A phrasal verb is a type of verb in English that consist of a verb plus preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often have meanings that differ from the individual words they are made of.
The table below lists essential phrasal verbs you need to learn tp make your English sound more natural and fluent. Do not try to memorise them all at once; instead, practice using them in sentences and conversations.
| Phrasal verb list | Definition | Phrasal verb example sentences |
|---|---|---|
| Break down | To stop functioning (machinery) | My car broke down on my way to the airport. |
| Take off | To suddenly start to be successful or popular | Her business took off after a slow start. |
| Turn up | To arrive somewhere | He turned up at my house unexpectedly. |
| Look something up | To search for information | I looked up the word in the dictionary. |
| Look up | To get better | After a rough start, things are finally starting to look up for us. |
| Run out of | To have no more of something | Can you go to the grocery, please? We are running out of milk. |
| Check something out | To get information about something | There is a new restaurant on Main Street. I am going to check it out tomorrow. |
| Check out | To leave a hotel after paying the bills | We need to check out by noon tomorrow. |
| Fill out | To complete (a form, a questionnaire, etc.) | Please fill out the application form. |
| Go over | To review or check | Let's go over the documents before submitting them. |
| Come across | To find or meet by chance | I came across some old photos of mine in the attic. |
| Put off | To postpone | We had to put off the meeting until next week. |
| bring up | To mention or introduce a topic | She brought up an interesting point during the meeting. |
| call off | To cancel | The game was called off due to heavy rain. |
| cut back on | To reduce in amount | We need to cut back on our expenses. |
| deal with | To handle or cope with | My job is to deal with any technical support issues. |
| drop off | To deliver someone or something | I'll drop you off at the airport tomorrow. |
| get along with | To have a good relationship with | She gets along with her colleagues very well. |
| give up | To stop trying or quit | He gave up smoking last year. |
| hold on | To wait (especially on the telephone) | Hold on, I'll check if she's available. |
| keep up with | To stay at the same level as others | It's hard to keep up with the latest technology. |
| let down | To disappoint | I'll never let you down. |
| make something up | To invent, often in order to deceive | He made the whole story up to get elected. |
| pass out | To faint or lose consciousness | He passed out from dehydration. |
| put something away | To put something in its proper place | Please put your shoes away. |
| run into | To encounter unexpectedly | I ran into an old friend at the mall. |
| set up | To arrange, establish | He set up a new business. |
| take on | To accept a task or responsibility | She took on too much work this week. |
| throw away | To discard | Don't throw away these papers; they are important. |
| try out | To test something (such as a product) | He's trying out the new car before he buys it. |
| warm up | To prepare for physical exertion by stretching or doing light exercise | Always warm up before starting your workout. |
| work out | To exercise; also to find a solution to a problem | She works out at the gym daily. |
| zone out | To lose concentration or become inattentive | He zoned out during the lecture. |
| look after | To take care of | She looks after her younger sister after school. |
| look forward to | To anticipate with pleasure | I'm looking forward to the weekend. |
| look into | To investigate | The police are looking into the case. |
| look over | To examine or review | Could you look over my report before I submit it? |
| make out | To discern or understand | It was hard to make out what he was saying. |
| pick up | To lift; also to improve or increase | I need to pick up some groceries. / Sales have picked up this month. |
| put down | To write down; also to insult | Put down your name on the list. / He's always putting me down! |
| put off | To postpone | We have to put off our meeting until next week. |
| put up with | To tolerate | I can’t put up with his behaviour any longer. |
| run over | To exceed a time limit; also to hit with a vehicle | The meeting ran over by 30 minutes. / Unfortunately, a cat was run over by a car. |
| show up | To appear; to arrive at an event | He didn’t show up to the party last night. |
| shut down | To turn off; to cease operations | The factory was shut down for safety reasons. |
| sort out | To organize; to resolve a problem | Let's sort out these files. / We need to sort out this issue quickly. |
| speak up | To talk louder; also to state one's opinion | Please speak up, we can't hear you at the back. / He spoke up against the unfair policy. |
| stand out | To be noticeable or distinguished | Her talent really stands out in the choir. |
| stand up for | To defend; to support a cause or individual | He stood up for his rights. |
| take back | To retract a statement; also to return something | I take back what I said earlier. / Can you take this back to the store? |
| take down | To write down information; also to dismantle | Take down these notes. / We took down the old shed. |
| talk over | To discuss | We need to talk over the plans before we proceed. |
| throw up | To vomit; also to quickly construct or create | He threw up after eating spoiled food. / They threw up a makeshift shelter overnight. |
