Phrasal verbs are important because they are extremely common in informal English, and unless you are familiar with their meanings, understanding informal language will be difficult. In addition, learning to use phrasal verbs correctly will
help you sound natural in casual conversation.
Phrasal verbs are multiword combinations of Verb + Adverb, Verb + Preposition, or Verb + Adverb AND Preposition that function like one-word verbs. They can be transitive or intransitive. One of the most important and challenging characteristics of phrasal verbs is that the meaning of the combination is often quite different from the meaning of the original verb by itself.
For example, the phrasal verb hang out, which means “to stay somewhere for a while without doing much,” has a completely different meaning from the verb hang. Likewise, the phrasal verb pass out, which means “to fall asleep or become unconscious,” has a very different meaning from the verb pass. Finally, the phrasal verb put up with, which means “to tolerate,” has little connection to the meaning of put. The sentences below illustrate these differences.
hang out vs. hang
- The kids in the neighborhood hang out at the corner store.
- He is going to hang the mirror on the wall.
pass out vs. pass
- They both passed out in front of the TV.
- Stand here and don't let anyone pass.
put up with vs. put
- At this school, we will not put up with bad behavior.
- Put the car in the garage.
Multiple meanings
Another challenging thing about phrasal verbs is that they often have more than one meaning. The phrasal verb pass out, for example, can mean to fall asleep, as mentioned above, but it can also mean to distribute, as in this sentence:
- The teacher hasn't finished passing out the tests yet.
One last tip about phrasal verbs: When you are writing for a formal audience, keep in mind that phrasal verbs sound informal. Instead of writing something like, “The patient had her tonsils taken out when she was ten years old,” you may want to write “The patient had her tonsils removed when she was ten years old.” It will sound more appropriate.
A comprehensive list of 100 Phrasal Verbs in English with their meanings and examples are given below:
1. Act for
Meaning: Do something in
favour
Example: Mr Kim acts for my father.
2. Bear with
Meaning: Tolerate
Example: I can’t bear to continue with this suffering.
3. Break down
Meaning: Crush
Example: The building is going to break down.
4. Break into
Meaning: Enter or open
forcibly
Example: The thief breaks into the house.
5. Break through
Meaning:
Forcefully get in
Example: The man breaks through the shop.
6. Bring up
Meaning: Adopt
Example: He brings up the child.
7. Call for
Meaning: Demand
Example: Mrs Selina calls for some money.
8. Call-in
Meaning: Summon
Example: Please call in the envoy.
9. Carry on
Meaning: Continue
Example: Let the task carry on.
10. Come after
Meaning: Try to find or
capture
Example: The police comes after the robber.
11. Come from
Meaning: Originate in
Example: He comes from Denmark.
12. Come of
Meaning: To be descended
from
Example: She comes of a royal family.
13. Come off
Meaning: Celebrate,
observe
Example: We came off our program yesterday.
14. Come on
Meaning: Arrive faster
Example: They came on a few minutes ago.
15. Come round
Meaning: Recover
consciousness
Example: The patient will come round soon.
16. Cut down
Meaning: Reduce
Example: He has cut down the forest for no reason.
17. Cut off
Meaning: Detach
Example: Mr Hamilton cut off his relationship with his family.
18. Fall back
Meaning: Move or turn
back
Example: They fall back from their mission.
19. Fall in
Meaning: Get in line,
line up
Example: The students are agreed to fall in.
20. Fall in with
Meaning: Agree
Example: They are willing to fall in with the agreement.
21. Fall off
Meaning: A decrease in
something
Example: The leaves are fallen off from the trees.
22. Fall through
Meaning: Come to
nothing, fail
Example: All of his dreams fall through by this misdeed.
23. Fall on
Meaning: Attack fiercely
or unexpectedly
Example: He falls on his enemy.
24. Fall into
Meaning: Separate
Example: The apple is fallen into three parts.
25. Get by
Meaning: Manage with
difficulty to live
Example: It’s impossible to get by without my father.
26. Get away
Meaning: Escape
Example: The criminal has gotten away from jail.
27. Get down
Meaning: Descend
Example: Hold the pillar or you will get down.
28. Get in
Meaning: Arrive
Example: The boy has got in a few minutes ago.
29. Get into
Meaning: Ascend
Example: He gets into the bus.
30. Get off
Meaning: Escape a
punishment
Example: The thief is getting off from police custody.
31. Get over
Meaning: Overcome
Example: He gets over all the difficulties.
32. Get on
Meaning: Proceed
Example: You have to get on in this way.
33. Get out
Meaning: Go out
Example: Please get out from here right now.
34. Get through
Meaning: Succeed
Example: You will be gotten through after hard work.
35. Get up
Meaning: Rise
Example: We should get up early in the morning.
36. Give away
Meaning: Makeover
Example: The principal gives away all the prizes.
37. Give in
Meaning: Cease fighting
Example: The enemies give the battle in after losing their weapon.
38. Give out
Meaning: Disclose
Example: You should give out your offense.
