Phrasal Verb Flashcards
to admire someone
to look up to
I really look up to my parents.
to invite somebody to your house
to have sb. over
I’m having a few mates over later.
to rely on somebody for support
to count on
I know I can count on you
to support or defend someone or something
to stick up for
Thank you for sticking up for me.
to make a short visit somewhere, often to go to someone’s house unannounced
to drop in/by/round
I’m going to drop in to see Olivia later.
to meet someone without having planned to
to run into
I ran into Jill in the supermarket
to arrive somewhere you are expected
to show up
Sally never shows up on time
to have a good relationship with someone
to get along with
I get along well with my brother’s friends
to cause an argument between people
to come between
My friend Amy got a new boyfriend who ended up coming between us
to gradually stop having a close relationship with someone
to grow apart
We were best friends at school but we grew apart when we left
to talk to someone you haven’t seen for some time and to tell them your news
to catch up
It was lovely to catch up! t was lovely to catch up with you.
to arrange for people to meet so they might start a romantic relationship
to fix sb. up
I tried to fix Kara and Ben up but they didn’t like each other
to live in a place other than the place mentioned
to live out of
In the second year, I chose to live out of halls in a shared house.
to fill or use an amount of space or time
to get taken up
After my son was born, my schedule got taken up with changing nappies
to have an argument with somebody so that you are no longer friendly with them
to fall out
They fell out over something really silly
to develop in a successful way
to work out
Things have worked out quite well for us
to start
to come in
When the new laws came in about smoking, the whole bar scene changed her
to try very hard to get something or to achieve something
to fight for
We fought for years before we got the recognition we deserved
to continue studying, working, etc. somewhere for longer than expected or after other people have left
to stay on
She failed her exam, and had to stay on at school for another year
in a direct way; immediately
to go straight into
She went straight from college into a top job
to leave a place, especially in order to do something
to go off
After finishing secondary school, many of us went off to university
to move or travel through something in order to get to another place
to pass through
To get to the church, you’ll need to pass through that field and turn le
to appear suddenly or quickly
to pop up
A lot of new restaurants started popping up around here when the develop
to encourage somebody to do something
to spur on
His first novel winning an award spurred him on to publish more books
to be dressed in a very fancy way, often for a special occasion
to be decked out
Leo and I got all decked out for the party.
to suddenly be affected by a bad feeling or problem on your skin
to break out
Her face broke out in a rash
to improve something by changing or adding to it slightly
to touch up
She was busy touching up her make-up in the mirror.
to succeed in doing something that most people would find difficult
to carry off
She’s had her hair cut really short, but she can carry it off
to do something and not be punished or criticised for it
to get away with
She was rude to the teacher, but she got away with it
to leave quickly or quietly for a short period of time; usually to do something
to nip away
Excuse me while I nip away for a short while.I need to make a phone call
to be released or allowed to be free
to come out of
After he came out of prison, he completely turned his life around
not up to date
to be behind (at times)
Now that I’m a bit older, I always feel behind the latest trends
to learn about or be aware of the news, current events, etc.
to keep up with
She likes to keep up with the latest fashions
a new or a different situation is about to begin
on the brink of somenthing
to become more lively or active
to perk up
Paula is napping right now to perk up for her football game later
to help somebody, especially in a difficult situation
to help out
He’s always willing to help out.
to fail at something or do it badly
to mess up
I’ve really messed up this cake. I put too much sugar in the mix.
to display a notice or sign publicly
to put up
We will put up the new sign for our coffee shop next week
to die
to pass away
Their grandfather passed away in his sleep at the age of 97
to give a clear explanation in a simple way
to spell out
She spelt out her expectations and would not settle for less
to say something loudly out of surprise, pain, fear, etc.
to cry out
Roger cried out from the barn, saying that there was a fire
to grow and no longer fit into clothes or other items that are typically worn, or to no longer do certain things that younger people might do or like because you are older and wiser
to grow out of
My sister quickly grew out of collecting pokemon cards when we were youn
to grow larger as to fit into clothing that was once too big, or to refer to gradually becoming a particular type of person or thing over time
to grow into
The hometown eventually grew into a massive city they hardly recognised
to move or maintain the same pace or level as someone else and not falling behind regarding ability or skill level
to keep up with
As a child, Benny tried to keep up with his older brother, but he was st
to think about something from the past
to look back on/at
We got together and looked back at our old photos from uni.
