Phrasal verbs Flashcards
accede to sth
to agree to do what people have asked you to do:
He graciously acceded to our request.
brush up (on) sth
to improve your knowledge of something already learned but partly forgotten:
I thought I’d brush up (on) my French before going to Paris.
give away
to tell information or facts that you should keep secret
If captured, they might give away vital military secrets.
live up to sth
to achieve what is expected, esp. high standards:
We expected a lot of her, and her performance lived up to our expectations.
play sth down
to make something seem less important or less bad than it really is:
Military spokespeople tried to play down the seriousness of the disaster.
gear sth to/towards sb/sth
to design or organize something so that it is suitable for a particular purpose, situation, or group of people:
Most public places are simply not geared to the needs of people with disabilities.
set out
to start an activity with a particular aim:
She set out with the aim of becoming the youngest ever winner of the championship. He set out to become chief executive.
I don’t set out to annoy him - it just seems to happen.
He set out to crush all his enemies.
get (a lot) our of something
to obtain something (especially a good feeling) by doing something. We use this expression to say that someone will benefit from a certain experience.
end up doing something
to finally be in a particular place or situation
go on to do something
continue, but in a different direction or with a different activity. After her early teaching career she went on to become a doctor.
get on with something
to make progress with something. to start or continue doing something, especially work:
Stop talking and get on with it.
I like to be left to get on with the job.
keep up sth
to continue without stopping or changing
look up to someone
to admire and respect someone. Kids look up to ballplayers, and we need to let kids know that it is not OK to cheat.
to take over
to get control of something else
tussle with sth
to try hard to understand or deal with a difficult idea or problem:
It’s an idea that I’ve been tussling with for quite a while.
take up sth
to begin to do something:
I’m not very good at golf – I only took it up recently.
board up something
to cover a door or window with wooden boards:
Stores are boarding up their windows in case rioting breaks out.
to bump into somebody/something
to meet someone unexpectedly:
We bumped into Kayla in a shop.
come across someone/something
behave, to behave in a way that makes people believe that you have a particular characteristic:
She comes across really well (= creates a positive image) on television.
He comes across as a bit of a bore in interview.
to find something or someone by chance:
He came across some old love letters.
pad sth out
to add words, information, etc. to make something seem longer or better:
She had to pad the presentation out to make it last half an hour.
see off someone
to watch someone leave on a trip:
My parents saw me off at the airport.
stop over
to stay at a place for one night or a few nights on the way to somewhere else or before returning home:
They’re stopping over in Malaysia for a couple of nights on the way to Australia.
UK Come round for dinner one night and you can stop over.
touch down
When an aircraft touches down, it lands.
spur someone on
to encourage someone