| turn down | To refuse or reject | He turned down the job offer. |
| turn off | To deactivate a device or light | Please turn off the lights before you leave. |
| turn on | To activate a device or light | Can you turn on the air conditioner? |
| use up | To consume or exhaust a supply of something | We used up all the flour baking cakes. |
| wear off | To diminish in effect or intensity over time | The medication's effects will wear off after a few hours. |
| wear out | To use something until it becomes unusable or too old | Don't use these shoes for running or you will wear them out very quickly. |
| back up | To support or confirm; also to make a copy of data | Can you back up your claims? / Don’t forget to back up your files. |
| blow up | To explode; also to inflate | The car's left tyre blew up and caused the accident. / Could you blow up these balloons? |
| break in | To forcibly enter a building; also to wear something until it becomes comfortable | Someone broke in last night. / I’m still breaking in my new boots. |
| break out | To start suddenly, usually something unwelcome like a war or disease | A fight broke out in the bar. |
| bring down | To reduce; also to cause to fall | They're looking at ways to bring down costs. / The scandal brought down the government. |
| build up | To increase or grow larger or stronger over time | He needs to build up his strength. |
| burn out | To become extremely tired or sick by working hard for a long time | She’s burning out after years of high-pressure work. |
| calm down | To relax after being angry or upset | He needed some time to calm down after the argument. |
| clear up | To make something tidy or clean; also to explain something or become sunny | Could you clear up your room? / The misunderstanding was cleared up quickly. / The weather is expected to clear up by the afternoon. |
| come up with | To suggest or think of an idea or plan | She came up with a great idea for the party. |
| cool down | To lower the temperature; also to become less angry | Let the engine cool down before checking the oil. / He cooled down once he had a chance to explain his side of the story. |
| cut down on | To reduce in size or amount (especially expenses) | He’s been advised to cut down on sweets and fatty foods. |
| cut off | To disconnect or stop providing something; also to interrupt | The water company cut off our water because we didn't pay the bill. / He was cut off in the middle of his call. |
| fall through | To fail to happen or be completed (plans, arrangements, schemes, etc.) | Our plans to meet up on Friday fell through. |
| fill in | To complete (a form, a questionnaire, etc.) | Please fill in the blanks with the correct answers. |
| find out | To discover, see or get knowledge about something | She finally found out the truth about him. |
| get across | To successfully communicate an idea or information | He struggled to get his point across during the presentation. |
| get ahead | To progress, especially in life or work | She's always trying new strategies to get ahead in her career. |
| give in | To reluctantly stop fighting or arguing; to yield | After hours of debate, he finally gave in to their demands. |
| go along with | To agree or obey | She didn't agree with the plan but decided to go along with it anyway. |
| hang on | To wait for a short time | Hang on a minute while I grab my coat. |
| keep off | To not go onto an area | Please keep off the grass. |
| kick off | To start or begin | The meeting will kick off with a speech from the CEO. |
| lay off | To stop employing someone, often for reasons that are not related to the employee's performance | Due to budget cuts, the company had to lay off several employees last month. |
| let off | To not punish someone who has done something wrong | He was let off with just a warning after being caught speeding. |
| look up to | To admire or respect someone | He’s always looked up to his father. |
| make do | To manage with the available resources, although they are not enough | There wasn't much food left in the fridge, but we made do with what we had. |
| move on | To proceed or advance in action | After discussing the budget, we moved on to the next agenda item. |
| nod off | To fall asleep briefly, especially unintentionally | He nodded off during the lecture. |
| pay back | To return money that you have borrowed | She needs to pay back the loan within the next two months. |
| point out | To indicate or specify | She pointed out the main problems with our proposal. |
| put together | To assemble; to create something by joining or combining different things | He put together a bookshelf from the kit he bought. |
| roll out | To officially launch or introduce a new product or service | The company is rolling out its new software next month. |
| run by | To explain something to someone or inform them about it, to see if they agree with it | Let me run this idea by my boss before we proceed. |
| set off | To start a journey; also to cause something to happen, especially something bad | We set off early to avoid the traffic. / His comment set off an argument in the room. |
| shoot up | To increase rapidly | Prices shot up due to the sudden demand. |
| shut up | To stop talking. It is often used as a rude or angry way to tell someone to stop speaking | She told him to shut up during the argument. |
| size up | To evaluate or assess someone or something | He sized up the competition before the race. |
| slip up | To make a mistake | She slipped up on the final question of the exam. |
