English phrasal verbs list

A phrasal verb is a verb with a small word after it, like up, out or off, that together mean something new — give up, look after, run out. Here are all 556 phrasal verbs in the Retite dictionary, each with a meaning, an example and its level.

All 556 phrasal verbs, A to Z

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
account for	To explain why a particular event, fact, or situation exists or occurred	C1
add up	To increase little by little until reaching a substantial amount	B2
amount to	To become or total a particular amount	B2
appear for	For a lawyer, to act as someone's representative in legal proceedings	C1
arrive at	To reach an agreement through discussion or consideration	C2
ask after	To request news about someone, particularly about their health	B1
ask out	To invite someone to a social venue, especially in order to begin a romantic relationship	B1
back down	To acknowledge that you were mistaken or have lost a dispute	B2
back off	To withdraw informally from a situation so that others can handle it themselves	B2
back up	To give another person practical help or active support	B2
be in for	To be likely to experience an unpleasant event very soon	C2
beat someone to it	To do something sooner than another person	B2
believe in	To be certain that a thing is real rather than imaginary	B1
blow up	For a storm to begin and develop	B2
branch out	To start doing something unlike your usual activity, particularly in your career	B2
break down	For a machine or vehicle to stop operating because of a fault	B2
break into	To suddenly start performing a particular action	B2
break off	To detach a part from something larger, or for that part to become detached	B1
break out	For a dangerous or unpleasant event to begin suddenly	B2
break up	For a marriage or romantic relationship to end	B1
bring about	To cause a particular event or change to occur	B2
bring back	To return from another place with an object	A2
bring up	To care for and educate a child throughout the years before adulthood	B1
build up	To make the scale, strength, or amount of something grow	B2
bump into	To meet an acquaintance by chance, without arranging it	C1
butter up	To informally flatter and please a person in hopes of obtaining a desired favour	B2
buy out	To purchase another person's share of a company or property and become its sole owner	B2
call back	To telephone someone again, or to return their call	B2
call for	To go somewhere to pick up a person	B1
call off	To cancel an arranged event or terminate an activity that can no longer continue	B2
calm down	To become less angry, anxious, or excited, or to make someone feel less so	B2
cancel out	To remove an effect by producing an equal but opposite effect	B2
care for	To look after and provide for someone vulnerable through age, youth, or illness	B1
carry on	To continue an activity or cause it to continue despite an interruption or difficulty	B1
carry out	To perform or finish a task, plan, or instruction	B1
catch on	To become fashionable or widely popular	C1
catch up	To improve until reaching the same standard or level as another person or thing	C1
cave in	For a roof, ceiling, or similar structure to break and fall into the area beneath it	B2
change around	To move objects into different positions within a space	B2
change over	To stop using one thing and begin using another	B2
change up	To alter something, especially to make it more effective or interesting	B2
check in	To complete airport formalities before flying, including confirming your seat and handing over luggage	B1
check out	To pay your bill and leave a hotel where you have been staying	B1
chill out	To calm down and stop being tense, upset, or worried	B2
chuck out	To informally force a person to leave a particular place	B2
climb down	To abandon a stated opinion or acknowledge that it was mistaken	B2
close down	For a business or organisation to stop operating, or to make it do so	B2
club together	When people club together, each contributes toward a shared cost	C1
come about	To happen or develop, especially through a series of circumstances	C2
come across	To create a particular impression through your behaviour or manner	C1
come along	To show up, pass by, or reach the location	B2
come apart	To break or separate into several parts	C2
come around	To visit, change your view, or regain consciousness	B2
come at	To approach aggressively with the apparent intention of attacking	B2
come away	To become detached from the surface or object to which something was fixed	B2
come back	To return to a location where you were earlier	A2
come back to	To return gradually to someone's memory	B2
come before	To receive higher priority or consideration than another person or matter	B2
come between	To interfere with and damage the relationship between people	C2
come by	To obtain something through effort, luck, or unexplained means	C2
come down	To collapse from a standing or raised position	B2
come down on	To take severe official or verbal action against a person or practice	B2
come down to	For a decision or result to depend chiefly on one decisive factor	C2
come down with	To begin suffering from an illness, usually a minor one	B2
come forward	To volunteer help, information, or evidence	B2
come from	To originate, be produced, or be obtained from a particular place or source	A1
come in	To move from outside to the interior of a room or building	A2
come in for	To become the target of blame, criticism, or an unpleasant response	C2
come into	To inherit wealth, possessions, or hereditary rank	C2
come of	To happen or exist as a consequence of something	B2
come off	To happen as intended or produce a successful result	C1
come on	To begin happening, operating, or producing an effect	C1
come out	To accompany someone to a social occasion or outing	B2
come out in	To develop spots, a rash, or another visible condition on the skin	B2
come out of	To emerge as an outcome or product of an event or process	C2
come out with	To suddenly say something surprising, strange, or previously unmentioned	B2
come over	To give the impression of having a particular personality or manner	C2
come round	To visit someone at their home	A2
come through	For information, a message, or a document to be successfully received	C2
come to	To recover consciousness after fainting, an accident, or anaesthesia	B2
come together	For people or groups to meet, unite, or cooperate towards a shared purpose	B2
come under	To suddenly experience pressure, attack, criticism, or another difficult condition	C1
come up	To move towards a person until you are near them	B2
come up against	To encounter a problem, obstacle, or opposing force that must be dealt with	C1
come up to	To reach an expected, required, or usual standard	B2
come up with	To think of a plan, idea, or solution	B2
come upon	To find a thing or meet a person unexpectedly	B2
content yourself with	To accept or do something despite it not being exactly what you wanted	C1
cover up	To prevent others from discovering the truth about a bad or dishonest act	C2
cut down	To reduce the amount of something you do or use	B2
cut off	To use a sharp tool to remove part of something and make it shorter or smaller	A2
dawn on	For a fact to become clear to someone after they had not previously understood it	C2
deal with	To speak to or meet someone, particularly while performing your job	B2
do away with	To eliminate something completely or stop using an established practice	C1
do down	To speak disparagingly about a person so that they feel inferior or others think less of them	B2
do for	To seriously damage an object or badly injure or kill a person	B2
do in	To kill someone, especially deliberately or violently	B2
do out	To decorate, paint, or improve the appearance of a room or building	B2
do someone out of something	To dishonestly or unfairly prevent someone from receiving or keeping something	B2
do over	To attack and beat someone violently	B2
do up	To fasten clothing or another item, or to become fastened	B2
do without	To manage despite not having a particular person or thing	B2
draw up	To prepare an official document, plan, or agreement in writing	C1
dream up	To invent an idea that is highly unusual and often silly	B2
dress up	To wear formal clothing for a special event	B1
drone on	To speak at tedious length in a dull, monotonous manner	B2
drop out	To stop doing an activity or trying to complete something before it is finished	B2
drown out	For a loud sound to prevent a quieter one from being heard	C2
dwell on	To formally return repeatedly in thought or conversation to a matter, particularly an unpleasant one	C1
eat up	To consume every portion of food served to you	B2
egg on	To urge someone strongly towards an unwise or potentially dangerous action	B2
end up	To eventually reach a particular place, condition, or situation, often unexpectedly	B1