39. Give up
Meaning: Abandon
Example: Never give up on your study.
40. Go about
Meaning: Roaming
Example: I go about in my dream.
41. Go after
Meaning: Follow
Example: You should go after your mentor.
42. Go along with
Meaning: Consent or
agree
Example: She has to go along with the incident.
43. Go away
Meaning: Leave
Example: Please go away from your workplace.
44. Go back on/upon
Meaning: Withdraw
Example: I want to go back on my opinion.
45. Go over
Meaning: Change
Example: He goes over his decision.
46. Go down
Meaning: Sink or
crush
Example: The ship is going down after hitting the stone.
47. Go for
Meaning: Decide on,
choose
Example: I went for the rose flower.
48. Go in for
Meaning: Like or
habitually take part in
Example: I go in for sports.
49. Go off
Meaning: Of a gun, bomb
or similar device
Example: The vehicle is going off by an accident.
50. Go on
Meaning: Continue
Example: Please go on your duty.
51. Go through
Meaning: Read
Example: She goes through the sweet story.
52. Hang up
Meaning: To stop a phone
conversation
Example: Due to her excessive shouting I hung up.
53. Hang about/around
Meaning: Remain near
Example: You have to hang about yourself.
54. Hang back
Meaning: Remain behind
Example: I never hang back when you speak.
55. Hang on
Meaning: To wait for a
short time
Example: Please hang on a minute I’ll be back shortly.
56. Look forward to
Meaning: Expect eagerly
Example: I look forward to doing this job.
57. Look after
Meaning: Take care of
Example: Please look after my family.
58. Look down upon
Meaning: Hate
Example: I look down upon the culprit.
59. Look for
Meaning: Search
Example: He is looking for a new job.
60. Look into
Meaning:
Investigate
Example: The police look into the incident.
61. Look on, upon
Meaning: Watch without
getting involved
Example: I have looked on at the incident carefully.
62. Look out
Meaning: Be vigilant and
take notice
Example: The law enforcer agency are looking out the affected area with enough
caution.
63. Look over
Meaning: To examine
something
Example: The teacher looks over the students.
64. Look through
Meaning: Inspect
carefully
Example: Look through the device.
65. Look at
Meaning: Gaze
Example: Please look at the window.
66. Look up
Meaning: Find out
Example: Look up the criminal urgently.
67. Look up to
Meaning: Respect
Example: We should look up to your parents.
68. Look upon
Meaning: Obey
Example: You have to look upon your responsibility.
69. Make away
Meaning: Kill
Example: He made away himself.
70. Make of
Meaning: Make something
of
Example: The table is made of wood.
71. Make out
Meaning: Understand
Example: I have made out your problem.
72. Make over
Meaning: Transfer
Example: Mr Joseph is made over from his workplace.
73. Make up
Meaning: Complete
Example: I made up all of my tasks.
74. Make for
Meaning: Move towards a
place
Example: I have to make for a new place.
75. Put away
Meaning: Leave
Example: They put away from the country.
76. Put down
Meaning: Write something
Example: Can you put down your address on the paper?
77. Put forward
Meaning: To offer an
idea
Example: He rejected all the objection put forward by the man.
78. Put off
Meaning: Take off,
postpone, get rid of
Example: You must put off your bad habits.
79. Put on
Meaning: Wear
Example: I put on my shoes.
80. Put out
Meaning: Extinguish
Example: Please put out the light.
81. Put together
Meaning: Be together
Example: We should be put together in order to face any danger.
82. Put up
Meaning: Hang up
Example: The girl put up her clothes on the roof.
83. Put up with
Meaning: Tolerate
Example: He can’t be put up with the torture.
84. Run after
Meaning: Chase
Example: He runs after his aim.
85. Run away
Meaning: Flee
Example: The boy has run away from his house.
86. Run into
Meaning: Fall into, to
be involved in
Example: He ran into a dangerous place.
87. Run over
Meaning: Go over
quickly as a reminder
Example: She ran over without any hesitation.
88. Run out
Meaning: Become
exhausted
Example: The man is run out.
89. See off
Meaning: To bid
goodbye
Example: I am waiting to see my friend off.
90. See-through
Meaning: Detect the true
nature of
Example: I see through the incident.
91. Set in
Meaning: Begin and seem
likely to continue
Example: I set my study in because my examination is knocking at the door.
92. Set off
Meaning: Begin a journey
Example: He sets off by train.
93. Set up
Meaning: Establish
Example: Mr Cambell sets up a new organisation.
94. Stand against
Meaning: Oppose
Example: I want to stand against the matter.
95. Stand by
Meaning: Support
Example: He stands by his friend.
96. Take off
Meaning: Put off
Example: He takes off his clothes.
97. Turn down
Meaning: Reject
Example: He turned down your allegation whatever you claimed.
98. Turn off
Meaning: Stop
Example: Please turn off your handset now.
99. Turn on
Meaning: Let it works
Example: We have to turn on all our activities.
100. Work at
Meaning: Be engaged in
Example: We are working at a software company.
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