Phrasal Verbs with Up A-Z Flashcards
Add up
To add a group of numbers together until you reach a final sum
Back up
Support or help someone
“The rebels backed up their demands”
Back up
To say that something (usually traffic or an order) was obstructed or delayed
“Traffic was starting to back up in both directions”.
Back up
Cause to move backwards
“You can back up two feet or so”
Blow up
To explode
“When the students mixed the wrong chemicals together, the experiment blew up”.
Break up or split up
When you separate from your boyfriend or girlfriend
Brighten up
When the weather improves, or when your mood improves
“It rained all week, but on Saturday the weather finally brightened up”.
Bring up
1-look after a child until it grows up, usually children.
1-“They brough their children up to be responsible adults”. 3-“Bring it up at the meeting!”
Bring up
To introduce a new topic in a conversation or discussion
The boss said that if the employees had questions, they could bring them up in the meeting”
Brush up
Improve or refine
“I have to brush up my English before my job interview”.
Build up
Make a business bigger, to develop contacts or a presence in the market
1-“We have built up the business over the years and it now employs over 20 people”.
Build up
Increase over time
“It’s important to build your muscle strength up over time”.
Burn up
Destroy something completely with fire
“The spacecraft burned up as it entered the earth’s atmosphere”.
Burn up
Make somebody very angry
“The way he treats me really burns me up”
Call up
Telephone
“I’m going to call up and cancel my subscription”.
Call up
Bring back to your mind
“The smell of the sea called up memories of her childhood”.
Catch up
Reach somebody who’s in front of you
“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you”.
Catch up
Reach the same level or standard as somebody who was better or more advanced
“After missing a term through illness he had to work hard to catch up with the others”
Catch up
To do something that you have not been able to do recently
“Recently, I’ve had a lot of a science homework. This weekend I need to catch up on my reading for English Class”
Check-up
To make sure that somebody is doing what they should be doing
“My parents are always checking up on me”.
Check up
Obtain information about somebody or something to find out if something is true or correct
“I need to check up on a few things before I can decide”.
Cheer up
to feel better or to make someone feel better
“Susannah was in a bad mood, but she cheered up after spending time with her friends”.
Chew up
To chew something until it breaks into smaller pieces
Chop up
Cut into small pieces
“Can you chop up some carrots for me?”
Clean up
To clean a house (or another physical space, like an office or school) until it is extremely clean.
Come up
Something happens unexpectedly
“I’m afraid I can’t make the meeting tomorrow. Something has come up.”
Crack up
To laugh so hard it hurts. Almost like you feel you are going to break!
Cut up
To cut something into pieces
“The teacher cut up some paper to play a game with his class”.
Dig up
To remove something from the ground that has been buried or planted
“You need to dig up that plant and move it”
Dig up
Used when we find hidden information or facts by searching carefully
“They found my Facebook page and dug up a 20-years old photo of me holding a beer”.
Divide up
Distribute
“We can divide up the commission among the sales staff”.
Divide up
Force up the prices or costs
“The uncertainty in the markets is dividing up labor costs”
Do up
Fasten up
*“Do you know how to do up your seat belt?” *
Do up
Arrange hair so that it’s tied or fastened close
Do up
To remodel something, such as a house, or to get dresed in a fancy way
“On Friday nights, my friends and I like to do ourselves up”
Draw up
If a vehicle draws up, it arrives and stops.
“The cab drew up outside the house”.
Draw up
Prepare a written document
“They agreed to draw up a formal agreement”
Dream up
To invent a new plan or an idea by using a lot of imagination.
“The police can’t just dream up a reason to arrest them”.
Dress up
1-to wear a fancy dress, a costume to disguise yourself; 2-put on clothes
1-“He dressed up as a pirate, for the party” 2-“There’s no need to dress up—come as you are”.
Drink up
To drink until your glass is empty.
Dry up
To become completely dry
Eat up
To eat until your plate is empty
Freshen up
To wash your face, brush your teeth and change your clothes, usually when you get back from work or school
“My mom and dad like to freshen up after they get back from the office”.
Get up
To wake up and get out of bed
“I usually get up ap 6am”
Give up
To stop trying; to quit somenthing
“Learning the piano is very difficult, but I’m not going to give up”
Grow up
To become an adult (literally, to grow until you finish growing).
Hang up
to put down the phone
“After I hung up the phone, I realized I had forgotten to say something”.
Heat up
To warm something until it is hot
Hold up
To cause a delay, to make someone late or to stop something from happening
“My train was held up”
Hold up
To have to wait
“We were held up in traffic for four hours”
Hurry up
To do something faster
“Could you please hurry up”
Keep up
Continue at the same rate
“Slow down! I can’t keep up”.
Let up
When it stops raining, snowing or when someone stops doing something annoying
“The rain finally let up at about 2pm”
Liven up
To make something funnier.
“Let’s liven this party up with a game”
Look up
To look for information until it appears
“Google is a great tool for looking up information”.
Look up
When we try to find a particular piece of information in a dictionary or on the internet.
“I looked up the meaning of the expression”
Make up
To put on lipstick, blush and other cosmetics
“Have you finished making yourself up?”
Make up
When we invent a story, excuse or explanation in order to deceive someone; to lie
“I don’t believe you. You’re making it up”
Meet up
When two or more people come together
“I have to go now, but I’ll meet up with you later”.
Open up
Start talking freely about something
“She hates to open up and discuss her feelings”
Own up
To stop keeping a secret and finally tell the truth
“I knew Linda was keeping a secret; After I asked her about it a few times, she finally owned up”.
Pass out
To not take the opportunity
“We can’t pass out this chance of increasing productivity”
Pick up
To improve over time
“My health has picked up over the past few days
Play up
To stop working; usually used for technology
“My speakers have been playing up recently. I’m not sure what’s wrong with them”.
Rip up or tear up
To rip something into pieces
Save up
To keep money for something in the future
She is saving up all her money to buy a new car next year”
Set up
To start a new business, to prepare my new business
Show up or turn up
To arrive or appear somewhere
“What time are you going to show up/turn up at the party?”
Sit up
To sit straight and not slouch
“Teachers often need to remind their students to sit up in their chairs”.
Speak up
Speak louder
Speed up
To become faster or increase in speed
Spice up
1-used when we want to make something more interesting or more exciting; 2-when we want to give food more flavor by adding spices.
1-“They’re looking for ways to spice up their sex life”. 2-“Growing herbs is an easy way to spice up your meals”.
Stand up
To stop sitting and stand on your feet
“When the subway is crowded, you often need to stand up”.
Start up
To start something new
“They’ve started up a new division in Southern Europe”
Take up
Start
“Have you taken up new hobies lately”
Talk up
To describe something in a very positive way, exaggerating the good qualities
“Jeff really talks up that restaurant. I hope it’s as good as he says”.
Team up
To join two people or groups together to work on a project or a goal
“You can team up with another colleague if you want”.
To stir up
To increase intentionally and in a bad way
“That boy is always stirring up trouble in class”.
Trump up
To lie or create a falsehood (untruth)
Turn up
To increase the volume of something
“When the subway is crowded, you often need to stand up” “Can you turn up the music? It’s not loud enough”.
Use up
To use all of something so that there is none left
Warm up
To make something warmer
“The morning sun warmed up the room”.
Write up
Write a report
“It’ll take him at least a week to write up his findings”