face up to	To acknowledge the reality of a difficult situation and confront it	B2
fall apart	To break into separate pieces because of damage, weakness, or age	B2
fall behind	To fail to stay level with others or to do something on time	B2
fall out	For a tooth, hair, or a similar part to become loose and separate	B2
feel for	To sympathize deeply with a person in distress	B2
feel out	To obtain information indirectly by cautiously testing a person or situation	B2
figure out	To understand a difficult person or situation, or solve a problem through careful thought	B2
file for	To submit an official application for a legal status or process	B2
fill in	To enter required details in the empty spaces of an official form	B1
find out	To learn a new fact or obtain information through inquiry or investigation	A2
forge ahead	To suddenly achieve substantial progress in an activity	B2
fork out	To informally pay a sum of money, particularly when unwilling to do so	B2
foul up	To informally spoil something by acting foolishly or making an error	B2
gang up	To disapprovingly form a group in opposition to one person	B2
get across	To communicate an idea successfully so that another person understands or accepts it	B2
get ahead	To become successful or advance in your work or career	B2
get along	To like one another and have a friendly relationship	B1
get around	To visit many different places, often as part of your work or daily life	B2
get around to	To finally do something that you intended to do earlier	B2
get at	To repeatedly criticize or find fault with a particular person	B2
get away	To succeed in escaping a location or another person's control, particularly when this is difficult	B2
get away with	To avoid being punished or criticized for something wrong that you did	B2
get back	To come back to a place after being elsewhere	A2
get back to	To contact someone again later with information or after being unable to speak earlier	C1
get behind	To have completed less work or paid less money than was required by a particular time	B2
get beyond	To stop an event, feeling, or influence from continuing to affect you	C1
get by	To manage to live or cope, usually with difficulty	B2
get down	To cause someone to feel unhappy, discouraged, or depressed	B2
get down to	To begin giving a task or subject your full effort and attention	B2
get in	To gain access to a place, sometimes through force or deception	B1
get in on	To join an activity already in progress because you expect to benefit from it	B2
get into	Used when someone's unusual behaviour is difficult to understand	B2
get off	To leave a place, especially when beginning a journey	B2
get off on	To experience excitement or pleasure from something, often in a sexual way	C1
get off with	To begin a sexual or physically intimate relationship with someone	B2
get on	To be friendly with someone and have a harmonious relationship	B1
get on to	To change the topic being discussed	B2
get on with	To begin or continue an activity, with particular emphasis on work	B2
get out	To leave a vehicle, building, or other enclosed place	B1
get out of	To avoid an unwanted duty or activity, often by making an excuse	B2
get over	To recover physically from an illness or emotionally from a distressing person or event	B2
get something over with	To complete a necessary but unpleasant duty so that it no longer causes worry	C2
get past	To avoid being noticed, understood, or detected by someone	B2
get round	To spread among many people, used about news or information	B2
get round to	To finally perform an intended task after delaying it; the usual British form of get around to	B2
get through	To succeed in making telephone contact with someone	B2
get to	Used to ask where a delayed or unexpectedly absent person or thing is	B2
get together	To meet in order to spend time together or do something	B1
get up	To rise from a sitting, kneeling, or lying position	B2
get up to	To do something, especially something secret, mischievous, or likely to be disapproved of	C2
give away	To transfer something to another person without requesting payment	B1
give back	To restore an item to its previous owner or holder	A2
give in	To finally accept another person's demand after resisting it for some time	B1
give off	To produce a smell, heat, light or other substance	C1
give onto	For a door, window, or room to open or face directly towards a place	B2
give out	For a machine or body part to stop working, usually through age or strain	B2
give over	Used to tell someone to stop an irritating activity	B2
give something over to something/someone	To transfer the use, care, or responsibility for a person or thing to someone else	B2
give up	To abandon an activity or effort because continuing seems too difficult	B2
give up on	To stop expecting a person or effort to succeed	B2
give yourself over to	To become completely absorbed in an activity or feeling	B2
glory in	To feel or display literary pride and happiness about something	C1
go about	To begin or organize the process of doing or dealing with something	B2
go after	To pursue a person with the aim of catching them	B2
go against	To fail to obtain the desired result when a vote, judgment, or decision is made	B2
go ahead	To begin an activity or proceed with a planned action	B2
go along	To visit a place or attend an event, often without extensive planning	B2
go along to get along	To support or accept another person's position mainly to maintain harmony and obtain an advantage	C1
go along with	To accept an idea or support another person's opinion or plan	B2
go around	To move among places, circulate, or visit people; the usual American form of go round	B2
go at	To attack someone suddenly or aggressively	B2
go away	To leave a particular place	B1
go back	To return to a place you were before	B1
go back on	To fail to honour a promise or reverse a previous decision or agreement	B2
go back to	To restart a romantic relationship with a former partner	B2
go by	To pass a point in space or a period in time	B2
go down	To descend from a higher position to one below	B2
go down the mines	To work below ground extracting coal or another mineral	B2
go down with	To begin suffering from an infectious illness	B2
go for	To attack a person physically	B2
go in	To enter a room, building, or other place	A2
go in for	To practise an activity regularly or have a particular interest or preference	B2
go in on	To become involved in an activity, purchase, or plan with other people	B2
go into	To begin working in a particular profession or type of employment	C1
go off	To stop operating, used about a light, machine, or electrical device	B1
go off with	To leave a romantic partner in order to begin a relationship with someone else	B2
go on	To happen, especially something unusual or suspicious	B1
go out	To leave your home to do something enjoyable	A1
go out for	To compete or apply for membership of a sports team	B2
go out to	Used when thoughts and sympathy are directed toward a person experiencing hardship or grief	B2
go over	To receive a particular audience response; the usual American equivalent of British go down	B2
go over to	To change from an existing system or method to a new one	B2
go round	To rotate repeatedly like a wheel	B2
go through	To receive the formal acceptance required for a proposal, law, or transaction	B2
go through with	To perform an unpleasant or difficult action that was previously agreed or promised	C2
go to	To be allocated, awarded, or sold to a particular person	B2
go together	To create an attractive combination in appearance	B1
go under	To sink below the surface of water	B2
go up	To become higher in level, amount, or price	B1
go up to	To extend or reach to a particular point, amount, or level	B2
go with	To combine attractively or pleasantly with another thing in appearance or taste	B1
go without	To live or manage despite lacking a particular person or thing	C2
grow up	To gradually develop from a child into an adult	A2
gun down	To informally shoot and kill or badly injure someone, often when they cannot defend themselves	C1
hail from	To formally originate from a particular location, either by birth or residence	B2
hand in	To give an item to someone who holds an official or authoritative position	B1
hand out	To distribute an item throughout a group, giving one to each member	B1
hand over	To give an object or responsibility to another person	B2
hang on	Used when asking another person to pause briefly	B1
hang out	To spend time somewhere or with someone in a relaxed way (informal)	B1
hang up	To end a phone call by putting down the phone	B1
hash out	To informally discuss an issue with others until an agreement is reached	B2
have on	To make someone believe something that is not true, usually as a joke	B2
have out	To arrange for a body part or medical device to be removed	B2
