Phrasal verb

Meaning

Examples

1.     

Act on

 Affect

The medicine only acts on infected tissue.

2.     

Act out

 portray

They acted out the story on stage.

3.     

Act up

 Behave badly

My computer is acting up because of virus.

4.     

Act upon

 Affect

The enzyme acts upon certain proteins.

BACK

1.     

Back away

 Retreat or go backwards

The crowd backed away when the man pulled a knife.

2.     

Back down

 Retract or withdraw your position 

She refused to back down and was fired.

3.     

Back into

 Enter a parking area in reverse gear

He prefers to back his car into the garage.

4.     

Back off

  Retreat

The police told the protesters to back off.

5.     

Back out

 Fail to keep an arrangement or promise

He backed out two days before the final meeting.

6.     

Back out of

 Fail to keep an agreement, arrangement

 She backed out of the agreement at the last minute.

7.     

Back up

 Support.

 The rest of the staff backed her up against corruption.

BEAR

1.       

Bear down on

 Move towards

 Mothers always bore down on their children.

2.       

Bear on

 Influence, affect

 The judge’s character may well bear on the final decision.

3.       

Bear out

 Confirm that something is correct

 Statistics bear out the government’s positions on the issue.

4.       

Bear up

 Resist pressure

 How are you bearing up under the strain?

5.       

Bear up under

 Cope with something difficult or stressful

 He is bearing up under the pressure.

6.       

Bear with

 Be patient

 Please bear with me a moment while I finish this email.

BLOW

1.       

Blow away

 Kill

 He blew the police officer away with a gun.

2.       

Blow down

 When the wind forces something to fall

 A tree was blown down in the storm.

3.       

Blow in

 Arrive, sometimes suddenly or unexpectedly

 He blew in from Toronto early this morning.

4.       

Blow off

 Ignore, not do something

 I blew the homework off and did badly.

5.       

Blow out

 Extinguish candles, matches, etc.

 She blew the candles out on her birthday cake.

6.       

Blow over

 When a scandal gets forgotten

 the press blew out the scandal within a week.

7.       

Blow up

 Explode

 The bomb blew up without any warning.

1.       

Break away

 Leave an organization

 The SDP broke away from the Labour Party.

2.       

Break down

 Stop working

 My car has broken down on the way.

3.       

Break for

 To go or run towards a place

 She had to hold him back as he tried to break for the door.

4.       

Break in

 Interrupt something

 I am sorry to break in on your conversation

5.       

Break into

 Go into a building to steal something

 The burglars broke in and stole the TV.

6.       

Break off

 End a relationship

 She broke off her engagement.

7.       

Break out

 Start (war, conflict)

 They are worried that war will break out.

8.       

Break out in

 Sweat heavily, develop skin sores or irritation.

 The measles caused me to break out in a rash.

9.       

Break out of

 Escape

 Three dangerous prisoners broke out of

Prison last night.

10.   

Break through

 Pass a barrier or obstacle

 The crowd broke through the police barriers.

11.   

Break up

 Finish a relationship

 They had been going out for a couple of years before they broke up.

1.       

Bring about

 Make something happen

 The government brought about many changes in constitution.

2.       

Bring along

 Bring someone to certain place

 You can bring your friends along if you like.

3.       

Bring around

 Persuade or convince someone

 It took me ages to bring him around to my idea.

4.       

Bring back

 Cause someone to remember

 Visiting my old school brought back memories of school life.

5.       

Bring down

 Make something cheaper

 The improvements in technology have brought the prices of computers down.

6.       

Bring forth

 Produce something

 She brought forth a surprising result.

7.       

Bring forward

 Make something happen earlier

 The meeting has been brought forward to this Friday.

8.       

Bring in

 Earn

 This job brings in two thousand dollars a month.

9.       

Bring off

 Succeed with something difficult

 No one thought she would do it, but she brought it off.

10.   

Bring on

 Cause something to happen

 Getting wet in the rain brought on my cold.

11.   

Bring out

 Release or publish

 The band is bringing out a new CD soon.

12.   

Bring out in

 Cause a health problem or reaction

 It was the lobster that brought me out in this rash all over my body.

13.   

Bring round

  Make someone wake up

 The doctors brought him round after a few hours.

14.   

Bring up

 Raise a child

 My parents brought me up strictly.

BUY

1.       

Buy in

 Force a CD or record into the charts

 Joe Meek’s last hit, ‘singin’ the blues’, was bought in at number 40.

2.       

Buy into

 Accept an idea

 I never bought into the idea of a Federalist European Union.

3.       

Buy off

 Pay someone to stop him causing trouble

I will buy off the investigators.

4.       

Buy out

 Buy somebody’s share in a company

His business partners bought him out to get rid of him.

5.       

Buy up

 Buy all of something

We bought up all the shares before the price went up.

CALL

1.       

Call after

 Name someone after somebody else

 She was called Rose after her late grandmother.

2.       

Call around

 Visit

 I called around but she was not in.

3.       

Call back

 Return a phone call

 I must call her back when we get to the office.

4.       

Call for

 Demand

 The opposition party called for the minister’s resignation.

5.       

Call forth

 Make something happen

 The protests called forth a strong reaction from the police.

6.       

Call in

 Get someone to come and do a job

 We had to call in a plumber because the sink was leaking.

7.       

Call off

 Cancel

 The concert had to be called off because the singer was ill.

8.       

Call on

 Visit

 He is planning to call on Katherine today.

9.       

Call out

Expose or accuse someone of wrongdoing or incompetence

 He called them out over awarding contracts to family members.

10.   

Call round

 Visit

 I called round on my way home but no one was in.

11.   

Call up

 Telephone

 I called him up as soon as I got to a phone.

CARRY

1.     

Carry forward

 Make something progress

  They allowed the deficit to be carried forward.

2.     

