Phrasal Verbs Unleashed: Types and Dynamic Examples

Phrasal verbs are groups of words used as a verb. These groups must contain either a verb or an adverb or a preposition (sometimes both). They form a complete semantic unit because the words that make up a phrasal verb together describe an action.

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Consider the following sentences:

I ran into my first-grade teacher.

Here the verb “run” does not make sense on its own; it requires the preposition “into” to function in its intended meaning. To “run into” someone means that you meet them by chance or unexpectedly.

We made plans to hang out with her at the beach this weekend.

Samething here, with the verb “hang” which does not make sense on its own;but with the particle “out” it completes its intended meaning. To “hang out” with someone means that you spend time together.

Notice that phrasal verbs are used in a sentence just like normal verbs. They simply require the combination to make meaning, as each word has a separate (and very different) meaning if used alone.

Types of Phrasal Verbs

1. Prepositional Verbs (verb + preposition)

If the verb is combined with a preposition, we call this a prepositional verb. Below, each phrasal verb combination is in bold.

My cousin is looking after the kids on Saturday.
Will you stand by me even if I make a bad decision?
Andrea ran into her old friend at the movie theatre.
Your son really takes after his father!
Because of his age, Andrew passes for a high school student.
Andy refused to go to school after he was picked on by a bully.

2. Particle Verbs (verb + particle)

If the verb is combined with a particle that does not function as a preposition (since it has no complement), we call this a prepositional verb. Below, each phrasal verb combination is in bold.

Do you want to hang out on Sunday afternoon?
On Fridays, we are allowed to dress down at work and wear jeans.
Before you invest in a house, you really should think it over.
Did Angela hand in her homework?
After much persuasion, she decided to give in.
Did you bring up how delicious her cookies were?

3. Particle-Prepositional verbs (verb + particle + preposition)

If the verb is combined with both a particle and a preposition, we call this a partical-prepositional verb. Below, each phrasal verb combination is in bold.

We are looking forward to going camping this weekend.
Before the hurricane, we loaded up on bottled water.
Why does she put up with him?
My partner has been sitting in for me at the meetings.

List of Phrasal Verbs and Their Meanings (with Examples)

Phrasal verbs can be confusing to people learning English precisely because the combination of words changes the meaning of the verb completely, often in ways that mean something entirely unexpected.

Below we list some common phrasal verbs with their meanings, along with an example of each, to help you understand their usage.