have up	To require someone to appear in court and face a trial	B2
hear from	To receive a call, written message, or other news from a person	B1
help out	To help someone, especially in a difficult situation	B2
hold back	To stop yourself or someone else from doing or showing something	B2
hold on	Used when telling another person to pause briefly	B1
hold up	To remain strong or successful in a difficult situation	B2
hollow out	To create an empty space within an object by removing its interior	B2
hoover up	To remove material from a floor or surface with a vacuum cleaner	B1
idle away	To pass a period by relaxing and engaging in almost no activity	B2
insure against	To take action that prevents or reduces the effect of an unpleasant event	B2
interfere with	To obstruct something so that it cannot operate effectively or develop successfully	C1
jerk around	To informally and intentionally create problems for another person	B2
keep at	To continue working at an activity despite difficulty or slow progress	C2
keep away	To not go near someone or something, or to stop someone from going near	B2
keep back	To hold a person or thing behind a boundary or away from a point	B2
keep down	To eat or drink without vomiting afterwards	B2
keep someone/something from something	To prevent a person or thing from doing or experiencing something	C2
keep from doing	To successfully resist the urge to perform an action	B2
keep in	To make a child remain indoors as punishment or require a patient to remain in hospital	B1
keep in with	To preserve friendly relations with a potentially useful person	B2
keep off	To avoid entering an area or prevent a person or thing from entering it	B1
keep on	To continue doing something, or to do it repeatedly	B1
keep on doing	To continue an action or repeat it many times	B1
keep on keeping on	To informally continue trying and making progress even in challenging circumstances	B2
keep out	To not enter a place, or to prevent someone or something from entering	B1
keep out of	To avoid involvement in a matter or prevent another person or thing from becoming involved	B2
keep to	To stay within a particular place, route, or part of an area	B2
keep up	To cause someone to remain awake or delay going to bed	B2
key in	To enter data into an electronic device by means of a keyboard or touchscreen	B2
kick back	To stop being busy and let yourself relax completely	B2
knock off	To take something that belongs to someone else	C2
know something from something	To distinguish between two things, especially as evidence of knowledge or judgment	B2
know of	To be aware that a person or thing exists while knowing only limited details	B2
let down	To fail to do what someone hoped or expected, so that they are disappointed	B1
let in	To admit someone or something into an enclosed place	B2
let someone in on something	To tell someone confidential information or admit them to an exclusive activity	B2
let something into something	To embed an object so its surface is level with the surrounding material	B2
let off	To give no punishment, or a less severe one, to a person who did wrong	B2
let on	To tell others information that was meant to remain secret	B2
let out	To permit a person or animal to leave an enclosed or locked place	B2
let up	For bad weather, pressure, or another unpleasant condition to stop or improve	B2
let yourself in for	To take an action that unknowingly commits you to trouble or burdens	B2
line up	To stand with other people in a straight line	A2
live for	To centre your existence and motivation on a person or activity	B2
live in	To occupy accommodation provided at a workplace or institution	B2
live off	To depend on a person or resource for money or food	B2
live on	To use a stated amount or source of money for essential expenses	B2
live out	To maintain accommodation separate from your workplace or institution	B2
live through	To experience and endure a difficult event or period	C2
live together	For romantic partners to cohabit without being married	B2
live up to	To match the quality or standard associated with something	B2
live with	To share a home and sexual relationship with an unmarried partner	B2
lock out	To prevent someone entering a room or building by securing its door	B2
lock up	To confine someone in prison or in a hospital for people with mental illness	B2
log in	To enter a protected computer account after supplying credentials that identify the user	B1
look after	To care for or take responsibility for a person, animal, place, or object	A2
look for	To search with the aim of finding a particular person or thing	B1
look forward to	To feel happy and excited about a future event	B1
look into	To investigate the relevant facts surrounding a difficulty or situation	B2
look out	To pay close attention to events around you and behave cautiously	B1
look up	For a difficult situation or condition to begin improving	C1
look up to	To admire someone greatly and treat them as an example to follow	B2
make for	To head toward a specified destination or object	B2
make something into something	To change a person or thing into a different form or type	B2
make off	To leave rapidly, usually while escaping after wrongdoing	B2
make off with	To steal an object and carry it away while escaping	B2
make out	To handle a situation, typically with a successful result	B2
make over	To improve a person or thing by changing several aspects of its appearance or structure	B2
make something over to someone	To legally transfer money, land, or another asset to a new owner	C1
make too much of	To give a particular degree of worth or significance to something	C1
make towards	To move in the direction of a person or thing	B2
make up	To forgive another person and restore friendly relations after a disagreement	B1
make up for	To compensate for a loss, damage, or negative experience by providing an equivalent benefit	B2
make up to	To behave with excessive friendliness or praise in order to gain an advantage	C1
make with	An informal command asking someone to provide, bring, or perform something without delay	C1
max out	To informally have or do the greatest possible amount of something, or an excessive amount	B2
meet up	To arrange to be with another person so you can do something together	B1
mess up	To make a place or object dirty and disorganized	B1
mock up	To construct a model showing an object's intended appearance or operation	B2
move in	To begin living or working in a different home or place	B1
move on	To depart from the place where you have been staying and travel elsewhere	C1
mug off	To informally make a person look foolish, particularly through deception or poor treatment in a relationship	C1
mug up	To informally study a subject rapidly before an examination	B2
muscle in	To informally force entry into a situation and ensure inclusion despite being unwelcome	B2
nod off	To informally start sleeping, particularly without intending to	B2
notch up	To informally achieve a result or success	B2
open up	To begin speaking more freely about yourself and your emotions	C2
own up	To acknowledge that you did something wrong	C2
pass around	To offer or give something in turn to every person in a group	B2
pass away	To die, expressed in a polite or gentle way	B2
pass by	To happen without someone noticing, enjoying, or benefiting from the event or opportunity	C1
pass down	To transfer knowledge or a possession to someone in a later generation	B2
pass off	To happen or be completed in a particular way	C1
pass something off as something	To pretend that a person or thing is something different from what it really is	C1
pass on	To die, expressed in a polite or gentle way	B2
pass out	To become unconscious for a short time because of illness, injury, heat, or alcohol	B2
pass up	To fail or choose not to take advantage of an opportunity	B2
patch into	To establish a connection with a device or network	B2
patch through	To connect a caller with a telephone number or communications network	B2
patch together	To arrange or create something hastily and without sufficient care	B2
patch up	To attempt to improve a relationship following a period of problems	C2
pay off	If something you do pays off, it is successful or brings a good result	B2
peter out	To weaken gradually until stopping or disappearing	B2
pick out	To play a melody hesitantly, one note at a time	C2
pick up	To raise a person or object from a surface with one's hands	A2
pipe down	To informally stop talking or producing needless noise	B2
play along	To cooperate temporarily with another person's request or plan	B2
play around	To fool about instead of behaving seriously	B2
play around with	To experiment with different methods or options before making a choice	B2
play at	To imitate a role or activity during make-believe	B2
play back	To use a device to reproduce recorded sound or video	B2
play down	To understate the seriousness or importance of a matter	C1