Carry off

 Win, succeed

 She carried off the first prize in the competition.

3.     

Carry on

 Continue

 Carry on quietly with your work.

4.     

Carry out

 Perform a task

 The government is carrying out test on growing genetically modified crops.

5.     

Carry over

 Continue past a certain point

 The meeting carried over into the afternoon because of so much talk.

6.     

Carry through

 Complete successfully

 They carried the reforms through despite the opposition.

CAST

1.     

Cast about for

 Try to find something

 They are casting about for support.

2.     

Cast around for

 Try to find something

 She was casting around for people to help her.

3.     

Cast aside

 Dispose, get rid of

 He cast her aside.                      

4.     

Cast off

 Dispose, get rid of

 They cast off all impression of politeness.

5.     

Cast out

 Expel, reject

 They cast him out because of his behaviour.

6.     

Cast round for

 Try to find something

 He cast round for any sign of his things.

7.     

Cast up

 Be left on the shore by the sea

 The rubbish was cast up by the tide.

CLOSE

1.       

Close down

 Close something

  The government promised to close down the nuclear plants within twenty years

2.       

Close in

 Surround, envelop

 The fog closed in and we could not see anything.

3.       

Close in on/upon

 Get near someone

 The police were closing in on/upon the gang.

4.       

Close off

 Block a place to stop people entering

 The police closed the road off after the explosion.

5.       

Close on

 Get nearer

 She is closing on the leader of the race.

6.       

Close out

 Bring something to an end

 We closed out the meeting early and went home.

7.       

Close up

 Completely close something

 They close up the building after everyone has left.

COME

1.       

Come about

 Happen, occur

 The meeting came about because both sides were sick of fighting.

2.       

Come across

 Find by accident

 I came across my childhood friend on the way.

3.       

Come along

 Accompany

 May I come along on your trip tomorrow?

4.       

Come apart

 Break into pieces

 It came apart when I tried to lift it off the floor.

5.       

Come around

 Recover consciousness

  He came around several hours after the operation.

6.       

Come around to

 Agree with or accept something you had previously disapproved of or disliked.

 They have started coming around to our way of thinking.

7.       

Come back

 Return

 I left work and came back home early.

8.       

Come before

 Appear in court charged with a crime or offence

 He came before the court on charges of speeding.

9.       

Come by

 Acquire

 How did you come by that Rolex?

10.   

Come down

 Travel

  Come down and see us When you are next in London.

11.   

Come down on

 Criticize heavily

 The management really came down on him for losing the contract.

12.   

Come down to

 Amount to, be the most important aspect

 It all comes down to a question of who tries hardest.

13.   

Come down upon

 Criticize, reprimand severely

 They will come down upon us if we are late.

14.   

Come down with

 Fall ill

 She came down with a virus.

15.   

Come forth

 Appear

 The draft proposal came forth in April.

16.   

Come forth with

 Provide information

 None of the witnesses came forth with an accurate description of the gang.

17.   

Come from

 Country or town where you were born

 She comes from Somalia.

18.   

Come in

 Arrive for flights

 The plane came in at two-thirty in the morning.

19.   

Come in for

 Receive (criticism or praise)

 Jack has come in for quite a lot of criticism.

20.   

Come into

 Inherit

 She came into a lot of money when her grandmother died.

21.   

Come into use

 Start being used

 The computerized system came into use last year.

22.   

Come off

 When something breaks off

I picked it up and the handle came off in my hand.

23.   

Come off it

 I don’t believe what you’re saying (used as an imperative)

 Come off it; tell me the truth for goodness’ sake.

24.   

Come on

 Start functioning (machines, etc)

 The central heating comes on automatically.

25.   

Come out

  Be published

 The band’s new CD is coming out in September.

26.   

Come out in

 Have a rash or similar skin problem

 She came out in a nasty rash after touching the poisonous plant.

27.   

Come out of

 Recover consciousness

 After three years, he came out of the coma.

28.   

Come out with

 Make something available

 They have just come out with a new version.

29.   

Come over

 Feel strange

 I came over all faint because of heat stroke.

30.   

Come round

 Become conscious

 She came round after a successful operation.

31.   

Come through

 Arrive (messages and information)

 News is coming through of an accident on the M2.

32.   

Come through with

 Provide something needed

 He did not come through with the money.

33.   

Come to

 Result in

 The two men came to blows after a little quarrel.

34.   

Come up

 Appear

  This issue just keeps coming up again and again.

35.   

Come up against

 Encounter problems or difficulties

 They came up against a lot of opposition to their plans.

36.   

Come up with

 Think of a solution, excuse, etc.

 Nobody could come up with a satisfactory explanation for the accident.

37.   

Come upon

 Find by chance

 I came upon the book in a little second-hand bookshop.

CUT

1.       

Cut across

 Go across a place rather than around it to make the journey quicker

 It will be quicker if we cut across the park.

2.       

Cut back

 Remove branches from a plant or tree

 We cut the tree back every winter.

3.       

Cut back on

 Reduce expenditure

 The government has decided to cut back on spending on the armed forces.

4.       

Cut down

 Shoot

 A lot of soldiers were cut down by enemy fire.

5.       

Cut down on

 Reduce

 She is trying to cut down on the amount of saturated fats in her diet.

6.       

Cut in

 Interrupt

 We were having a conversation when he came up and cut in.

7.       

Cut it out

 Stop your unfair or unreasonable behaviour

 Will you two idiots cut it out and keep quiet.

8.       

Cut off

 Disconnect

 The telephone line has been cut off because we did not pay the bill.

9.       

Cut out

 Exclude

 I am cutting out salt from my diet.

10.   

Cut out on

 Let down, snub

 Although he had promised to help, the star cut out on the charity.

11.   

Cut up

 Cut into smaller pieces

 After cutting the tree down, the logger cut it up into logs.

