force
|
Thieves broke into the house
and stole several pictures.
|
6.
|
break out
|
begin
|
A fight broke
out in the pub.
|
7.
|
break up
|
end a relationship
|
My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved to America.
|
8.
|
bring someone
up
|
raise a child
|
My grandparents brought me up after my parents died.
|
9.
|
call something
off
|
cancel
|
Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in love with
his fiancé.
|
10.
|
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.
|
11.
|
check in / out
|
arrive and register at a hotel or airport / leave
|
We will get the hotel keys when we check in.
|
12.
|
clean something
up
|
tidy, clean
|
Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside.
|
13.
|
come across something
|
find unexpectedly
|
I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet.
|
14.
|
come up with
|
devise, invent
|
He came up with a really elaborated plan.
|
15.
|
count on someone/something
|
rely on
|
I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out.
|
16.
|
cut across
|
Take a short cut
|
We cut across the park to
arrive earlier.
|
17.
|
cut down on something
|
consume less
|
My doctor wants me to cut down on sweets and fatty foods.
|
18.
|
cut in
|
Interrupt speaking
|
Don’t cut in when I am
talking!
|
19.
|
cut out for
|
be suitable for
|
Peter decided he wasn’t cut out
for being a policeman.
|
20.
|
deal with
|
Handle, manage
|
He has to deal with the customers.
|
21.
|
dress up
|
wear nice clothing
|
It's a fancy restaurant so we have to dress up.
|
22.
|
drop out
|
quit a class, school etc
|
I dropped out of Science because it was too difficult.
|
23.
|
fall down
|
fall to the ground
|
The picture that you hung up last night fell down this morning.
|
24.
|
feel like
|
have desire for
|
I don’t feel like going out.
|
25.
|
fill something
in
|
to write information in blanks (Br.E.)
|
Please fill in the form with your name, address, and phone number.
|
26.
|
find out
|
discover
|
We don't know where he lives. How can we find out?
|
27.
|
get something
across/over
|
communicate, make understandable
|
I tried to get my point across/over to the judge but she
wouldn't listen.
|
28.
|
get along/on
|
like each other
|
I was surprised how well my new girlfriend and my sister got along/on.
|
29.
|
get around to
|
find time
|
He got around to clean the
house last weekend.
|
30.
|
get away with something
|
do without being noticed or punished
|
Jason always gets away with cheating in his Maths tests.
|
31.
|
get back at someone
|
retaliate, take revenge
|
My sister got back at me for stealing her shoes. She stole my
favourite hat.
|
32.
|
get on/off a bus, a train, a ship
|
board / leave
|
We got on the bus to go to the
city centre.
|
33.
|
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.
|
34.
|
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.
|
35.
|
give in
|
reluctantly stop fighting or arguing
|
My boyfriend didn't want to go to the ballet, but he finally gave in.
|
36.
|
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.
|
37.
|
grow out of
|
When clothing becomes small
|
My son grows out of his shoes
very quickly.
|
38.
|
go around
|
be enough.
|
"Is there enough cake to go around?
|
39.
|
go without something
|
suffer lack or deprivation
|
When I was young, we went without winter boots.
|
40.
|
go off
|
Explode / sound / spoil (food)
|
The bomb went off in a busy
store.
My alarm clock didn’t go off and
I arrive late.
Milk goes off if it isn’t kept
in the fridge.
|
41.
|
grow apart
|
stop being friends over time
|
My best friend and I grew apart after she changed schools.
|
42.
|
grow up
|
become an adult
|
When Jack grows up he wants to be a fireman.
|
43.
|
grow out of something
|
get too big for
|
Elizabeth needs a new pair of shoes because she has grown out of
her old ones.
|
44.
|
hand something
in
|
submit
|
I have to hand in my essay by Friday.
|
45.
|
hand something
out
|
to distribute to a group of people
|
We will hand out the invitations at the door.
|
46.
|
hang on
|
wait a short time (informal)
|
Hang on while I grab my coat and shoes!
|
47.
|
hang out
|
spend time relaxing (informal)
|
Instead of going to the party we are just going to hang out at my
place.
|
48.
|
haul un
|
arrest
|
The police hauled in the suspect."
|
49.
|
have on
|
tease
|
Are you having
me on?
|
50.
|
hold on
|
wait a short time
|
Please hold on while I transfer you to the Sales Department.
|
51.
|
keep on doing something
|
continue doing
|
Keep on stirring until the liquid comes to a boil.
|
52.
|
Hold up
|
delay
|
We were held
up by bad weather.
|
53.
|
let someone
down
|
fail to support or help, disappoint
|
I need you to be on time. Don't let me down this time.
|
54.
|
let someone
in
|
allow to enter
|
Can you let the cat in before you go to school?
|
55.