play off	To play a deciding game that determines which team or side wins	B2
play someone/something off against someone/something	To encourage people or groups to compete or argue so that you gain an advantage	B2
play on	To keep the match moving when an apparent stoppage has not been awarded	B2
play out	To behave as though an imaginary situation were actually happening	B2
play up	To emphasize a quality or aspect so that it appears more important, usually for advantage	B2
play up to	To behave in a calculated way intended to please someone and win favourable treatment	B2
play with	To explore a possibility without committing to it	B2
point out	To make someone notice a visible person or object, sometimes by pointing towards it	B2
poop out	To informally become too exhausted to continue an activity	B2
pot off	To transfer a seedling out of a tray and place it in an individual plant container	B2
pot on	To transfer a growing plant into a pot larger than its current one	B2
pot up	To put a plant in a container where it can grow	B1
pour out	To reveal all your worries or emotions to someone, usually in private	B2
press on	To keep going with a journey or a task despite difficulty	C1
pride yourself on	To place high value on a skill or positive quality you possess	B2
prop up	To raise and hold a person or object in position by supporting it underneath	B2
pull into	For a vehicle to move towards a place at the roadside and come to a stop there	B2
pull out	To stop being involved in an activity or agreement	B2
pull over	(of a vehicle or its driver) to move to the side of the road and stop	B2
put about	To circulate an untrue story or claim among many people	B2
put across	To communicate ideas and opinions in a clear, understandable manner	B2
put aside	To reserve time, money, or another resource for a special future purpose	B2
put something at something	To make a rough estimate of a cost, size, number, or quantity	B2
put away	To return an item to its normal storage location	B1
put back	To restore an item to its former position	B1
put something before someone	To treat one thing as more important than another	B2
put something behind you	To stop dwelling on an unpleasant experience so that it no longer controls your life	B2
put by	To reserve funds for later needs	B2
put down	To put something you are holding onto a surface or the floor	B1
put someone down as something	To form a judgment that someone belongs to a particular type or category	B2
put someone down for something	To enter a donor and their pledged contribution in collection records	B2
put something down to something	To regard a particular factor as the cause of a problem or situation	B2
put forward	To present an idea, opinion, plan, or candidate for consideration	C1
put in	To install a large item of equipment or a system in a building	B2
put in for	To formally request a job, benefit, opportunity, or permission	B2
put something into something	To place an object inside a container, space, or other object	B2
put off	To reschedule a planned event or activity for a future time	B1
put on	To switch on equipment or start it playing recorded material	A2
put someone onto something	To introduce someone to a useful person, service, idea, or opportunity	B2
put out	To switch a light off	B2
put over	To express a point or idea clearly enough for others to understand	B2
put someone through something	To make someone undergo an unpleasant, stressful, or difficult experience	B2
put something to someone	To propose a matter directly to someone for their response	B2
put together	To join separate components in their proper positions to form a complete object	B2
put something towards something	To contribute money towards part of a cost	B2
put up	To raise an object or secure it in an elevated position	B1
put someone up to something	To prompt another person to carry out an action, often a wrongful one	B2
put up with	To accept or tolerate something unpleasant without complaining	B2
put upon	To be treated unfairly by someone who exploits your willingness to help	B2
rack off	An informal and impolite order for someone to depart	B2
rack up	To gradually accumulate points, profits, or similar results	B2
rail off	To formally close or separate an area, particularly with railings	B2
reach out to	To take the first step towards contacting people or offering them help	B2
read something into something	To assign an importance or meaning to an action or remark that may not be present	B2
read out	To read something to other people so that they can hear it	B2
read over	To read a text from beginning to end, usually to check or correct it	B2
read up	To read extensively in order to learn about a subject	C1
reel something in/out	To wind a rope or attached object in by rotating a reel, or let it out similarly	B2
reel off	To informally recite a lengthy list quickly without pausing	B2
refer to	To consult something when seeking information or assistance	B2
rely on	To require a particular person, resource, or system in order to function, continue, or succeed	B2
remark on	To notice something and then make a comment about it	B2
report back	To return or communicate after investigating or completing a task and give information about what happened	B2
report to	To be managed by and responsible to a particular person at work	B2
result in	To cause a particular event, condition, or outcome	B2
rip into	To attack or criticise a person or thing with considerable force	B2
rip off	To informally cheat a person by making them pay an excessive price	C2
rip up	To tear an object into numerous small pieces	B1
root for	To openly support the success of a person, team, or other thing	B2
rope in	To pressure or persuade another person into joining a group or participating in something	B2
rope off	To surround a place with ropes so that people cannot enter	B2
round something down/up	To lower or raise a number to the closest unit, ten, hundred, or similar value	B2
round off	To rub a pointed or sharp part until it becomes smoothly curved	B2
round on	To turn without warning and physically attack a person or thing	B2
round out	To bring something to completion	B2
round up	To locate and bring together a collection of people or animals	B2
rub out	To erase writing or a mark by moving a rubber or cloth firmly across it	B2
run away	To leave a person or place secretly and without warning	B2
run out	To have used your whole supply of something	B1
run out of	To exhaust the available supply of a particular thing	B1
run over	To hit someone or something with a vehicle and drive over them	B1
saddle someone with something	To informally give someone an unwanted responsibility or problem involving substantial work or difficulty	C2
salt away	To informally save something, frequently money, without others knowing	B2
scale down	To reduce something in scale, quantity, or production	B2
scale up	To increase the size, quantity, or importance of something, commonly an organisation or process	B2
scare off	To make someone sufficiently worried that they decide against an action	C1
scoop out	To use a spoon to remove material from inside something	B1
see about	To prepare for an event, handle a matter, or arrange for an action to be completed	B2
see something in someone/something	To believe that a person or thing possesses a particular quality or potential	B2
see off	To accompany a departing person as far as their departure point and say goodbye	B2
see out	To remain until a difficult event or period has finished	B2
see past	To avoid allowing one feature or problem to determine your entire opinion	B2
see through	To give someone help and support throughout a difficult period of life	B2
see to	To attend to a waiting person or matter requiring action	B2
set about	To begin doing or dealing with a task, often with energy	B2
set someone against someone	To make one person oppose, argue with, or fight another	B2
set apart	To show that a person or thing differs from and often exceeds comparable examples	B2
set aside	To reserve money, time, or another resource for a special purpose	B2
set back	To cost someone a substantial amount of money	B2
set down	To formally record information in written or printed form	B2
set forth	To leave and begin travelling towards a destination	B2
set in	For an unpleasant condition to begin and appear likely to continue	B2
set off	To trigger the beginning of an action or chain of events	C2
set on	To attack someone suddenly and violently	B2
set out	To start doing something with a particular aim or intention	C2
set to	To begin working on something with energy and determination	B2
set up	To formally create a business, organization, system, or working arrangement	B1
set yourself up as	To present yourself publicly as a particular kind of person or expert	B2
sex up	To informally alter something so that it appears more interesting or exciting	C1