DIE

1.       

Die away

 Become quieter or inaudible (of a sound)

 The last notes died away and the audience burst into applause.

2.       

Die back

 When the parts of a plant above ground die, but the roots remain alive

 The plant dies back in the winter.

3.       

Die down

 Decrease or become quieter

  After a while, the noise died down.

4.       

Die for

 Want something a lot

 They must be dying for a drink.

5.       

Die off

 Become extinct

 Most of the elm trees in UK died off because of strange disease.

6.       

Die out

 Become extinct or disappear

 Many species died out because of strange epidemic.

DRAW

1.       

Draw back

 Retreat, move backwards

 He drew back when the dog barked.

2.       

Draw down

 To deplete by consumption

 Gas reserves were drawn down in the recent cold spell.

3.       

Draw even

 Equalize one’s competitive position

 The exhausted horse drew even at the finish line.

4.       

Draw in

 Get dark earlier

 The nights are drawing in fast.

5.       

Draw into

 Get involved in something unpleasant

 I remained silent because I did not want to get drawn into their arguments.

6.       

Draw on

 Pass slowly (time)

 As the lesson drew on, the students started to get bored.

7.       

Draw out

 Make something continue longer than needed

 The director drew the meeting out with a lengthy speech.

8.       

Draw up

 Prepare a contract

 The contract was drawn up by our solicitor.

DROP

1.       

Drop around

 Visit someone.

 We dropped around to collect the missed stuff.

2.       

Drop away

 Become smaller- amount, numbers

 The numbers of people attending began to drop away after a few months.

3.       

Drop back

 Move towards the back of a group

 The tired runner dropped back as the race went on.

4.       

Drop behind

 Move towards the back, not keep up

 I was dropped behind at school when I fell ill.

5.       

Drop by

 Pay a brief visit

 He dropped by on his way home from work.

6.       

Drop in

 Visit without having made arrangements

 I was in the area so I dropped in at the office to see her.

7.       

Drop off

 Take something and leave it

 I dropped the kids off at school on my way to work.

8.       

Drop out

 Quit a course

 She dropped out of college and went straight into a good job.

9.       

Drop over

 Visit for a short time

  I will drop over on my way back.

10.   

Drop round

 Visit someone

 We dropped round their house on our way.

11.   

Drop someone in it

 Get someone into trouble

 I really dropped him in it when I told them what he had done.

12.   

Drop through

 Come to nothing

 The big scheme he was talking about seems to have dropped through.

FALL

1.       

Fall about

 Laugh a lot

 We fell about when we heard what she had done.

2.       

Fall apart

 Break into pieces

 The box fell apart when I picked it up.

3.       

Fall back

 Retreat

 The army fell back after losing the battle.

4.       

Fall back on

 Be able to use in an emergency

 They normally fell back on one of three arguments.

5.       

Fall behind

 Make less progress

 I was ill for a week and fell behind with my work.

6.       

Fall down

 Fall on the ground

 I slipped on the ice and fell down.

7.       

Fall for

 Believe a lie or a piece of deception

 He fell for my story.

8.       

Fall in

 Collapse

 The ceiling fell in hurting a lot of people.

9.       

Fall into

 Start doing something unplanned

 I just fell into my job when an opportunity came up.

10.   

Fall off

 Decrease

 The membership fell off dramatically when the chairperson resigned.

11.   

Fall out

 Argue and be on bad terms with someone

 They fell out over the decision and hardly speak to each other any more.

12.   

Fall over

 Fall on the ground

 I slipped on the ice and fell over.

13.   

Fall through

 Be unsuccessful

 The plans fell through when planning permission was refused.

14.   

Fall under

 Become controlled

 At first he was independent, but then he fell under their influence.

FLY

1.       

Fly about

 Circulate (rumours, etc)

 The rumour has been flying about for the past week.

2.       

Fly around

 Circulate (rumours, etc)

 There are a lot of stories flying around about her past.

3.       

Fly at

 Criticise or shout angrily

  He flew at them for not trying hard enough.

4.       

Fly by

 When time appears to move quickly

 As I get older, the years just fly by.

5.       

Fly into

 Change emotion quickly

 He flew into a rage.

GET

1.       

Get about

 Visit many places

 I get about a lot with my job- last years I visited eleven countries.

2.       

Get above

 Behave as if you are better

 She has been getting above herself since she got promoted.

3.       

Get across

 Communicate successfully

 I just could not get my message across at the meeting.

4.       

Get across to

 Be convincing or make a good impression

 How can I get across to my audience?

5.       

Get after

Nag or exhort someone

 You should get after them to finish the work.

6.       

Get ahead

 Progress

 Nowadays, you need it skills if you want to get ahead.

7.       

Get ahead of

 Move in front of

 I work at home in the evening to get ahead of schedule.

8.       

Get along

 Have a good relationship

 Do not worry, we will get along without you.

9.       

Get along in

 Progress

 How are you getting along in the company?

10.   

Get along with

 Have a good relationship with someone

 How are you getting along with the training course?

11.   

Get around

 Become known

 It did not take long for the news to get around once.

12.   

Get around to

 Finally manage to do something

 It always takes me ages to get around to replying to letters.

13.   

Get at

 Criticise

 His boss is always getting at him for arriving late.

14.   

Get away

 Escape

 The robbers got away in a stolen car.

15.   

Get away from

 Start to talk about something that is not relevant to the discussion

 I think we’re getting away from the point here.

16.   

Get away with

 Not get caught

 Thieves got away with two Picassos, which were never found.

17.   

Get back

 Return

 The train was held up so we didn’t get back home until midnight.

18.   

Get back at

 Take revenge

  I will get back at her for landing me in trouble.

19.   

Get back into

 Start doing something after stopping for some time

 I am getting back into my English lessons after the summer break.

20.   

