Phrasal Verbs List with Meaning and Examples
Phrasal verbs are an important part of English language learning. A phrasal verb is the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories – a verb and a particle, such as an adverb or a preposition – to create a single meaning that is used in everyday conversations. There are tens of thousands of phrasal verbs, and they play a significant role in daily communication.
Understanding Phrasal Verbs
These semantic units cannot be understood based only on the meanings of the individual words. Instead, they need to be understood as a whole. For example, the phrasal verb “give up” does not mean to “give” and “up” separately, but rather to stop trying.
Examples of Phrasal Verbs
Grammatically, a phrasal verb mixes two or three words to function as a verb. It usually consists of a verb and a preposition, an adverb, or both. Some common examples include: put on, take off, write down, and look at. Think of it as an idiomatic phrase that combines a verb with another element.
Phrasal Verbs List with Meaning and Examples
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Abide by | Accept or follow a decision or rule. | We have to ABIDE BY what the court says. |
| Account for | To explain. | They had to ACCOUNT FOR all the money that had gone missing. |
| Ache for | Want something or someone a lot. | My partner’s been away for a fortnight- I am ACHING FOR her. |
| Act on | To take action because of something like information received. | The police were ACTING ON a tip from an informer and caught the gang red-handed. |
| Act on | Affect. | The medicine only ACTS ON infected tissue. |
| Act out | Perform something with actions and gestures.. | They ACTED OUT the story on stage. |
| Act out | Express an emotion in your behaviour. | Their anger is ACTED OUT in their antisocial behaviour. |
| Act up | Behave badly or strangely. | My computer’s ACTING UP; I think I might have a virus. |
| Act upon | To take action because of something like information received. | The police were ACTING UPON a tip-off. |
| Act upon | Affect. | The enzyme ACTS UPON certain proteins. |
| Add on | Include in a calculation. | You have to ADD the VAT ON to the price they give. |
| Add up | To make a mathematical total. | We ADDED UP the bill to check it was correct. |
| Add up | Be a satisfactory explanantion for something. | She explained why the work wasn’t ready, but her story doesn’t ADD UP. |
| Add up to | Have a certain result. | Trains delays are getting worse and with the high fares, it all ADDS UP TO misery for the commuters. |
| Add up to | Come to a certain amount or figure. | The total costs ADD UP TO several million euros. |
| Agree with | Affect- usually used in the negative to show that something has had a negative effect, especially is it makes you feel bad. | I feel terrible- that food didn’t AGREE WITH my stomach. |
| Aim at | To target. | The magazine is AIMED AT teenagers. |
| Aim at | Intend to achieve. | They’re AIMING AT reducing costs by ten percent. |
| Allow for | Include something in a plan or calculation. | You should ALLOW FOR delays when planning a journey. |
| Allow of | Make possible, permit. | The rules don’t ALLOW OF any exceptions. |
| Angle for | Try to get something indirectly, by hinting or suggesting. | He’s been ANGLING FOR an invitation, but I don’t want him to come. |
| Answer back | To reply rudely to someone in authority. | Her mother was shocked when she started ANSWERING her BACK and refusing to help. |
| Answer for | Be held responsible for a problem. | The government should be made to ANSWER FOR their failure to sort out the problem. |
| Answer for | Speak on behalf of someone or from knowing them. | I can ANSWER FOR my partner because I know her position on this issue. |
| Argue down | Beat someone in a debate, discussion or argument. | The teacher tried to ARGUE the girl DOWN, but she couldn’t. |
| Argue down | Persuade someone to drop the price of something they’re selling. | She ARGUED him DOWN ten percent. |
| Argue down | Try to persuade people not to accept a proposition, motion, etc. | They tried to ARGUE DOWN the proposal. |
