Phrasal Verbs. 200 Phrasal Verbs Part – 1. 200 Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs in British English Part-1 (A to L) with Meaning And Example

200 Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs in British English Part-1 (A to L)

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

1

Account for

To explain or justify

He couldn’t account for the missing funds.

2

Act on

To follow advice or orders

She acted on the doctor’s recommendation.

3

Act out

To express emotions through behaviour

Children often act out when stressed.

4

Act up

To misbehave or malfunction

My knee’s acting up again.

5

Add up

To make sense or total correctly

His story doesn’t add up.

6

Advise of

To inform someone

Please advise us of any changes.

7

Allow for

To consider or include

You must allow for traffic delays.

8

Answer back

To reply rudely

Don’t answer back to your teacher.

9

Answer for

To be responsible for

He’ll have to answer for his actions.

10

Ask after

To enquire about someone’s wellbeing

She asked after your father.

11

Ask around

To enquire among people

I’ll ask around and see who’s available.

12

Ask out

To invite someone on a date

He asked her out for dinner.

13

Back down

To withdraw from a position

They backed down after the protest.

14

Back off

To retreat or stop pressuring

Back off – he needs space.

15

Back up

To support or reinforce

I’ll back you up in the meeting.

16

Bail out

To rescue financially or legally

The bank was bailed out by the government.

17

Bank on

To rely on or expect

You can bank on her punctuality.

18

Bear with

To be patient with

Bear with me while I find the file.

19

Beat up

To physically assault

He was beaten up outside the pub.

20

Blow over

To pass without lasting effect

The argument blew over quickly.

21

Blow up

To explode or become angry

He blew up when he saw the bill.

22

Boil down to

To be essentially about

It all boils down to trust.

23

Bottle up

To suppress emotions

Don’t bottle up your feelings.

24

Break away

To escape or separate

She broke away from the group.

25

Break down

To stop functioning or collapse

My car broke down on the M25.

26

Break into

To enter forcibly

Someone broke into our flat.

27

Break out

To start suddenly

A fire broke out in the kitchen.

28

Bring about

To cause something

The reforms brought about change.

29

Bring up

To mention or raise

He brought up the topic of pay.

30

Brush off

To dismiss casually

She brushed off the criticism.

31

Brush up on

To improve knowledge

I need to brush up on my Spanish.

32

Bump into

To meet unexpectedly

I bumped into her at the station.

33

Butt in

To interrupt rudely

Don’t butt in while I’m talking.

34

Call off

To cancel something

They called off the match due to rain.

35

Calm down

To become less agitated

Calm down – it’s not that bad.

36

Carry on

To continue doing something

Carry on with your work.

37

Catch up

To reach the same level

I need to catch up on my emails.

38

Chase down

To pursue and catch

The police chased down the thief.

39

Check out

To examine or leave

Check out that new café.

40

Cheer up

To become happier

Cheer up – it’s Friday!

41

Chip in

To contribute money or effort

Everyone chipped in for the gift.

42

Clear up

To tidy or resolve

Let’s clear up this mess.

43

Close down

To shut permanently

The shop closed down last year.

44

Come across

To find unexpectedly

I came across an old photo.

45

Come in

To enter

Come in and have a seat.

46

Come up

To arise or appear

The issue came up in the meeting.

47

Count on

To rely on

You can count on me.

48

Crack down

To enforce rules strictly

They’re cracking down on fraud.

49

Crop up

To appear suddenly

Something cropped up at work.

50

Cut back

To reduce consumption

I’m cutting back on sugar.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

51

Deal with

To manage or handle something

I’ll deal with the complaint tomorrow.

52

Decide on

To choose or select

We’ve decided on the blue paint.

53

Die down

To become less intense

The storm finally died down.

54

Dish out

To distribute freely

He dished out advice like sweets.

55

Do away with

To abolish or remove

They’ve done away with paper tickets.

56

Do up

To renovate or fasten

We’re doing up the kitchen this month.

57

Do without

To manage without something

I’ll have to do without my phone today.

58

Drag on

To continue unnecessarily long

The meeting dragged on for hours.

59

Dress up

To wear formal or fancy clothes

She dressed up for the party.

60

Drop by

To visit briefly

I’ll drop by after work.

61

Drop off

To deliver or fall asleep

I dropped off the parcel at noon.

62

Drop out

To leave school or activity

He dropped out of university.

63

Dry up

To stop flowing or speaking

The river dried up last summer.

64

Duck out

To leave quickly and secretly

He ducked out before the speeches.