Get back to

 Respond to a contact

  I will get back to you as soon as I hear any news.

21.   

Get back together

Restart a relationship

 We split up a few months ago but got back together last week.

22.   

Get behind

 Support

 All the students got behind the teacher.

23.   

Get behind with

 Be late paying installments for something.

 If you get behind with mortgage payments, you might lose your home.

24.   

Get by

 Have just enough money to live on

Not be noticed

 They are finding it increasingly difficult to get by since their daughter was born.

25.   

Get by on

 Manage on a certain amount of money

 It is hard to get by on my salary.

26.   

Get by with

 Have enough of something to do the job

 We should be able to get by with three Pc’s, but four would be better.

27.   

Get down

 Write, record

 I couldn’t get down everything he said.

28.   

Get down on

 Criticize

 My mother used to get down on us for not doing enough homework.

29.   

Get down to

 Enjoy something a lot

 People were getting down to the concert.

30.   

Get in

 Enter a car or taxi

 The taxi pulled up and we got in.

31.   

Get in on

 Become involved

 The company tried to get in on our market.

32.   

Get in with

  Become friendly

 I tried to get in with them as I thought it would help me at work.

33.   

Get into

 Be accepted or admitted

 She did well and got into Cambridge university.

34.   

Get it

 Be punished or scolded

 If you don’t stop that right now, you’ll really get it!

35.   

Get it on

 Become involved

 The talk was dull and nobody got it on.

36.   

Get it together

 Begin a relationship

 They only get it together at the very end of the film.

37.   

Get it up

 Become aroused (of a man)

 He could not get it up and felt very embarrassed.

38.   

Get off

 Leave a bus, train, etc.

 We got off the bus and walked to my house.

39.   

Get off it

 A way of expressing disbelief

 I knew he was lying so I told him to get off it.

40.   

Get off on

 Enjoy a drug

Dave likes power – he gets off on it.

41.   

Get on

 Have a good relationship

 We have always got on well.

42.   

Get on at

 Criticize unfairly

 He is always getting on at me when I have not done anything wrong.

43.   

Get on for

 Be near a time

 It is getting on for midnight.

44.   

Get on to

 Start to suspect

It took the authorities a long time to get on to the gang.

45.   

Get on with

 Have a good relationship

 Fortunately, I get on with my boss.

46.   

Get onto

 Be elected, appointed

 He didn’t get onto the committee.

47.   

Get out

 Leave a place, escape

 The dog got out because I left the door open.

48.   

Get out of

 Leave a car, van, etc.

 We got out of the taxi and paid the driver.

49.   

Get over

 Expressing passage or trajectory across

 We could not get over the river because of the floods.

50.   

Get over with

 Do something unpleasant that has to be done

 I got the test over with rather than have to worry about it any longer.

51.   

Get round

 Become known

 I do not want this to get round, so please keep it to yourself.

52.   

Get through

 Succeed in an exam or test

 My teacher got me through the exam.

53.   

Get through to

 Contact, especially by phone

 I rang but couldn’t get through to her.

54.   

Get to

 Arrive

 When I get to it, I will look at the matter carefully.

55.   

Get together

 Meet socially

 We got together in the pub for a drink.

56.   

Get up

 Get out of bed

 I get up at seven o’clock on weekdays.

57.   

Get up to

 Get up to

 The children are always getting up to some trouble.

GIVE

1.       

Give away

 Give without asking for

 He is giving away thirty pounds to the challenger.

2.       

Give back

 Return something you’ve borrowed

 I gave the money back that she had lent to me.

3.       

Give in

 Offer or submit for judgment, approval

 They gave in their complaint to the court.

4.       

Give in to

 Allow a feeling or desire to control you

 Eventually, I gave in to my anger and screamed at them.

5.       

Give it to

 Criticize someone for something

 They really gave it to me for forgetting to turn up.

6.       

Give it up for

  Applaud

 Please give it up for our next guest.

7.       

Give of

Contribute without expecting anything in return

 He gave of his free time to help the club.

8.       

Give off

 Behave in a way that makes people think of you in a certain way

 She gives off an air of nobility.

9.       

Give onto

 Open into a place, for a door or window

 The French windows give onto the lawn.

10.   

Give out

 Emit

 The factory gives out a lot of fumes.

11.   

Give over

 Entrust, pass on responsibility

 We have given the premises over to the new company.

12.   

Give over to

 Dedicate, devote

 He gave himself over to finding his son.

13.   

Give up

 Stop doing something

 I have given up trying to help them.

14.   

Give up on

 Stop feeling hope

 I have given up on them; they never do what they promise.

15.   

Give up to

 Denounce, report to authorities

 He gave his accomplices up to the police.

16.   

Give way

 Collapse, break

 The dam gave way when the floods rose.

17.   

Give way to

 Allow a vehicle to pass in front

 You must give way to oncoming traffic.

18.   

Give yourself up

 Surrender to the police or authorities

 The gang gave themselves up last night.

19.   

Give yourself up to

 Dedicate time, energy, etc, to something

 He gave himself up to his job.

GO

1.       

Go about

 Deal with something

 How should I go about telling her the bad news?

2.       

Go across

 Move to another side or place

 He went across to the opposition.

3.       

Go after

 Chase, try to get

 The cat went after the pigeon, but it flew away.

4.       

Go against

 Lose a decision or a verdict of a court

 If the decision goes against me, I will go bankrupt.

5.       

Go ahead

 Proceed

 The project will go ahead whether you like it or not.

6.       

Go ahead with

 Proceed

 We now intend to go ahead with the final stage of the project.

7.       

Go along with

 Accompany

 I plan to go along with them as far as Los Angeles.

8.       

Go around

 Circulate

 A rumour is going around about the attorney general.

9.       

Go at

  Attack or approach something with vigour

 She went at her dinner like she had not eaten for days.