when something has to be delivered by aeroplane or helicopter either because there is no road access or it needs to be done quickly
to be flown in
Due to its remote location, any supplies had to be flown in by helicopte
to be transported to another city or country
to be taken out
A rescue team was taken out to sea to search for the missing boat.
to drive a car or motorcycle from one side of something to the other
to drive across
We decided to drive across the mountains rather than fly to Italy.
to care for a child; raise
to be brought up
I was brought up by my grandparents because my parents were always worki
pay attention to
to take notice of
When she fell over, no-one took any notice of it.
to be treated unfairly or unkindly by others; usually done by children
to be picked on
When I was at school, I used to get picked on by a bunch of older studen
to manage to live using just the money, knowledge or equipment that you have
to get by
How does she get by on such a small salary?
to take care of somebody and make sure nothing bad happens to them
to look out for
I was lucky that I had a group of friends who always looked out for me
to work very hard at something
to beaver away
The students beavered away in the library the day before their exam
to be very playful
to lark around/about
They didn’t get any work done and spent the day just larking about
to suddenly become very shy and stop talking
to clam up
I always clam up at interviews
to be so enthusiastic that you don’t stop talking about a subject
to rabbit on (about sth.)
Teresa rabbited on about her wedding
when someone tries to obtain something indirectly
to fish for sth.
She fished for information about the new neighbours
to decide not to do something because you are scared
to chicken out
I chickened out of the skydive when I saw how high we were
this means the same as confess
to own up to
Jerry owned up to making the mess and offered to clean up
to do something difficult, extreme or bad in order to solve a tricky problem
to resort to
I had to resort to taking a loan from my parents
to do or use less of something
to cut down on
Dean wants to cut down on how much meat he eats
to gradually disappear
to wear off
The novelty of living with seven other people wore off.
to become exhausted from making an excessive effort at something
to knock oneself out
Jeff is so busy looking after us all, I’m worried he’ll knock himself ou
to disappoint someone
to let sb. down
He let his team down by not showing up for the game
to do something quickly and without much effort
to bash out
He bashed out a few laps around the track before heading home
to accumulate or accumulate a large number of something
to rack up
I racked up a huge phone bill last month
to move slowly and unevenly
to bump along
We bumped along the narrow mountain road to the hotel.
to connect a device to a power source
to plug sth. in
You need to plug it in first before you can use it
to register for something
to sign up
Over a hundred students have signed up to the course
to move to a different place or activity
to shift to
He shifted to a sedentary lifestyle after retiring from sports
ready and willing to do something
up fort
hey were all up for the challenge
to support something and stop it from falling
to hold up
He held up the wall with his hands
to arrange something around something else
to fit sth. around
She had to fit her work schedule around her family commitments
to invent a story
to make up
Kelly said she’d seen some kind of monster in the lake, but I think she
to give very positive descriptions of someone or something
to build up
They built him up to be a hero.
to destroy someone completely or criticisethem severely
to tear sb. apart
She made a mistake and the newspapers tore her apart for it
to die by suicide
to take one’s own
He took his own life.
to join a group or organisation, typically a company or project
to come on board
We’re really pleased you decided to come on board.
to enthusiastically and energetically engage in a task or activity
to dive into
I’m so excited to dive into this new project!
to force you to leave a particular place or situation
to drag sb. out
Knowing I had work to do really dragged me out of the peaceful moment I
to become very involved in something
to get sucked into
I got sucked into helping make the costumes for my daughter’s play.
an expression used to transition from one topic to another
to bring sb. onto
Alright, that brings us onto the issue of safety online
to give money as part of a group in order to buy something together
to chip in (for)
Has Jackie chipped in for Sarah’s leaving present yet?
to spend a lot of money on something, especially something you don’t really want to pay for
to fork out
My train is delayed, so I’m going to have to fork out for a taxi.
to spend a lot of money willingly, especially on something pleasant
to splash out (on)
We decided to splash out on a five-star hotel for our honeymoon
to spend less money on something than you normally do
to cut back (on)
We need to cut back on our spending a bit.
to cheat somebody by making them pay too much for something. Often used in the passive voice: ‘to be/get ripped off’
to rip sb. off
Some tourists get ripped off at the local market here.