65

Ease off

To reduce pressure or intensity

The traffic eased off after 8pm.

66

Eat out

To dine at a restaurant

We’re eating out tonight.

67

Edge out

To gradually replace or defeat

She edged out the competition.

68

Egg on

To encourage someone to do something foolish

They egged him on to jump.

69

End up

To finally reach a state or place

We ended up at a pub in Soho.

70

Engage in

To participate in

He engaged in heated debate.

71

Explain away

To justify or dismiss something

She explained away the mistake.

72

Eye up

To look at with interest

He eyed up the last slice of cake.

73

Ease up

To become less strict or intense

The teacher eased up after the exam.

74

Eat away

To gradually destroy

The rust is eating away at the pipes.

75

End off

To finish something

Let’s end off with a song.

76

Empty out

To remove all contents

Empty out your bag before the flight.

77

Embark on

To begin a journey or project

She embarked on a new career.

78

Eke out

To make something last longer

He eked out his savings for months.

79

Ease into

To gradually start something

I eased into the new routine.

80

Eat up

To consume completely

Eat up your vegetables.

81

End in

To result in

The match ended in a draw.

82

Edge in

To insert oneself gradually

He edged in a comment during the debate.

83

Egg up

To exaggerate or hype up

They egged up the story for drama.

84

End with

To conclude with something

The film ended with a twist.

85

Ease out

To remove gently

He was eased out of the company.

86

Eat into

To use up or reduce

The bills are eating into my savings.

87

End over end

To tumble repeatedly

The car rolled end over end.

88

Eye over

To inspect quickly

He eyed over the contract.

89

Ease through

To pass something smoothly

She eased through the interview.

90

Eat down

To suppress or hide

He ate down his anger.

91

End around

To bypass or avoid directly

They tried to end around the rules.

92

Ease back

To reduce effort or pace

Ease back on the throttle.

93

Eat away at

To bother or worry over time

Guilt ate away at him.

94

End up with

To finally have something

I ended up with a broken phone.

95

Eye out

To watch for something

Keep your eyes out for bargains.

96

Ease down

To slow or reduce

Ease down as you approach the bend.

97

Eat in

To dine at home

We’re eating in tonight.

98

End off with

To finish using something

Let’s end off with a toast.

99

Ease in

To introduce gently

He eased the topic into conversation.

100

Eye up to

To aspire or aim for

She’s eyeing up the manager’s role.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

101

Face up to

To accept and deal with something difficult

You need to face up to your responsibilities.

102

Fall apart

To break into pieces or collapse emotionally

She fell apart after the divorce.

103

Fall back on

To rely on something when needed

I had to fall back on my savings.

104

Fall behind

To lag or not keep up

He fell behind in his coursework.

105

Fall for

To be deceived or fall in love

I fell for his charm instantly.

106

Fall out

To argue and stop being friendly

They fell out over money.

107

Fall through

To fail or not happen

Our holiday plans fell through.

108

Fend off

To defend or resist

He fended off the attackers bravely.

109

Figure out

To understand or solve

I can’t figure out this puzzle.

110

Fill in

To complete or substitute

Please fill in the form.

111

Fill out

To complete a document

I filled out the application online.

112

Fill up

To become full

The tank filled up quickly.

113

Find out

To discover or learn

I found out she was leaving.

114

Fire up

To start or excite

He fired up the engine.

115

Fit in

To belong or conform

I never really fit in at school.

116

Fix up

To repair or arrange

We fixed up the old house.

117

Fizzle out

To gradually end or fail

The party fizzled out by midnight.

118

Flag down

To signal to stop

I flagged down a taxi.

119

Flare up

To suddenly worsen

His asthma flared up again.

120

Flick through

To browse quickly

I flicked through the magazine.

121

Float around

To circulate or be rumoured

There’s a rumour floating around.

122

Follow through

To complete something

You must follow through with your promise.

123

Follow up

To pursue or check again

I’ll follow up with an email.

124

Fool around

To behave playfully or waste time

Stop fooling around and focus.

125

Fork out

To pay reluctantly

I forked out £200 for repairs.

126

Freeze up

To become unable to act

I froze up during the interview.

127

Freshen up

To refresh or tidy oneself

I need to freshen up before dinner.

128

Fuss over

To pay excessive attention

She fussed over the baby.

129

Gear up

To prepare for something

We’re gearing up for the launch.

130

Get across

To communicate clearly

He got his point across well.