| sort out | To resolve a problem or organize disordered items | They spent the afternoon sorting out their financial records. |
| speak out | To express one’s opinions openly and publicly | He spoke out against the changes in the company policy. |
| speed up | To increase speed; to accelerate | The project manager asked the team to speed up development. |
| spell out | To explain something in a very clear way with details | The teacher spelt out the instructions to the students. |
| stand by | To support; to be ready to help or support someone | She always stands by her friends in tough times. |
| stick to | To continue doing or using something and not change it | He stuck to his decision despite the criticism. |
| sum up | To summarize the main points | Let's sum up the key points of this meeting before we adjourn. |
| take apart | To disassemble something into pieces | He took apart the engine to see what the problem was. |
| take over | To take control of something | Her company was taken over by a multinational corporation. |
| talk down | To speak to someone as if they are not intelligent; to belittle | He has a bad habit of talking down to his employees. |
| think over | To consider something carefully before making a decision | She needs some time to think over the job offer. |
| throw in | To add something extra for free | The dealer threw in free servicing for a year with the new car. |
| tide over | To help someone through a difficult period, often with resources or money | His savings helped tide him over when he was between jobs. |
| touch up | To improve or fix small details of something | She touched up the paint on the wall where it was peeling. |
| try on | To wear something to see if it fits or looks nice | This skirt looks beautiful. I want to try it on. |
| turn into | To become something different; to transform | A caterpillar will eventually turn into a butterfly. |
| turn up | To increase the amount of sound, heat, etc., by adjusting a control | Can you turn up the volume, please? We can't hear anything at the back. |
| wait on | To serve (especially in a restaurant or store) | She waits on tables at a local restaurant to finance her study. |
| walk out | To suddenly leave a place, especially as a way of showing disapproval | Half of the audience walked out in protest during the performance. |
Read the conversation below and spot the phrasal verbs used.
Alex: Hey Sam, can you help me set up this printer?
Sam: Sure, let's take it apart first.
Alex: Thanks. I couldn’t sort it out on my own.
Sam: No problem. We’ll go over the instructions together. Did you hear Jerry’s shop took off?
Alex: Really? He was struggling last year.
Sam: Yes, he added books to his shop. People love it.
Alex: I’ll check it out soon. It’s great how he turned it around.
Sam: Can you turn up the heat, please? It’s cold here.
Alex: Sure.
Note that the same phrasal verb can have several meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For example, the phrasal verb "break down" can mean to stop functioning, as in "My car broke down on the way to work," or it can also mean to become very upset, as in "She broke down in tears when she heard about the passing of her father."
There are two types of phrasal verbs: separable and inseparable. These types define how the verb and its accompanying preposition or adverb function together in a sentence. Distinguishing them affects how you structure your sentences and where you place the object.
Separable phrasal verbs are those in which the verb and the preposition or adverb can be separated by other words, usually the object of the verb. For example, in the sentence "I turned off the light," the phrasal verb is "turn off." You can separate the verb and the preposition: "I turned the light off." Both forms are correct, but when the object is a pronoun (like "it"), you must separate them: "I turned it off."
Inseparable phrasal verbs are those where the verb and the preposition or adverb cannot be separated. For instance, in the sentence "I ran into an old friend," the phrasal verb "run into" cannot be split. It would be incorrect to say "I ran an old friend into." The object always comes after the complete phrasal verb.
Transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning. This means that the action of the verb is performed on something or someone (the object). Without the direct object, the sentence would be incomplete or lack full meaning. For example, the sentence "She wrote a letter," would be incomplete without the object "a latter". Similarly, transitive phrasal verbs need a direct object to form a complete sentence. Imagine hearing someone saying: "My aunt is looking after," your immediate reaction would be "Looking after whom or what ?" Thus, it would make more sense to say, "My aunt is looking after my little brother."
Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object to make sense and cannot. In fact, they don't take a direct object. The action they describe does not pass on to anything or anyone. These verbs can form a complete sentence on their own without needing an object. For example, the phrases "She arrived" do not need an object to form a complete sentence. Intransitive phrasal verbs follow similar rules as intransitive verbs. Therefore, they cannot be followed by a direct object. Intransitive phrasal verbs do not need a direct object as well, e.g., "The plane took off on time."
Some phrasal verbs can function as both transitive and intransitive. Here are a few examples:
Download the phrasal verb list below in PDF.