| Argue out | Argue about a problem to find a solution. | If we can’t ARGUE our differences OUT, we’ll have to take them to court. |
| Ask about | Ask how someone is doing, especially professionally and in terms of health. | He ASKED ABOUT my father. |
| Ask after | Enquire about someone’s health, how life is going. | Jenny rang earlier and ASKED AFTER you, so I told her you were fine. |
| Ask around | Ask a number of people for information of help. | I have no idea, but I’ll ASK AROUND at work and see if anyone can help. |
| Ask around | Invite someone. | We ASKED them AROUND for dinner. |
| Ask for | To provoke a negative reaction. | You’re ASKING FOR trouble. |
| Ask for | Request to have or be given. | I ASKED FOR the menu. |
| Ask in | To invite somebody into your house. | ‘Jon’s at the door.’ ‘ASK him IN.’ |
| Ask out | To invite someone for a date. | He wanted to ASK her OUT but was too shy. |
| Ask over | Invite. | They have ASKED us OVER for drinks on Friday. |
| Ask round | Invite someone. | We ASKED John ROUND for diner. |
| Auction off | Sell something in an auction. | They AUCTIONED OFF their property as they were heavily in debt. |
| Back away | Retreat or go backwards. | The crowd BACKED AWAY when the man pulled a knife. |
| Back down | Retract or withdraw your position or proposal in an argument. | She refused to BACK DOWN and was fired. |
| Back into | Enter a parking area in reverse gear. | He prefers to BACK his car INTO the garage. |
| Back off | Retreat. | The police told the protesters to BACK OFF. |
| Back out | Fail to keep an arrangement or promise. | He BACKED OUT two days before the holiday so we gave the ticket to his sister |
| Back out of | Fail to keep an agreement, arrangement. | She BACKED OUT OF the agreement at the last minute. |
| Back out of | Exit a parking area in reverse gear. | She BACKED the Rolls OUT OF its parking space. |
| Back up | Make a copy of computer data. | You should always BACK UP important files and documents so that you won’t lose all your work if something goes wrong with the hardware. |
| Back up | Support. | The rest of the staff BACKED her UP when she complained about working conditions. |
| Back up | Drive a vehicle backwards. | Tom BACKED UP without looking and ran over his laptop. |
| Bag out | Criticise. | Don’t bag out BAG OUT Australian English. |
| Bail out | Save, rescue. | The government had to BAIL OUT the airline because it was losing so much money. |
| Bail out | Remove water from something that is flooded. | The boat was leaking so they had to BAIL it OUT. |
| Bail out | Jump out of a plane because it is going to crash. | The pilot BAILED OUT when he saw that the engines had failed. |
| Bail out of | Pay a bond to release someone from jail. | I must BAIL my drunken brother OUT OF jail. |
| Bail out on | Stop supporting someone when they are in trouble. | Everybody BAILED OUT ON him when the scandal broke. |
| Bail up | Talk to someone and delay them. | I was late because he BAILED me UP on the phone and wouldn’t shut up. |
| Bail up | Rob someone at gunpoint. | He was BAILED UP by a couple of muggers as he came out of the bank. |
| Ball up | Confuse or make things complicated. | The new project has BALLED me UP- I have no idea what to do. |
| Ball up | Roll or form into a round shape. | He BALLED UP his napkin when he had finished eating. |
| Balls up | Spoil, ruin. | He BALLSED the presentation UP. |
| Bang about | Move in a place making a lot of noise. | He’s BANGING ABOUT in the kitchen. |
| Bang around | Move in a place making a lot of noise. | I can hear him BANGING ABOUT upstairs. |
| Bang on | Talk at great length. | He BANGED ON for half an hour but no one was listening. |
| Bang on about | Keep talking about something. | He’s always BANGING ON ABOUT football. |
| Bang ot | Play a musical instrument loudly. | She BANGED the tune OUT on the piano. |
| Bang up | Put someone in prison. | The judge BANGED him UP for eight years. |
| Bang up | Damage badly. | He BANGED his car UP last night. |
| Bank on | Count or rely on. | I’m BANKING ON your help; I can’t do it alone. |