10.   

Go away

 Leave a place or disappear

 This drug should make the pain go away.

11.   

Go back

Return to, start doing something again

We went back to work after the break.

12.   

Go back on

 Break a promise

 The government has gone back on its promises.

13.   

Go before

 Precede

 We can not ignore what has gone before.

14.   

Go below

 Leave the top deck of a ship

 The captain told them to go below when the storm started.

15.   

Go by

 The passing of time

 Ten years went by before we saw each other again.

16.   

Go down

 Decrease

 The price of scanners has gone down recently.

17.   

Go down to

 Be defeated

 Chelsea went down to arsenal in a thrilling game.

18.   

Go down with

Fall ill

 She went down with a virus.

19.   

Go for

 Try to get

 The player went for the ball but missed.

20.   

Go for it

 Be assertive and ready to initiate action.

 They wanted to score a try or two more and they went for it..

21.   

Go forth

 Leave a place

 He went forth and found a wife in another city.

22.   

Go forward

 Progress

 The top three teams will go forward to the next round.

23.   

Go in

 Go to hospital for treatment

 He went in for a triple bypass operation two days ago.

24.   

Go in for

 Like, have an interest in

 He goes in for classical music.

25.   

Go in with

 Join, enter

 Ask the other to go in with them on the plan.

26.   

Go into

 Enter a profession

 She went into banking after she had finished university.

27.   

Go it

 Behave in a reckless way

 Shouting at the boss like that is going it.

28.   

Go it alone

 Do something without help

 He prefers to go it alone rather then working with the team.

29.   

Go off

 Stop working (electric/electronic equipment)

 The lights go off automatically when the office is empty.

30.   

Go off with

 Steal

 He went off with my credit cards.

31.   

Go on

 Continue

 He went on talking and I was so bored.

32.   

Go on about

 Talk too much

 The alarm goes on when you close the front door.

33.   

Go on at

 Try to make someone do something by repeatedly asking or suggesting

 He went on at his parents until they bought him the game.

34.   

Go on to

 Proceed

 We had dinner and went on to a few bars.

35.   

Go on with

 Continue doing

 Please go on with your work.

36.   

Go out

 Stop burning

 The candle went out and left us in darkness.

37.   

Go out for

 Become a candidate

 She went out for a place on the team.

38.   

Go out to

 Feel sympathy with someone

 Our condolences go out to all the families who suffered the loss.

39.   

Go over

 Be approved 

 My plans went over well.

40.   

Go over to

 Go on a journey

 I am going over to Hong Kong next month.

41.   

Go past

 Pass without stopping

 She went past me without saying hello.

42.   

Go round

 Visit

 I went round last night to see them.

43.   

Go through

 Read again

 I went through my notes before the exam.

44.   

Go through with

 complete something you’ve agreed to

 He did promise, but I doubt that he will go through with it.

45.   

Go to

 Allocate money

 About half of my income goes to pay the mortgage.

46.   

Go together

 Harmonize or be compatible

 Drinking and driving do not go together.

47.   

Go towards

 Contribute

 The money went towards my university fees.

48.   

Go under

 Sink

 The ship went under in a heavy storm.

49.   

Go up

 Be heard

 A huge cheer went up when the president arrived.

50.   

Go up to

 Approach

 She went up to him and asked him if he wanted a drink.

51.   

Go with

 Accept, agree to

 We are going with our original plan in the end.

52.   

Go without

 Not have

 I had to go without lunch today because I did not have any time.

GROW

1.       

Grow apart

 Become distant

 He and his wife had been growing apart for at least a year.

2.       

Grow away from

 Become less friendly with

 Having expressed all your pain you grow away from it.

3.       

Grow back

 Grow again

 Nails grow back quickly after you cut them.

4.       

Grow from

 Result from a process

 A lot grew from the peace talks.

5.       

Grow into

 Mature or change into

 She has grown into a lovely person.

6.       

Grow on/upon

 Become gradually more evident

 A feeling of distrust of them grew on me.

7.       

Grow out of

 Grow too large for clothes

 He grew out of those shoes in no time at all.

8.       

Grow to

 Eventually do something

 We grew to like the neighborhood.

9.       

Grow together

 Gradually become united

 We grew together while we were working on the same project.

10.   

Grow up

 Mature, become adult

 He was grown up in the west country.

11.   

Grow up on

 Do or have something when you are a child

 We grew up on cartoons.

HAVE

1.       

Have against

 Dislike

 I have nothing against their proposals.

2.       

Have around

 Entertain someone in your home

 I had the neighbours around for dinner last night.

3.       

Have down as

 Think of someone or something in a particular way

 I had her down as a liberal, but I was very wrong.

4.       

Have in

 Get someone to do some work

 We had the decorators in last week.

5.       

Have it in for

 Hold a grudge

 He has had it in for me since I beat him last year.

6.       

Have it out with

 Discuss an issue to improve a situation

 I had been worried for ages, so I decided to have it out with them.

7.       

Have off

 Take time off work

 I had a couple of days off last week to relax.

8.       

Have on

 Be wearing

 What did Jennie have on at the party?

9.       

Have over

 Receive a guest

 Shall we have them over for dinner?

10.   

Have round

 Entertain someone in your home

 I had a few friends round yesterday.

11.   

Have up

 Make someone appear in court

 They had him up for armed robbery.

HOLD

1.       

Hold against

 Have a grudge against someone

 He was very rude, but I won’t hold it against him.

2.       

Hold back

 Not show emotion

 It was really hard to hold back the tears.

3.       

Hold back from

 Not allow yourself to do something

 I had to hold back from losing my temper with them.

4.       

Hold down

 Stop someone from moving

 It took four of us to hold him down and stop the fight.

5.       

Hold forth

 State your opinions about something

 The manager held forth on the topic for about twenty minutes.