shift for yourself	To manage or provide for yourself without help from other people	C2
shop around	To examine prices and quality offered by different sellers before choosing what to buy	B1
shore up	To prevent a wall or building from collapsing by supporting it with wood, metal, or other construction material	B2
show off	To behave in a manner designed to gain attention or admiration, often annoying others	B2
show up	To arrive at a place or gathering, particularly later or less predictably than expected	B1
sleep in	To stay in bed past your usual waking hour	B1
slim down	To become thinner by losing weight	B1
snap back	To rapidly return to an earlier condition	B2
snap out of	To informally make yourself leave a state of unhappiness or distress	B2
snap up	To informally acquire an appealing or inexpensive item with immediate enthusiasm	B2
sort out	To separate selected items from a mixed group according to their type	B1
speak up	To speak more loudly, or to say your opinion openly	B2
spice up	To make spoken material, a narrative, or a performance livelier and more engaging	B2
spill over	For an activity or situation to begin affecting another group or circumstance, usually in an unwanted manner	B2
stand out	To attract attention because you are easy to notice	B2
start again	To begin an activity again, sometimes using a different approach	B2
start off	To begin doing something, or to begin in a particular way	B1
start on	To begin working on, using, or consuming something	B2
start on at	To begin angrily criticizing someone for something they did	B2
start out	To begin life or a career in a stated way or position	C1
start over	To begin something again from the beginning	B2
start up	To create a business or organization and begin its operations	B2
stay in	To remain at home instead of going out	B1
stay up	To remain awake beyond the time when you normally go to bed	B2
steam up	To become coated with a thin film of condensed water vapour	B2
stir up	To cause an unpleasant feeling or problem to start or intensify	C2
stop by	To enter a place briefly while travelling elsewhere	B1
subject someone/something to something	To cause a person or thing to experience something distressing or worrying	C2
tag along	To informally accompany a person or group somewhere, typically without being invited	B2
tag on	To add something later to an earlier spoken or written statement	B2
take someone aback	To shock or surprise someone so strongly that they are briefly unable to respond	B2
take after	To resemble an older relative in looks or personality	B2
take against	To develop a dislike for someone, often without a clear reason	B2
take apart	To separate an object into its component parts	B2
take aside	To lead a person aside for a private conversation	B2
take away	To remove a person or thing from a place	B2
take back	To return a purchased item to the seller, usually for exchange or refund	B1
take down	To defeat, kill, capture, or otherwise stop a dangerous person	B2
take something from someone	To draw material or inspiration from a person or source and reuse or develop it	B2
take in	To fully grasp the significance or content of something	C2
take it out of	To make someone physically or mentally very tired	B2
take off	To remove clothing or another item from a person or surface	A2
take on	To begin possessing a particular characteristic or appearance	B2
take out	To remove a person or thing from inside a place or container	B1
take someone out of himself/herself	To distract someone from unhappy thoughts and improve their mood	B2
take something out on someone	To behave badly towards an innocent person because you are angry or upset about something else	B2
take over	To begin performing a role or duty previously handled by another person	B2
take round	To accompany someone around a building or place while showing its important features	B2
take someone through something	To explain a process, document, or set of facts to someone in sequence	B2
take to	To begin to like a person, activity, or thing	C1
take up	To occupy a particular amount of time or physical space	B2
take someone up on something	To accept an offer, invitation, or challenge made by someone	B2
take up with	To associate closely, often romantically, with a person considered a harmful influence	B2
talk over	To consider a matter with someone by discussing it fully	B2
tap into	To start making good use of a supply of money, energy, or feeling that already exists	C1
team up	To collaborate with another person or join a group for a shared purpose	B1
tell against	To make a person or thing less likely to succeed	B2
tell apart	To distinguish two people or things that look very similar	B2
tell off	To reprimand someone angrily for wrongdoing	B2
tell on	To give an authority information about another person's bad behaviour	B2
tend to	To give needed care or attention to a person, problem, or responsibility	B2
think ahead	To consider future events in advance and prepare for them	C2
think back	To direct your memory toward an earlier event or period	C2
think for yourself	To make decisions and develop opinions without simply following other people	B2
think of	To devise an original possibility, answer, proposal, or course of action	B1
think out	To consider all aspects of a plan or problem and develop a complete answer	B2
think over	To evaluate an option at length prior to deciding	B2
think through	To examine the likely results of an action carefully before proceeding	B2
think up	To create a new idea, name, excuse, or plan by thinking	B2
throw away	To discard an object because it is unwanted or no longer useful	B1
thumb through	To turn through pages rapidly and read only brief sections of a publication or document	B2
tick off	To informally speak severely to someone and criticise their wrongdoing	B2
tick over	For a business, role, or system to keep operating while making little progress	B2
tide over	To temporarily provide someone with something they lack	B2
tie down	To informally restrict another person's freedom	B2
top off	To bring something to an enjoyable or successful conclusion	C2
top out	To reach the peak of a changing level immediately before it begins falling	B2
top up	To add liquid until a partly filled container becomes full	B2
trail off	To gradually decrease in quantity or loudness	B2
try on	To put on clothing temporarily to check its fit, comfort, or appearance	A2
try out	To compete for membership of a team or a role in a play	B2
turn down	To refuse an offer, request, invitation, or application	B1
turn off	To make a piece of equipment stop working by pressing or moving a control	A1
turn on	To make a piece of equipment start working by pressing or moving a control	A1
turn out	To develop or end with a certain result, particularly one that was not expected	B2
turn up	For a favourable situation or opportunity to occur or become available without planning	B2
use up	To consume every remaining item or amount in a supply	B2
wake up	To become conscious after sleep, or to cause another person to do so	A1
wake up to	To become aware of a problem, fact, or possibility and begin to understand its importance	B2
watch out	Used to warn someone to be careful of danger	B2
weigh down	To cause anxiety and unhappiness in a person facing continuing problems, responsibilities, or duties	B2
weigh in	To have your weight officially measured before a sporting contest, particularly boxing or horse racing	B2
weigh up	To carefully consider a situation's advantages and disadvantages before reaching a decision	B2
whip up	To deliberately stir powerful feelings among a group of people	C1
wipe out	To completely destroy a particular thing	C2
work against/for someone	To make it easier or harder for a person to achieve a result	B2
work at	To repeatedly make an effort to improve or achieve something	B2
work off	To eliminate an unpleasant feeling by doing something energetic	B2
work on	To spend time repairing, developing, or improving a particular thing	B2
work out	To perform the calculation needed to obtain a numerical answer	B2
work over	To attack someone and cause physical injury	B2
work through	To manage a complex problem by dealing with its parts in sequence	B2
work up	To gradually develop a strong emotion or physical condition	B2
work up to	To build up your readiness for a demanding action or experience over time	B2
worm something out of someone	To informally obtain information that another person is trying to keep secret	C1
zone out	To temporarily stop paying attention and lose awareness of what you can see or hear nearby	C1
zoom in	To informally adjust a camera so that the photographed subject appears larger or nearer	B1
zoom in on	To informally identify a particular matter and focus special attention on it	B2
zoom out	To informally adjust a camera so that the photographed subject appears smaller or more distant	B1