Phrasal Verbs	Explanations	Examples
abide by	respect or obey a rule, decision, or law	If you want to join this club, you will have to abide by the rules.
account for	explain, give a reason	The thief was unable to account for his whereabouts at the time of the bank robbery.
add up	make sense, seem reasonable	The lawyer argued that the facts just didn’t add up.
advise against	recommend not doing something	He advised me against parking too close to the other car.
agree with	have the same opinion as someone else	Juan didn’t agree that it was time to find another job.
allow for	take into consideration	Many people take extra time when traveling to allow for unexpected events.
appeal to	be attractive or interesting	The idea of skydiving just doesn’t appeal to me.
apply for	make a formal request for something	Ashley is applying for university this summer.
back away	move backwards, in fear or dislike	When they saw the snake, they backed away slowly.
back down	withdraw, concede defeat	The governor backed down on his threat to close restaurants.
back down	withdraw, concede defeat	The governor backed down on his threat to close restaurants.
back up	make a copy of	Always back up your work when you are writing!
back up	make a copy of	Always back up your work when you are writing!
bank on	base your hopes on something / someone	Arturo was banking on getting an extra day off this weekend.
black out	faint, lose consciousness	She was feeling ill and then she suddenly blacked out in the kitchen.
black off	separate using a barrier	They blocked off the construction site for safety reasons.
blow up	explode, or to get angry	He blew up when he saw all the damage to his car.
boil down to	be summarized as	The final decision boils down to who has more money.
break away	separate from a crowd	We watched as one of the whales broke away and swam the other direction
break down	go out of order, cease to function; lose control of one’s emotions	She broke down when she heard the news.
break into	enter by force	I can’t believe someone broke into your apartment last night!
break out	start suddenly	A protest broke out after the election results arrived
break out of	escape from a place by force	The criminals were able to break out of policy custody.
break up	come to an end of a marriage, relationship	Danielle and her boyfriend broke up after 5 years together.
bring up	raise a child	Were you brought up in the United States or another country?
brush up on	improve, refresh one’s knowledge of something	I will brush up on my Spanish skills before traveling to the Dominican Republic.
bump into	meet by chance or unexpectedly	I bumped into our old neighbors at the grocery store.
burn out	become exhausted from over-working	This semester has been so much work. Everyone is feeling burnt out!
call back	return a phone call	Please have the doctor call me back at his earliest convenience.
call off	cancel	The race was called off at the last minute because of the weather.
calm down	become more relaxed, less angry or upset	She was able to calm down after she learned everyone was alright.
carry on	continue	Melanie carried on working despite the fact that the electricity went out.
carry out	do something as specified	The soldiers carried out their orders.
check in	register arrival at a hotel or airport	Were you able to check in at the hotel when you arrived?
check out	investigate	I’ll need to check out that information for myself.
clam up	unable to speak	When the famous actor asked her name, she clammed up./td>
clamp down on	act strictly to prevent something	After the protests, the governments tarted clamping down on large gatherings.
come across	find by chance; appear, seem, make an impression	When I was moving, I came across an old diary.
come forward	present oneself	o Will the person responsible for the damage please come forward?
count on	rely or depend on for help	o You can always count on friends in times of need.
cut down on	reduce in number or size	o My mother decided to cut down the amount of sugar in her diet.
cut out	stop doing something	That sound is annoying. Please cut it out!
deal with	handle, take care of problem, situation	Sometimes it’s important to take a break to deal with stress at work.
die down	calm down, become less strong	After the storm died down, it was clear there was a lot of damage
do without	manage without	If there is not enough money for a vacation this summer, we will have to do without.
drag on	last longer than expected	o That lecture was interesting, but it sure did drag on!
draw up	write (contract, agreement, document	The lawyers drew up a contract to finalize the sale of the property.
dress up	wear elegant clothes	Normally we don’t dress up unless we are going to a fancy dinner party.
drop in	visit, usually on the way somewhere	My brother was in town, so he decided to drop in for the weekend.
drop off	deliver someone or something	I’ll swing by and drop off the package later this afternoon.
drop out	leave school without finishing	Anthony dropped out of college because he lost interest.
ease off	reduce, become less severe or slow down	The weekday traffic eases off after 9am.
end up	finally reach a state, place or action	She ended up studying education instead of biology.
fall through	fail; doesn’t happen	Our plans for this evening fell through so we will reschedule.
figure out	understand, find the answer	They are trying to figure out how they can travel to the mountains and the beach this summer.
fill out	complete a form/an application	After you fill out the application, we will let you know if you are suitable for the position.
find out	discover or obtain information	She is going to find out what you did and be very angry.
focus on	concentrate on something	I’m going to take a break and focus on this other task instead.
get along (with)	be on good terms; work well with	Martha seems to get along with everyone in her class.
get at	imply	I told him it’s not my fault. What is he trying to get at?
get away	escape	They are planning to drive north and get away for the weekend.
get by	manage to cope or to survive	It’s hard to get by unless your job pays well enough.
get in	enter	What time will you get in this evening?
get off	leave or exit a bus, train, plane	You should get off the bus at the last stop.
get on	board bus, train, or plane	I just got on the train to New York City.
get on with (something)	continue to do; make progress	They need to cut their losses and get on with their lives.
get on (well) with (somebody)	have a good relationship with	My boyfriend seems to get on well with my parents.