6.       

Hold off

 Stop someone from attacking

 Chelsea couldn’t hold their opponents off and lost the game.

7.       

Hold on

 Wait

 Hold on a minute, I will be right back!.

8.       

Hold on to

 Keep

 The industry is trying to hold on to experienced staff.

9.       

Hold onto

 Hold tightly

   The mother held onto her daughter’s hand to keep together in the crowd.

10.   

Hold out

 Resist

 British troops held out against constant attacks

11.   

Hold out against

 Try to reject

 The staff is holding out against the plans to reduce the workforce.

12.   

Hold out for

 Wait for something better

 We are holding out for a much better deal than the one offered.

13.   

Hold out on

 refuse to give something

 He is holding out on vital information that we trusted him with.

14.   

Hold over

 Delay

 The meeting has been held over till Friday.

15.   

Hold to

 Oblige or force someone to carry out an obligation

 They’re holding us to all the terms of the contract.

16.   

Hold together

 Not break up

 The society managed to hold together despite the crisis.

17.   

Hold up

 Delay when travelling

 I was held up by the terrible traffic and got late for office.

18.   

Hold with

 Accept (usually negative)

 I do not hold with their plans.

KEEP

1.       

Keep around

 Keep something near you

 I keep a dictionary around when I am doing my homework.

2.       

Keep at

 Continue with something difficult

 She found the course hard but she kept at it.

3.       

Keep away

 Don’t allow someone near something

 Medicines should always be kept away from children.

4.       

Keep back

 Maintain a safe distance

 The police told the crowd to keep back from the fire.

5.       

Keep down

 Not vomit

 The food was so horrible that I struggled to keep it down.

6.       

Keep from

 Control yourself, refrain

 I could not keep from arguing with her.

7.       

Keep in

 Not allow someone out

 The teacher kept the students in after school.

8.       

Keep in with

 Maintain good relations

 I like to keep in with the school inspectors.

9.       

Keep off

 Not talk about

 She kept off the subject of her divorce.

 Keep off the grass in the park, please.

10.   

Keep on

 Continue

 He kept on trying and succeeded in the end.

11.   

Keep out

 Not allow someone to enter

 The police kept the demonstrators out of the building.

12.   

Keep to

 Stay within limits

 Please keep to the path.

13.   

Keep up

 Not let someone go to bed

 My neighbours kept me up till after 4 am with their loud music last night.

14.   

Keep up at

Continue, not quit

 You must keep up at trying to succeed in life.

15.   

Keep up with

 Stay up to date

 It is hard to keep up with all the latest improvements.

KICK

1.       

Kick about

 Discuss

 We kicked the idea about at the meeting.

2.       

Kick around

 Discuss

 We kicked the idea around.

3.       

Kick around with

 Spend time with

 I used to kick around with them.

4.       

Kick back

 Resist

 They kicked back when we suggested downsizing.

5.       

Kick down

 Break something with your feet

 The police kicked the door down.

6.       

Kick in

 Break something with your feet

 They kicked his head in.

7.       

Kick off

 Die

 He kicked off last month when he had a massive heart attack.

8.       

Kick out

 Expel

 The teacher kicked the naughty student out.

9.       

Kick up

 Cause trouble or pain

 My back kicks up when it gets cold.

KNOCK

1.       

Knock about

 Beat someone

 He knocked his brother about after they argued.

2.       

Knock around

 Discuss casually

 We knocked the idea around a bit, but decided not to bother.

3.       

Knock back

 Cost someone a lot of money

 Your holiday must have knocked you back a bit.

4.       

Knock down

   Hit and injure someone

 The car knocked her down and she broke her arm.

5.       

Knock off

 Steal

 He knocked it off and sold it.

6.       

Knock out

 Hit and make somebody unconscious

 The champion knocked out the challenger in first round.

7.       

Knock over

 Rob

 The gang knocked over a betting office yesterday afternoon.

8.       

Knock together

 Join houses that had been separate

 They knocked together two outbuildings and turned them into a home.

9.       

Knock up

 Play a bit before a match to get ready

 The teams knocked up for a few minutes before the final.

LAY

1.       

Lay down

 Kill, murder

 He got laid down in a turf war about supplying drugs.

2.       

Lay into

 Criticize angrily

 His partner laid into him when he arrived two hours late.

3.       

Lay off

 Make an employee redundant

 The hotel lay off twenty staff because tourist numbers were down.

4.       

Lay on

 Organize, supply

 They lay on a buffet lunch at the conference.

5.       

Lay out

 Spend money

 They laid out thousands of pounds on their wedding reception.

LET

1.       

Let down

 Disappoint

 She failed to turn up and I felt badly let down.

2.       

Let in

 Allow someone to enter

 The door staff did not let him in the nightclub.

3.       

Let in on

 Tell someone a secret

 They let me in on what they were planning.

4.       

Let off

 Not punish

 The judge let him off with a fine rather than a prison sentence.

5.       

Let on

 Tell a secret

 She knows a lot more than she lets on.

6.       

Let out

 Make a sound

 He let out a huge sigh of relief when he heard the results.

LIVE

1.       

Live by

 Follow a belief system to guide your behaviour

 He tries hard to live by the Bible.

2.       

Live down

 Stop being embarrassed about something

 If I fail the test, I will never be able to live it down.

3.       

Live for

 Believe something is extremely important

 He lives for football.

4.       

Live in

 Live in the place where you work or study.

 The university has a residential halls where students can live in.

5.       

Live it up

 Have a good time by spending a lot of money

 She has been living it up like crazy since she won the lottery.

6.       

Live off

 Use money earned

 They find it hard to live off the money they make.

7.       

Live on

 Use money for basic necessities

 They have to live on $200 a week.

8.       

Live out

 Fulfill an ambition or fantasy

 Many parents try to live out their dreams through their children.