The same phrasal verbs, by verb

Every phrasal verb here is already in the list above. Side by side, the ones made with the same verb are easier to tell apart. Open a group to see them.

Phrasal verbs with go

go out, go in, go on · 40 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
go out	To leave your home to do something enjoyable	A1
go in	To enter a room, building, or other place	A2
go on	To happen, especially something unusual or suspicious	B1
go off	To stop operating, used about a light, machine, or electrical device	B1
go up	To become higher in level, amount, or price	B1
go away	To leave a particular place	B1
go back	To return to a place you were before	B1
go together	To create an attractive combination in appearance	B1
go with	To combine attractively or pleasantly with another thing in appearance or taste	B1
go down	To descend from a higher position to one below	B2
go through	To receive the formal acceptance required for a proposal, law, or transaction	B2
go round	To rotate repeatedly like a wheel	B2
go ahead	To begin an activity or proceed with a planned action	B2
go along	To visit a place or attend an event, often without extensive planning	B2
go under	To sink below the surface of water	B2
go by	To pass a point in space or a period in time	B2
go in for	To practise an activity regularly or have a particular interest or preference	B2
go over to	To change from an existing system or method to a new one	B2
go about	To begin or organize the process of doing or dealing with something	B2
go after	To pursue a person with the aim of catching them	B2
go against	To fail to obtain the desired result when a vote, judgment, or decision is made	B2
go along with	To accept an idea or support another person's opinion or plan	B2
go around	To move among places, circulate, or visit people; the usual American form of go round	B2
go at	To attack someone suddenly or aggressively	B2
go back on	To fail to honour a promise or reverse a previous decision or agreement	B2
go back to	To restart a romantic relationship with a former partner	B2
go down the mines	To work below ground extracting coal or another mineral	B2
go down with	To begin suffering from an infectious illness	B2
go for	To attack a person physically	B2
go in on	To become involved in an activity, purchase, or plan with other people	B2
go off with	To leave a romantic partner in order to begin a relationship with someone else	B2
go out for	To compete or apply for membership of a sports team	B2
go out to	Used when thoughts and sympathy are directed toward a person experiencing hardship or grief	B2
go over	To receive a particular audience response; the usual American equivalent of British go down	B2
go to	To be allocated, awarded, or sold to a particular person	B2
go up to	To extend or reach to a particular point, amount, or level	B2
go into	To begin working in a particular profession or type of employment	C1
go along to get along	To support or accept another person's position mainly to maintain harmony and obtain an advantage	C1
go through with	To perform an unpleasant or difficult action that was previously agreed or promised	C2
go without	To live or manage despite lacking a particular person or thing	C2

Show all 40Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with come

come from, come in, come round · 39 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
come from	To originate, be produced, or be obtained from a particular place or source	A1
come in	To move from outside to the interior of a room or building	A2
come round	To visit someone at their home	A2
come back	To return to a location where you were earlier	A2
come out	To accompany someone to a social occasion or outing	B2
come down	To collapse from a standing or raised position	B2
come up	To move towards a person until you are near them	B2
come along	To show up, pass by, or reach the location	B2
come away	To become detached from the surface or object to which something was fixed	B2
come before	To receive higher priority or consideration than another person or matter	B2
come together	For people or groups to meet, unite, or cooperate towards a shared purpose	B2
come up with	To think of a plan, idea, or solution	B2
come around	To visit, change your view, or regain consciousness	B2
come at	To approach aggressively with the apparent intention of attacking	B2
come back to	To return gradually to someone's memory	B2
come down on	To take severe official or verbal action against a person or practice	B2
come down with	To begin suffering from an illness, usually a minor one	B2
come forward	To volunteer help, information, or evidence	B2
come of	To happen or exist as a consequence of something	B2
come out in	To develop spots, a rash, or another visible condition on the skin	B2
come out with	To suddenly say something surprising, strange, or previously unmentioned	B2
come to	To recover consciousness after fainting, an accident, or anaesthesia	B2
come up to	To reach an expected, required, or usual standard	B2
come upon	To find a thing or meet a person unexpectedly	B2
come on	To begin happening, operating, or producing an effect	C1
come across	To create a particular impression through your behaviour or manner	C1
come off	To happen as intended or produce a successful result	C1
come under	To suddenly experience pressure, attack, criticism, or another difficult condition	C1
come up against	To encounter a problem, obstacle, or opposing force that must be dealt with	C1
come over	To give the impression of having a particular personality or manner	C2
come down to	For a decision or result to depend chiefly on one decisive factor	C2
come into	To inherit wealth, possessions, or hereditary rank	C2
come through	For information, a message, or a document to be successfully received	C2
come about	To happen or develop, especially through a series of circumstances	C2
come apart	To break or separate into several parts	C2
come between	To interfere with and damage the relationship between people	C2
come by	To obtain something through effort, luck, or unexplained means	C2
come in for	To become the target of blame, criticism, or an unpleasant response	C2
come out of	To emerge as an outcome or product of an event or process	C2

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Phrasal verbs with get

get back, get on, get in · 36 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
get back	To come back to a place after being elsewhere	A2
get on	To be friendly with someone and have a harmonious relationship	B1
get in	To gain access to a place, sometimes through force or deception	B1
get out	To leave a vehicle, building, or other enclosed place	B1
get along	To like one another and have a friendly relationship	B1
get together	To meet in order to spend time together or do something	B1
get around	To visit many different places, often as part of your work or daily life	B2
get off	To leave a place, especially when beginning a journey	B2
get at	To repeatedly criticize or find fault with a particular person	B2
get away	To succeed in escaping a location or another person's control, particularly when this is difficult	B2
get away with	To avoid being punished or criticized for something wrong that you did	B2
get into	Used when someone's unusual behaviour is difficult to understand	B2
get on to	To change the topic being discussed	B2
get out of	To avoid an unwanted duty or activity, often by making an excuse	B2
get through	To succeed in making telephone contact with someone	B2
get up	To rise from a sitting, kneeling, or lying position	B2
get across	To communicate an idea successfully so that another person understands or accepts it	B2
get ahead	To become successful or advance in your work or career	B2
get around to	To finally do something that you intended to do earlier	B2
get behind	To have completed less work or paid less money than was required by a particular time	B2
get by	To manage to live or cope, usually with difficulty	B2
get down	To cause someone to feel unhappy, discouraged, or depressed	B2
get down to	To begin giving a task or subject your full effort and attention	B2
get in on	To join an activity already in progress because you expect to benefit from it	B2
get off with	To begin a sexual or physically intimate relationship with someone	B2
get on with	To begin or continue an activity, with particular emphasis on work	B2
get over	To recover physically from an illness or emotionally from a distressing person or event	B2
get past	To avoid being noticed, understood, or detected by someone	B2
get round	To spread among many people, used about news or information	B2
get round to	To finally perform an intended task after delaying it; the usual British form of get around to	B2
get to	Used to ask where a delayed or unexpectedly absent person or thing is	B2
get beyond	To stop an event, feeling, or influence from continuing to affect you	C1
get back to	To contact someone again later with information or after being unable to speak earlier	C1
get off on	To experience excitement or pleasure from something, often in a sexual way	C1
get something over with	To complete a necessary but unpleasant duty so that it no longer causes worry	C2
get up to	To do something, especially something secret, mischievous, or likely to be disapproved of	C2