|
lighten up
|
take it less seriously, relax
|
He should lighten up and not
take work so seriously.
|
56.
|
live through
|
Experience, endure
|
My grandfather lived through
the war.
|
57.
|
live up to
|
Be as good as expected
|
I fear I will never live up to
my parents’ expectations.
|
58.
|
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.
|
59.
|
look after someone/something
|
take care of
|
I have to look after my sick grandmother.
|
60.
|
look down on someone
|
think less of, consider inferior
|
Ever since we stole that chocolate bar your dad has looked down on
me.
|
61.
|
look for someone/something
|
try to find
|
I'm looking for a red dress for the wedding.
|
62.
|
look forward to something
|
be excited about the future
|
I'm looking forward to the Christmas break.
|
63.
|
look into something
|
investigate
|
We are going to look into the price of snowboards today.
|
64.
|
look out
|
be careful, vigilant, and take notice
|
Look out! That car's going to hit you!
|
65.
|
look up to someone
|
have a lot of respect for
|
My little sister has always looked up to me.
|
66.
|
make something
up
|
invent, lie about something
|
Josie made up a story about why we were late.
|
67.
|
make up
|
forgive each other
|
We were angry last night, but we made up at breakfast.
|
68.
|
make someone
up
|
apply cosmetics to
|
My sisters made me up for my graduation party.
|
69.
|
make up for
|
compensate
|
He tried to make up for being
rude to me inviting me to a coffee.
|
70.
|
move on
|
Continue, go on
|
Mary is trying to move on
after her divorce.
|
71.
|
pass away
|
die
|
His uncle passed away last night after a long illness.
|
72.
|
put someone
down
|
insult, make someone feel stupid
|
The students put the substitute teacher down because his
pants were too short.
|
73.
|
put something
off
|
postpone
|
We are putting off our trip until January because of the
hurricane.
|
74.
|
put up with someone/something
|
tolerate
|
I don't think I can put up with three small children in the car.
|
75.
|
put something
on
|
put clothing/accessories on your body
|
Don't forget to put on your new earrings for the party.
|
76.
|
put out
|
extinguish (ex. a fire)
|
The firefighter couldn’t put out the fire.
|
77.
|
run into someone/something
|
meet unexpectedly
|
I ran into an old school-friend at the mall.
|
78.
|
run over someone/something
|
drive a vehicle over a person or thing
|
I accidentally ran over your bicycle in the driveway.
|
79.
|
run away
|
leave unexpectedly, escape
|
The child ran away from home and has been missing for three days.
|
80.
|
run out of
|
have none left
|
We ran out of shampoo so I had to wash my hair with soap.
|
81.
|
send something
back
|
return (usually by mail)
|
My letter got sent back to me because I used the wrong stamp.
|
82.
|
shop around
|
Compare prices
|
It is a good idea to shop around before buying a new car.
|
83.
|
show off
|
act extra special for people watching (usually boastfully)
|
He always shows off on his skateboard
|
84.
|
sleep over
|
stay somewhere for the night (informal)
|
You should sleep over tonight if the weather is too bad to drive
home.
|
85.
|
splash out
|
spent too much
|
We splashed out last night and
went to a fancy restaurant.
|
86.
|
switch something off/on
|
Stop/start the energy flow, turn off/on
|
The light's too bright. Could you switch it off.
|
87.
|
take after someone
|
resemble a family member
|
I take after my mother. We are both
impatient.
|
88.
|
Take off
your shoes, your coat...
|
remove
|
I always take off my shoes at home.
|
89.
|
take off
|
start to fly
|
My plane takes off in five minutes.
|
90.
|
think something over
|
consider
|
I'll have to think this job offer over before I make my
final decision.
|
91.
|
throw something
away
|
dispose of
|
We threw our old furniture away when we won the lottery.
|
92.
|
turn something
down
|
decrease the volume or strength (heat, light etc)
|
Please turn the TV down while the guests are here.
|
93.
|
turn something
down
|
refuse
|
I turned the job down because I don't want to move.
|
94.
|
turn something
off/on
|
stop/start the energy flow, switch off
|
Your mother wants you to turn the TV off and come for
dinner.
|
95.
|
turn something
up
|
increase the volume or strength (heat, light etc)
|
Can you turn the music up? This is my favourite song.
|
96.
|
turn up
|
appear suddenly
|
Our cat turned up after we put posters up all over the
neighbourhood.
|
97.
|
turn out
|
become, end
|
I thought the party would be a real bore but it turned out great.
|
98.
|
wake up
|
stop sleeping
|
We have to wake up early for work on Monday.
|
99.
|
work out
|
be successful,
|
Our plan worked out fine.
|
100.
|
work something
out
|
make a calculation
|
We have to work out the total cost before we buy the house.
|