9.       

Live through

 Experience different times

 It was hard to live through the recession, but we managed it.

10.   

Live together

 Have a relationship

 We lived together for a few years before we got married.

11.   

Live up to

 Meet expectations

 The concert did not live up to my expectations.

12.   

Live with

 Accept something unpleasant

 It is hard to live with the pain of a serious illness.

LOOK

1.       

Look after

 Take care

 We care for and look after all our customers.

2.       

Look back

 Think about the past

 Old people often look back on over their lives.

3.       

Look down on

 Have a low opinion of

 He looks down on his colleagues because he thinks he is better than they are.

4.       

Look for

 Try to find

 I have been looking for all their hidden files, but I cannot find them anywhere.

5.       

Look forward to

 Anticipate something pleasant

 We look forward to seeing you.

6.       

Look in

 Make a quick visit

  I will look in on my way home.

7.       

Look in on

 Visit briefly to see if everything’s all right

 I will look in on you tomorrow.

8.       

Look into

 Research, investigate

 The police looked into his business dealings.

9.       

Look on

 Watch something like a crime without helping

 The crowd just looked on as the old lady was mugged.

10.   

Look on as

 Consider, regard

 I look on her as a close friend.

11.   

Look out

 Be careful

 Look out; you are going to drop that!

12.   

Look out for

 Take care of someone

 She looked out for her sister when she started school.

13.   

Look over

 Inspect

 They came to look the house over with a view to buying it.

14.   

Look round

 Inspect a house

 We looked round the house with a view to buying it.

15.   

Look through

 Read quickly

 I looked through the article.

16.   

Look to

 Expect, hope

 The company is looking to increase its sales in Asia.

17.   

Look up

 Consult a reference work

 I did not know the correct spelling so I had to look it up in the dictionary.

18.   

Look up to

 Respect

 She’s looks up to her mother.

19.   

Look upon as

 Consider, regard

 I look upon him as a close friend.

MAKE

1.       

Make after

 Chase

 The police made after the stolen car.

2.       

Make away with

 Steal

 The thieves made away with the painting.

3.       

Make do with

 Accept something less satisfactory because there’s no alternative

 There is no coffee, so we will have to make do with tea.

4.       

Make for

 Head in a certain direction

 We made for home when it started raining.

5.       

Make into

 Change something into something else

 Many churches have been made into flats in recent years.

6.       

Make it

 Arrive or get a result

 I thought you were not coming, so I was really pleased you made it.

7.       

Make it up to

 Try to compensate for doing something wrong

 He tried to make it up to her.

8.       

Make of

 Understand or have an opinion

 What do you make of your new boss?

9.       

Make off

 Leave somewhere in a hurry

 They made off when they heard the police siren.

10.   

Make off with

 Steal

 Thieves made off with over a million dollars in the robbery.

11.   

Make out

 Progress

 How are your children making out at the new school?

12.   

Make over

 Change appearance

 The beauty salon gave her a makeover before the party.

13.   

Make towards

 Head in the direction

 We made towards the centre.

14.   

Make up

 Invent a story

 They made up an excuse for being late.

15.   

Make up for

 Compensate

 I sent her a present to try to make up for my mistake.

16.   

Make up to

 Attempt to win the favour

 I bet she was making up to the master.

17.   

Make with

 Give (usually used as an imperative)

 Make with the money you owe me.

MOVE

1.       

Move ahead

 Make progress

 The construction can move ahead now as permission has been granted.

2.       

Move along

 Tell someone to move from a place

 The police told the people watching to move along.

3.       

Move away

 Leave the area

 I moved away when the factory shut down.

4.       

Move away from

 Stop doing or using something

 They are moving away from Windows and are using Linux.

5.       

Move down

 Move a student to a lower level

 He was finding the course too difficult so they moved him down.

6.       

Move in

 Start living in a place

 When I first moved in, I painted everything green.

7.       

Move in on

 Approach, often stealthily

 As he watched, the hyenas began to move in on the hapless wildebeest.

8.       

Move into

 Start living in a place

 They moved into the house as soon as it was ready.

9.       

Move on

 Make people move from a place

 The police ordered them to move on.

10.   

Move out

Leave a place you live or work in

 She is tired of living there and is moving out.

11.   

Move towards

 Make preparations for something

 The government is moving towards free elections.

12.   

Move up

 Move to make space

 Could you move up and let me sit down?

PASS

1.       

Pass around

 Give out to everybody there

 The teacher passed the handout around.

2.       

Pass as

 Be believed to be something

 Although not qualified, he managed to pass as a doctor for years.

3.       

Pass away

 Die

 Sadly, Georgia’s uncle passed away after a short illness.

4.       

Pass back

 Return

 I felt awful when the teacher started to pass back the exam papers.

5.       

Pass by

 Go past without stopping

 I was just passing by when I saw the accident.

6.       

Pass down

 Transmit information

 The tales were passed down for centuries without changing any of the words.

7.       

Pass for

 Be accepted

 He could pass for a native of Sweden.

8.       

Pass off

 Happen in a certain way

 The demonstration passed off peacefully.

9.       

Pass on

 Die

 Her husband passed on last year.

10.   

Pass on to

 Change topic or subject

 Let’s pass on to the next item on the agenda.

11.   

Pass out

 Distribute

 The protesters passed out leaflets to the growing crowd.

12.   

Pass over

 Ignore, refuse to discuss

 Let’s pass over what they said and get on.

13.   

Pass round

 Distribute, give to people present

 They passed round copies of the handbook.

14.   

Pass through

 Visit a place without stopping or only stopping briefly

 I did not see much as I was only passing through the town.

15.   

Pass to

Become owner of or responsible for something

The property will pass to her when they die.

16.   

Pass up

 Decline a chance

 He passed up a career in pro baseball.

PAY

1.       