get out	leave	She wanted to get out of the city and explore nature.
get out of	avoid doing something	He is trying to get out of doing his weekly chores again!
get over	recover from illness, disappointment	Many people who were sick with the virus were able to get over it in a few weeks.
get rid of	eliminate	She had to get rid of her old car after it broke down for the tenth time.
get together	meet each other	Let’s plan to get together and talk more this afternoon.
get up	rise, leave bed	I don’t like to get up too early in the morning.
give in	cease opposition, yield	The policy will never give in to the kidnapper’s demands.
give up	stop doing something	He gave up his dreams to become a world champion after the injury.
go through	experience	Elizabeth went through a lot after her father died.
grow up	spend one’s childhood; develop; become an adult	Did you grow up in Paris or in the countryside?
hand in	submit report, homework	Anthony handed in his report two days late.
hand out	distribute	I asked her to hand out masks to all the residents.
hang out	spend time in a particular place or with a group of friends	Are we all going to hang out this weekend or not?
hang up	end phone call	I’ll send you the meeting agenda as soon as I hang up.
hold on	wait, grip tightly	They asked us to hold on until the manger returned.
hurry up	be quick, act speedily	If she hurries up we will have time to get coffee before the meeting.
iron out	resolve by discussion, eliminate differences	They were able to iron out the final details of the business deal.
join in	participate	They wouldn’t allow Andrew to join in their football match.
join up	engage in, become a member of; meet and unite with	Can we join up at the beach later?
keep on	continue doing something	He keeps on playing the same song over and over.
keep up with	stay at the same level as someone or something	Do you keep up with events in China?
kick off	begin, start	The planned a large kick-off event for the summer.
leave out	omit, not mention	He left out the fact that I did all the work.
let down	disappoint	I’m sorry to let you down but I was unable to buy the cake you requested.
look after	take care of	Will you look after my pets while I’m away this weekend?
look down on	consider as inferior	Martin always looks down on people who have less education than he does.
look on	be a spectator at an event	You are welcome to look on until you are ready to play football with us.
look for	try to find something	They went to the city to look for some new clothes.
look forward to	await or anticipate with pleasure	I’m looking forward to our vacation to Turkey this summer.
look up to	admire	She really looked up to her grandfather.
make fun of	laugh at/ make jokes about	Are you making fun of me because I stumbled?
make up	invent excuse, story	Devin made up an excuse to not attend the party.
mix up	mistake one thing or person for another	Those two actors looks very similar, so I keep mixing them up.
move in	arrive in a new home or office	The Andersons just moved into the empty house next door.
move out	leave your home/office for another one	She will be moving out of her apartment at the end of the semester.
nod off	fall asleep	I always nod off after the evening news comes on.
own up	admit or confess something	She owned up to knowing the secret all along.
pass away	die	His aunt passed away peacefully in her sleep last night.
pass out	faint	She turned white and looked like she was ready to pass out.
pay back	reimburse	My brother still hasn’t paid me back the $20 I gave him last week.
put off	postpone, arrange a later date	I have been putting off this dentist appointment for a long time.
put out	extinguish	The fire was put out immediate when the fire department arrived.
put up	accommodate, give somebody a bed	They said they can put me up for the weekend when I am in town.
pick up	collect somebody	She’s going to swing by and pick me up at 8am.
point out	indicate/direct attention to something	She pointed out that the house down the street was for sale.
rely on	count on, depend on, trust	Elizabeth is a friend you can always rely on when you need help.
rule out	eliminate	They ruled out all of suspects in the crime except one.
run away	escape from a place or suddenly leave	The dog ran away from home and now everyone is searching for him.
run into	meet by accident or unexpectedly	I ran into an old friend the other day.
run out of	have no more of something	Our neighbor came by because she had run out of sugar.
set off	start a journey	They set off on a new adventure.
set up	start a business	The couple set up their own restaurant down the street.
shop around	compare prices	Before you buy your plane, ticket be sure to shop around for the best price.
show off	brag or want to be admired	He drove around town to show off his new car.
show up	appear/arrive	Anton didn’t show up for work this morning.
shut up (impolite)	stop talking	I wish they would shut up, as they are ruining the movie for me.
sit down	take a seat	Please ask her to sit down and wait for her turn.
stand up	rise from a sitting position	Everyone stood up when the King entered the hall.
stick up for	defend	His brother always sticks up for him when there are fights on the playground.
take after	resemble, in appearance or character	Their new baby really takes after his mother!
take care of	look after	I asked her to take care of my plants when I go on vacation.
take off	leave the ground	Now that everyone was aboard, the plane is ready to take off.
take on	hire or engage staff	The restaurant will take on twenty new employees.
take out	remove, extract	I asked him politely to take out the trash.
tell off	reprimand or criticize severely	She told off the man for stepping in front of her in the bank line.
think over	to consider	The prime minister will think over the offer before she makes a final decision.
try on	wear something to see if it fits	Tom will need to try on the shirt to make sure it is the right size.
turn down	refuse	I offered to help clean up the mess, but he turned me down.
use up	finish a product to the end	My husband used up all the tea, so we need to stop by the store.
watch out	be careful	Please watch out when driving home in the rain.
wear out	become unusable or become very tired	Everyone was worn out after a long day hiking the mountain.
work out	do physical exercise; find a solution or calculate something	Aaron works out five times a week.
wipe off	To clean	The teacher wiped off the chalkboard after the lesson was over.