Show all 36Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with put

put on, put up, put off · 30 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
put on	To switch on equipment or start it playing recorded material	A2
put up	To raise an object or secure it in an elevated position	B1
put off	To reschedule a planned event or activity for a future time	B1
put back	To restore an item to its former position	B1
put away	To return an item to its normal storage location	B1
put down	To put something you are holding onto a surface or the floor	B1
put out	To switch a light off	B2
put together	To join separate components in their proper positions to form a complete object	B2
put in	To install a large item of equipment or a system in a building	B2
put across	To communicate ideas and opinions in a clear, understandable manner	B2
put aside	To reserve time, money, or another resource for a special future purpose	B2
put something before someone	To treat one thing as more important than another	B2
put something behind you	To stop dwelling on an unpleasant experience so that it no longer controls your life	B2
put someone through something	To make someone undergo an unpleasant, stressful, or difficult experience	B2
put something to someone	To propose a matter directly to someone for their response	B2
put about	To circulate an untrue story or claim among many people	B2
put something at something	To make a rough estimate of a cost, size, number, or quantity	B2
put by	To reserve funds for later needs	B2
put someone down as something	To form a judgment that someone belongs to a particular type or category	B2
put someone down for something	To enter a donor and their pledged contribution in collection records	B2
put something down to something	To regard a particular factor as the cause of a problem or situation	B2
put in for	To formally request a job, benefit, opportunity, or permission	B2
put something into something	To place an object inside a container, space, or other object	B2
put someone onto something	To introduce someone to a useful person, service, idea, or opportunity	B2
put over	To express a point or idea clearly enough for others to understand	B2
put something towards something	To contribute money towards part of a cost	B2
put someone up to something	To prompt another person to carry out an action, often a wrongful one	B2
put up with	To accept or tolerate something unpleasant without complaining	B2
put upon	To be treated unfairly by someone who exploits your willingness to help	B2
put forward	To present an idea, opinion, plan, or candidate for consideration	C1

Show all 30Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with take

take off, take out, take back · 23 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
take off	To remove clothing or another item from a person or surface	A2
take out	To remove a person or thing from inside a place or container	B1
take back	To return a purchased item to the seller, usually for exchange or refund	B1
take up	To occupy a particular amount of time or physical space	B2
take away	To remove a person or thing from a place	B2
take on	To begin possessing a particular characteristic or appearance	B2
take down	To defeat, kill, capture, or otherwise stop a dangerous person	B2
take over	To begin performing a role or duty previously handled by another person	B2
take someone aback	To shock or surprise someone so strongly that they are briefly unable to respond	B2
take after	To resemble an older relative in looks or personality	B2
take against	To develop a dislike for someone, often without a clear reason	B2
take apart	To separate an object into its component parts	B2
take aside	To lead a person aside for a private conversation	B2
take something from someone	To draw material or inspiration from a person or source and reuse or develop it	B2
take it out of	To make someone physically or mentally very tired	B2
take someone out of himself/herself	To distract someone from unhappy thoughts and improve their mood	B2
take something out on someone	To behave badly towards an innocent person because you are angry or upset about something else	B2
take round	To accompany someone around a building or place while showing its important features	B2
take someone through something	To explain a process, document, or set of facts to someone in sequence	B2
take someone up on something	To accept an offer, invitation, or challenge made by someone	B2
take up with	To associate closely, often romantically, with a person considered a harmful influence	B2
take to	To begin to like a person, activity, or thing	C1
take in	To fully grasp the significance or content of something	C2

Show all 23Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with keep

keep on doing, keep in, keep off · 16 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
keep on doing	To continue an action or repeat it many times	B1
keep in	To make a child remain indoors as punishment or require a patient to remain in hospital	B1
keep off	To avoid entering an area or prevent a person or thing from entering it	B1
keep on	To continue doing something, or to do it repeatedly	B1
keep out	To not enter a place, or to prevent someone or something from entering	B1
keep up	To cause someone to remain awake or delay going to bed	B2
keep down	To eat or drink without vomiting afterwards	B2
keep away	To not go near someone or something, or to stop someone from going near	B2
keep back	To hold a person or thing behind a boundary or away from a point	B2
keep from doing	To successfully resist the urge to perform an action	B2
keep in with	To preserve friendly relations with a potentially useful person	B2
keep on keeping on	To informally continue trying and making progress even in challenging circumstances	B2
keep out of	To avoid involvement in a matter or prevent another person or thing from becoming involved	B2
keep to	To stay within a particular place, route, or part of an area	B2
keep at	To continue working at an activity despite difficulty or slow progress	C2
keep someone/something from something	To prevent a person or thing from doing or experiencing something	C2

Show all 16Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with set

set up, set aside, set on · 14 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
set up	To formally create a business, organization, system, or working arrangement	B1
set aside	To reserve money, time, or another resource for a special purpose	B2
set on	To attack someone suddenly and violently	B2
set down	To formally record information in written or printed form	B2
set to	To begin working on something with energy and determination	B2
set about	To begin doing or dealing with a task, often with energy	B2
set someone against someone	To make one person oppose, argue with, or fight another	B2
set apart	To show that a person or thing differs from and often exceeds comparable examples	B2
set back	To cost someone a substantial amount of money	B2
set forth	To leave and begin travelling towards a destination	B2
set in	For an unpleasant condition to begin and appear likely to continue	B2
set yourself up as	To present yourself publicly as a particular kind of person or expert	B2
set off	To trigger the beginning of an action or chain of events	C2
set out	To start doing something with a particular aim or intention	C2

Show all 14Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with make

make up, make out, make for · 13 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
make up	To forgive another person and restore friendly relations after a disagreement	B1
make out	To handle a situation, typically with a successful result	B2
make for	To head toward a specified destination or object	B2
make something into something	To change a person or thing into a different form or type	B2
make off	To leave rapidly, usually while escaping after wrongdoing	B2
make off with	To steal an object and carry it away while escaping	B2
make over	To improve a person or thing by changing several aspects of its appearance or structure	B2
make towards	To move in the direction of a person or thing	B2
make up for	To compensate for a loss, damage, or negative experience by providing an equivalent benefit	B2
make too much of	To give a particular degree of worth or significance to something	C1
make something over to someone	To legally transfer money, land, or another asset to a new owner	C1
make up to	To behave with excessive friendliness or praise in order to gain an advantage	C1
make with	An informal command asking someone to provide, bring, or perform something without delay	C1