Pay back

 Take revenge on

 I am going to pay him back for that insult.

2.       

Pay down

 Pay a debt over time

 The British government cannot pay down the national debt.

3.       

Pay for

 Purchase

 I paid twenty pounds for the book.

4.       

Pay into

 Deposit money

 I paid the cash into my account.

5.       

Pay off

 Completely repay a debt

 The mortgage will be paid off in twenty-five years.

PICK

1.       

Pick apart

 Criticize, find fault

 The critics picked the film apart.

2.       

Pick at

 Eat unwillingly

 I was not very hungry so I just picked at my food.

3.       

Pick off

 Target individuals to change a group

 There were many rebels against the policy, but the government picked off the leaders.

4.       

Pick on

 Bother, annoy, criticize

 My friends always pick on me because I do not sing well.

5.       

Pick out

 Choose

 She picked out the ones she wanted to take and left the rest.

6.       

Pick through

 Search something that is disordered for something

 The police have been picking through the wreckage for clues.

7.       

Pick up

 Improve

 Sales picked up a bit during the Christmas period.

8.       

Pick up after

 Tidy a mess someone else has made

 I always have to pick up after him because he leaves things all over the office.

9.       

Pick up on

 React to something

 He is very quick to pick up on new trends.

10.   

Pick yourself up

 Recover from a fall or problem

 It took him a long time to pick himself up after his wife left him.

PLAY

1.       

Play along

 Pretend to agree

 She had to play along and be polite.

2.       

Play around

 Be silly

 You should not play around with a child’s future.

3.       

Play at

 Pretend to be something

 He just plays at being a lawyer- he never wins a case.

4.       

Play back

 Listen to or watch something you’ve recorded

 We played the recording back to see if it was ok.

5.       

Play down

 Try to make something seem less important

 The government has tried to play down the importance of the minister’s resignation.

6.       

Play off

 Make people compete against each other so that you benefit

 He played them off against each other to get the best deal.

7.       

Play on

Continue playing a sport though there might be a reason to stop

 It looked like a foul, but the referee told them to play on.

8.       

Play out

 Progress, often till it finishes

 Let’s see how things play out.

9.       

Play up

 Behave badly

 His phone line was constantly playing up.

10.   

Play up to

 Flatter someone

 I am playing up to my boss at the moment because I want the promotion.

11.   

Play upon

 Exploit a weakness

 They are playing upon people’s concerns to get their way.

12.   

Play with

 Touch and move something to occupy your hands

 He can’t stop playing with his beard.

PULL

1.       

Pull ahead

 Overtake, move in front

 The lorry was going slowly but we managed to pull ahead.

2.       

Pull apart

 Destroy an argument, theory, etc

 My tutor pulled my essay apart.

3.       

Pull away

 When a vehicle moves from a place

 The car pulled away from the lights at high speed.

4.       

Pull back

 Decide not to do something

 They pulled back from the deal.

5.       

Pull down

 Make someone depressed

 Losing her job pulled her down.

6.       

Pull for

 Support

 Who will you be pulling for in the final?

7.       

Pull in

 Arrest

 The police pulled them in after the trouble.

8.       

Pull off

  Start moving (vehicles)

 When the lights turned green, the car pulled off.

9.       

Pull on

 Put clothes on

 I pulled on a jumper when the sun went in.

10.   

Pull out

 Remove soldiers from an area

 People want the government to pull the troops out.

11.   

Pull over

 Stop by the side of the road

 The police pulled the car over.

12.   

Pull through

 Recover from illness or problem

 The illness is difficult to overcome, but we hope she will pull through.

13.   

Pull to

 Close a door or window that has been left open

 Could you pull the door to, please?

14.   

Pull together

 Work together as a team

 If we all pull together, we will have it finished in no time.

15.   

Pull up

 Slow and stop a car

 The cab pulled up outside my house and I got out.

16.   

Pull yourself together

 Regain control of your emotions

 He was so angry that he could not pull himself together.

PUT

1.       

Put across

 Communicate

  Our group must put across its views and gain popular support.

2.       

Put away

 Put someone in prison

 The judge put him away for ten years for robbery.

3.       

Put back

 Put something back in the correct place

 Greater public control may put back the modernization of the industry.

4.       

Put by

 Save for the future

 I try to put some money by every month towards our summer holiday.

5.       

Put down

 Kill an animal because it’s old, ill, etc.

 He had his dog put down because it was in a lot of pain from its tumors.

6.       

Put down for

 Enter someone’s name on a list

 He put his son down for Eton.

7.       

Put down to

 Attribute something to

 If I forget anything, put it down to old age.

8.       

Put forward

 Propose, suggest or nominate

 She put forward a plan to cut costs.

9.       

Put in

  Interrupt in a conversation or discussion

 But you are a villain, Roger,’ put in Isobel.

10.   

Put in for

 Make a request

 He put in for a transfer to the new branch.

11.   

Put off

 Postpone

 The concert has been put off until next month.

12.   

Put on

 Get fat

 He has put on a lot of weight since he gave up smoking.

13.   

Put out

 Extinguish a cigarette, fire, etc.

 He put out his cigarette before entering the building.

14.   

Put over

 Successfully execute

 They put over a clever practical joke on us.

15.   

Put through

 Connect someone by phone

 Could you put me through to extension 259 please?

16.   

Put together

 Assemble

 I put together the bookcase I bought at Hyper Star.

17.   

Put towards

 Make a financial contribution

 She put $200 towards the cost of the repairs.

18.   

Put up

 Stay temporarily in accommodation other than one’s own home

 we put up at a hotel in the city centre.

19.   

Put up to

 Encourage someone to do something

 His friends put him up to stealing it.

20.   

Put up with

 Tolerate

 I can’t put up with my neighbour’s noise.

RUN

1.       

Run across

 Meet or find accidentally