131

Get ahead

To progress or succeed

She’s getting ahead in her career.

132

Get along

To be friendly or compatible

They get along famously.

133

Get around

To travel or avoid something

He gets around by bike.

134

Get at

To imply or reach

What are you getting at?

135

Get away

To escape or go on holiday

We got away for the weekend.

136

Get back

To return or recover

I got back from London last night.

137

Get by

To manage or survive

We’re getting by on one income.

138

Get down

To depress or write

The weather’s getting me down.

139

Get in

To enter or arrive

He got in late last night.

140

Get off

To leave or avoid punishment

He got off with a warning.

141

Get on

To board or progress

Get on the bus quickly.

142

Get out

To leave or escape

Get out of the building!

143

Get over

To recover from something

She got over the flu quickly.

144

Get round to

To finally do something

I never got round to calling him.

145

Get through

To complete or survive

We got through the exam.

146

Get to

To affect or reach

The noise is getting to me.

147

Get together

To meet socially

Let’s get together this weekend.

148

Get up

To rise from bed

I got up at 6am today.

149

Give away

To donate or reveal

He gave away all his clothes.

150

Give in

To surrender or yield

She gave in to temptation.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

151

Hand down

To pass on to the next generation

This watch was handed down from my grandfather.

152

Hand in

To submit something

I handed in my assignment late.

153

Hand out

To distribute

They handed out leaflets at the station.

154

Hang about

To loiter or wait around

He was hanging about outside the shop.

155

Hang on

To wait or hold tightly

Hang on a minute – I’ll be right back.

156

Hang out

To spend time socially

We hung out at the café all afternoon.

157

Hang up

To end a phone call

She hung up before I could reply.

158

Head off

To prevent or leave

The police headed off the protest.

159

Hear out

To listen fully

Just hear me out before you decide.

160

Heat up

To become warmer or more intense

Things are heating up in Parliament.

161

Help out

To assist someone

Can you help out with the packing?

162

Hit back

To retaliate

He hit back with a strong statement.

163

Hit on

To flirt or suggest

He hit on a brilliant idea.

164

Hit out

To criticise strongly

She hit out at the unfair policy.

165

Hold back

To restrain or delay

Don’t hold back your opinion.

166

Hold on

To wait or grip tightly

Hold on – the ride’s about to start.

167

Hold out

To resist or offer

They held out hope for a rescue.

168

Hold up

To delay or rob

The train was held up by signal failure.

169

Hook up

To connect or meet

We hooked up at the conference.

170

Hush up

To suppress information

They tried to hush up the scandal.

171

Iron out

To resolve difficulties

We need to iron out the details.

172

Jack up

To increase sharply

They jacked up the prices overnight.

173

Jot down

To write quickly

I jotted down the address.

174

Jump at

To eagerly accept

She jumped at the job offer.

175

Jump in

To enter suddenly or interrupt

He jumped in with a question.

176

Keep at

To persist with something

Keep at it – you’re improving.

177

Keep away

To stay at a distance

Keep away from the edge.

178

Keep back

To withhold or restrain

He kept back some crucial details.

179

Keep down

To control or suppress

Try to keep the noise down.

180

Keep off

To avoid or stay away

Keep off the grass, please.

181

Keep on

To continue doing something

He kept on talking despite the interruption.

182

Keep out

To prevent entry

The sign said “Keep Out”.

183

Keep to

To stick to a plan or rule

Please keep to the schedule.

184

Keep up

To maintain or continue

Keep up the good work!

185

Kick off

To begin or start

The match kicked off at 3pm.

186

Kick out

To expel or remove

He was kicked out of the club.

187

Knock back

To reject or drink quickly

She knocked back the offer.

188

Knock down

To demolish or reduce

They knocked down the old building.

189

Knock out

To defeat or render unconscious

He was knocked out in the second round.

190

Lap up

To enjoy eagerly

The audience lapped up every word.

191

Lay off

To dismiss from employment

They laid off 200 workers.

192

Lay out

To arrange or explain

He laid out his plan clearly.

193

Lead to

To result in something

Poor diet can lead to illness.

194

Leak out

To become known secretly

The news leaked out before the announcement.

195

Leave out

To omit or exclude

Don’t leave out any details.

196

Let down

To disappoint

He let me down again.

197

Let in

To allow entry

She let me in through the back door.

198

Let off

To excuse or release

He was let off with a warning.

199

Let on

To reveal or admit

Don’t let on that you know.

200

Let out

To release or make larger

She let out a sigh of relief.