Phrasal verbs Flashcards
To become interested in an activity or a subject.
to get into sth.
I’ve recently got into photography, it has been very interesting.
To meet the expectations of the other.
Live up to sth.
To begin part of your career.
To start out sth.
I started out as an intern one year ago, and now I’ve been promoted.
To admire and respect someone.
To look up to sb.
To make a person notice sb./sth.
To point out sb./sth.
To analyze information or divide it into smaller parts.
To break sth. down into sth.
It’s easier to handle the job if you break it down into several specific assignments.
It’s the main reason for a situation or a problem.
It boils down to sth.
The problem boils down to one thing - lack of money.
To exclude or eliminate sth. as a possibility
To rule out sth.
The police have not ruled him out as a suspect.
When you want to help sb. understand sth.
To get sth. across
I’m trying to get my point across but Paul keeps butting in.
To say sth. you’re not supposed to say.
To blurt sth. out
I’m sorry that I blurted it out.
Trying to make sb. understand what you are trying to say.
To get sth. through to sb.
I’m trying to get the message through Paul, but he’s not listening.
- To discuss a problem or a plan.
- To speak when sb. else is speaking; to intentionally interrupt them.
- To talk sth. over
- To talk over sb.
- I know you’re upset, let’s talk it over tonight.
- I don’t mean to talk over you, but…
To convince or persuade sb. to agree
To talk sb. around
I didn’t want to go, but he succeeded in talk me around.
To increase the level/amount of sth., significantly
To ramp up sth. (often effort)
To originate from/to be caused by sth.
To stem from sth.
To suppress/prevent sth. from happening
To clamp down on sth.
The headmaster of the school decidet to clamp down on the use of smartphones in class.
To make redundant from work; must leave their work trough no fault of their own.
To lay off.
Due to the pandemic, the company had to lay off 50 employees.
To resolve difficulties/problems
To iron out sth.
Boris and Angela don’t have a good relationship but they must iron out their differences in order to move forward.
To give one’s opinion during a discussion or debate.
To weigh in (on)
I weighed in on the debate about who is better: Messi or Ronaldo.
To tolerate/accept sth. unpleasant
YouTube is great. The only problem is that we have to put with all those annoying adverts.
reduce sth.
narrow sth. down
There are so many options for further education these days that it’s useful to narrow them down to the most realistic.
to take into account (mostly in calculations)
factor in
E-scooter are becoming very popular, but we have to factor in the weather.
to indirectly refer to sb./sth.
allude to sth./sb.
The author of the first text alludes to the issue of education in poor areas.
dismiss / exclude sth. from consideration
to rule out sth./sb.
Boris Johnson hasn’t ruled himself out of the leadership election.
reduce in size or amount
to scale back sth.
To tackle climate change we need to scale back meat production.
to make sth. happen
to bring about sth.
To bring about real social change, people need to come together.
to make sb. feel happier / more positive
to buoy sb. up
He was pessimistic about his exam but his teacher’s encouraging words really buoyed him up.
to stop or delay sth. bad from happening
to stave off
It’s now or never if the world is to stave off climate change.
to pass the time doing sth. nice or easy
to while away
Since she retired, my mum whiles away her days reading and playing bridge.
to earn money easily
to rake money in
The self-help industry rakes in billions through peddling hope and positive thinking.
(to peddle: to sell things in an unethical way.)
to treat sth. (negative) with little importance
to shrug sth. off
The author shrugged off the bad reviews of his last novel.
to realize / understand / discover sth.
to suss out
Pessimism helps us suss out dangers in our lives.
Before starting the speaking exam, Maria tried to suss out her partner’s English level.
phrasal verbs with pivot
pivot towards / away from sth
to change direction
The company’s pivoting towards mobile and away from social media.
pivot around / on sth
to depend completely on sth. (arguments, theories etc.)
1. The entire plot pivots around this meating
2. The most scandalous news stories pivot on money, not sex.
a result that depends on sth. completely
hinge on
His success hinges on how well he does at the interview.