Show all 13Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with play

play on, play around, play at · 13 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
play on	To keep the match moving when an apparent stoppage has not been awarded	B2
play around	To fool about instead of behaving seriously	B2
play at	To imitate a role or activity during make-believe	B2
play with	To explore a possibility without committing to it	B2
play along	To cooperate temporarily with another person's request or plan	B2
play around with	To experiment with different methods or options before making a choice	B2
play back	To use a device to reproduce recorded sound or video	B2
play off	To play a deciding game that determines which team or side wins	B2
play someone/something off against someone/something	To encourage people or groups to compete or argue so that you gain an advantage	B2
play out	To behave as though an imaginary situation were actually happening	B2
play up	To emphasize a quality or aspect so that it appears more important, usually for advantage	B2
play up to	To behave in a calculated way intended to please someone and win favourable treatment	B2
play down	To understate the seriousness or importance of a matter	C1

Show all 13Show fewer

Phrasal verbs with give

give back, give away, give in · 11 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
give back	To restore an item to its previous owner or holder	A2
give away	To transfer something to another person without requesting payment	B1
give in	To finally accept another person's demand after resisting it for some time	B1
give out	For a machine or body part to stop working, usually through age or strain	B2
give up	To abandon an activity or effort because continuing seems too difficult	B2
give onto	For a door, window, or room to open or face directly towards a place	B2
give over	Used to tell someone to stop an irritating activity	B2
give something over to something/someone	To transfer the use, care, or responsibility for a person or thing to someone else	B2
give up on	To stop expecting a person or effort to succeed	B2
give yourself over to	To become completely absorbed in an activity or feeling	B2
give off	To produce a smell, heat, light or other substance	C1

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Phrasal verbs with do

do in, do down, do for · 9 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
do in	To kill someone, especially deliberately or violently	B2
do down	To speak disparagingly about a person so that they feel inferior or others think less of them	B2
do for	To seriously damage an object or badly injure or kill a person	B2
do out	To decorate, paint, or improve the appearance of a room or building	B2
do someone out of something	To dishonestly or unfairly prevent someone from receiving or keeping something	B2
do over	To attack and beat someone violently	B2
do up	To fasten clothing or another item, or to become fastened	B2
do without	To manage despite not having a particular person or thing	B2
do away with	To eliminate something completely or stop using an established practice	C1

Phrasal verbs with let

let down, let up, let in · 9 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
let down	To fail to do what someone hoped or expected, so that they are disappointed	B1
let up	For bad weather, pressure, or another unpleasant condition to stop or improve	B2
let in	To admit someone or something into an enclosed place	B2
let someone in on something	To tell someone confidential information or admit them to an exclusive activity	B2
let something into something	To embed an object so its surface is level with the surrounding material	B2
let off	To give no punishment, or a less severe one, to a person who did wrong	B2
let on	To tell others information that was meant to remain secret	B2
let out	To permit a person or animal to leave an enclosed or locked place	B2
let yourself in for	To take an action that unknowingly commits you to trouble or burdens	B2

Phrasal verbs with live

live off, live on, live for · 9 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
live off	To depend on a person or resource for money or food	B2
live on	To use a stated amount or source of money for essential expenses	B2
live for	To centre your existence and motivation on a person or activity	B2
live in	To occupy accommodation provided at a workplace or institution	B2
live out	To maintain accommodation separate from your workplace or institution	B2
live together	For romantic partners to cohabit without being married	B2
live up to	To match the quality or standard associated with something	B2
live with	To share a home and sexual relationship with an unmarried partner	B2
live through	To experience and endure a difficult event or period	C2

Phrasal verbs with pass

pass out, pass on, pass around · 9 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
pass out	To become unconscious for a short time because of illness, injury, heat, or alcohol	B2
pass on	To die, expressed in a polite or gentle way	B2
pass around	To offer or give something in turn to every person in a group	B2
pass away	To die, expressed in a polite or gentle way	B2
pass down	To transfer knowledge or a possession to someone in a later generation	B2
pass up	To fail or choose not to take advantage of an opportunity	B2
pass by	To happen without someone noticing, enjoying, or benefiting from the event or opportunity	C1
pass off	To happen or be completed in a particular way	C1
pass something off as something	To pretend that a person or thing is something different from what it really is	C1

Phrasal verbs with work

work out, work against/for someone, work at · 9 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
work out	To perform the calculation needed to obtain a numerical answer	B2
work against/for someone	To make it easier or harder for a person to achieve a result	B2
work at	To repeatedly make an effort to improve or achieve something	B2
work off	To eliminate an unpleasant feeling by doing something energetic	B2
work on	To spend time repairing, developing, or improving a particular thing	B2
work over	To attack someone and cause physical injury	B2
work through	To manage a complex problem by dealing with its parts in sequence	B2
work up	To gradually develop a strong emotion or physical condition	B2
work up to	To build up your readiness for a demanding action or experience over time	B2

Phrasal verbs with think

think of, think for yourself, think out · 8 phrasal verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Level
think of	To devise an original possibility, answer, proposal, or course of action	B1
think for yourself	To make decisions and develop opinions without simply following other people	B2
think out	To consider all aspects of a plan or problem and develop a complete answer	B2
think over	To evaluate an option at length prior to deciding	B2
think through	To examine the likely results of an action carefully before proceeding	B2
think up	To create a new idea, name, excuse, or plan by thinking	B2
think ahead	To consider future events in advance and prepare for them	C2
think back	To direct your memory toward an earlier event or period	C2

Meanings and examples are written by Retite. The meanings follow Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0). Levels are based on the CEFR-J Wordlist and set by Retite.

Questions about phrasal verbs

What is a phrasal verb?

A verb followed by one or two small words, called particles, such as up, out, off or with. Together they often mean something the verb alone does not: give up means to stop trying, not to give anything.

What is the difference between separable and inseparable phrasal verbs?

With a separable phrasal verb, the object can go between the verb and the particle or after them, so make up a story and make a story up are both right; a pronoun goes between, make it up. With an inseparable one, the object always comes after, look after the children, look after them.

How many phrasal verbs are there in English?

Thousands, if you count every rare and regional one. A learner needs far fewer. The Retite list has 556, every phrasal verb in its dictionary, from A1 to C2.

Which phrasal verbs should I learn first?

The everyday ones learners meet at A1 and A2, like wake up, go out, turn on and turn off, put on, take off, pick up, grow up, find out and look after. The level next to each phrasal verb in the list shows where it belongs.

How do you put a phrasal verb in the past?

Only the verb changes, the particle stays the same: give up, gave up, given up; look after, looked after. Each phrasal verb’s page gives its past simple, past participle and -ing form.

What is the best way to learn phrasal verbs?

Learn each one with its meaning and an example sentence rather than from a bare list, and compare the ones made with the same verb, like take off, take on and take over. Then recall them yourself and review them just before you would forget. That is how Retite teaches them.

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Retite picks new words and phrasal verbs for your level, explains every meaning with a translation into your language and brings each one back for short reviews until you know it.

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