| Bargain own | Persuade someone to drop the price of something they’re selling. | I BARGAINED her DOWN to half what she originally wanted. |
| Bargain for | Expect something to happen (usually negative). | I hadn’t BARGAINED FOR so many people coming. |
| Bargain on | Expect something to happen (usually negative). | I hadn’t BARGAINED ON him coming. |
| Barge in | Enter a place and interrupt. | He keeps BARGING IN and asking stupid questions when I’m trying to work. |
| Barge into | Enter a place and interrupt people rudely. | They BARGED INTO my office without knocking and started talking even though I was on the phone. |
| Bash about | Mistreat physically. | If you BASH your monitor ABOUT like that, it won’t last long. |
| Bash in | Break, damage or injure by hitting. | The burglars BASHED the door IN to enter the house. |
| Bash out | Write something quickly without much preparation. | I BASHED the essay OUT the night before I had to hand it in. |
| Bash up | Break, damage or hurt by hitting. | They BASHED him UP in the fight in the pub last week and he had to go to hospital. |
| Bawl out | Scold, shout at someone. | She BAWLED me OUT for coming home drunk. |
| Bawl out | Scold. | She BAWLED Raj OUT for getting there late. |
| Bawl out | Sing or shout unpleasantly loudly. | He BAWLED OUT our names at the top of his voice. |
| Be after | Try to find or get. | The police ARE AFTER him because of the theft. |
| Be along | Arrive. | The next bus should BE ALONG in the next quarter of an hour or so. |
| Be away | Be elsewhere; on holiday, etc.. | She’s AWAY on business for three weeks. |
| Be cut out for | Be suitable, have the necessary qualities. | She’s not CUT OUT FOR this kind of work. |
| Be cut up | Be upset. | She was very CUT UP about coming second as she thought she deserved to win. |
| Be down | Be depressed. | He’s BEEN DOWN since his partner left him. |
| Be down | Be reduced or less. | The firm’s profits ARE DOWN by ten percent this quarter. |
| Be down on | Have negative feelings toward someone. | After the argument, James is DOWN ON his boss. |
| Be down ith | Be ill. | Gul is DOWN WITH some bug and is off work today. |
| Be fed up | Be bored, upset or sick of something. | I AM FED UP of his complaints. |
| Be in | Be at home or at work. | They ARE never IN; I always get their answerphone. |
| Be in | Be submitted, arrive. | The application form must BE IN by 3pm on Friday. |
| Be in on | Be involved in. | Susan was the only one who WASN’T IN ON the plan. |
| Be not on | Be unacceptable. | The way he’s behaving IS just NOT ON. |
| Be off | Be bad (of food). | This yoghurt must BE OFF; it smells foul. |
| Be off | Depart, leave. | I’m OFF home; it’s five o’clock. |
| Be on | Be functioning (of machines). | The computer IS ON. |
| Be on | Take place. | The show IS ON for the next three months. |
| Be on | Take medication or drugs, especially when they affect the person badly. | He IS ON anti-depressants and has become very difficult to please. |
| Be on | Be at the top of one’s game, performing very well. | He IS really ON right now- three goals in five minutes! |
| Be on about | Mean, try to say. | I couldn’t understand what he WAS ON ABOUT- it made no sense. |
| Be onto | Pursue, be aware of someone’s true nature. | He’s being very careful because he thinks the police ARE ONTO him. |
| Be out | Be absent from a place. | She IS OUT on a visit for the day. |
| Be out of | Have no more left. | We’re OUT OF coffee so I’ll have to go and get some. |
| Be out to | Attempt. | She IS OUT TO get him sacked because she hates him. |
| Be snowed under | Have too much work. | We’re completely SNOWED UNDER at work because it’s the end of the tax year. |
| Be taken aback | Be shocked or surprised. | I WAS TAKEN ABACK when I saw him because he’s lost all his hair. |
| Be taken with | Like something. | I WAS very TAKEN WITH the performance- it was superb. |
With this PDF, you can improve your understanding of phrasal verbs, which will enhance your English speaking and writing skills. Don’t forget to download it for easy reference whenever you need it! 🌟