Phrasal Verbs Part – 2. Phrasal Verbs in British English Part – 2. 200 Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs in British English Part – 2 (M to Z) with Meaning And Example

200 Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs in English Part – 2 (M to Z)

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

201

Make after

To chase or pursue

The dog made after the cat.

202

Make away with

To steal or escape with

The thieves made away with the jewellery.

203

Make for

To move towards

We made for the exit as the fire alarm rang.

204

Make of

To interpret or understand

What do you make of his behaviour?

205

Make out

To see, hear, or understand clearly

I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

206

Make over

To transfer ownership

He made over the property to his daughter.

207

Make up

To reconcile or invent

They made up after the argument.

208

Make up for

To compensate

He made up for his lateness by buying lunch.

209

Mark down

To reduce the price

They marked down all the winter coats.

210

Mark out

To indicate boundaries

The pitch was marked out with cones.

211

Mark up

To increase the price

They marked up the goods before the sale.

212

Mess about

To behave foolishly

Stop messing about and get on with it.

213

Mess up

To make a mistake or spoil

He messed up the presentation.

214

Miss out

To omit or lose an opportunity

Don’t miss out on the offer.

215

Mix up

To confuse or combine wrongly

I mixed up the dates.

216

Mop up

To clean or finish

We mopped up the spilt tea.

217

Move in

To start living somewhere

They moved in last week.

218

Move on

To progress or leave

It’s time to move on from the past.

219

Move out

To leave a residence

He moved out after the breakup.

220

Nail down

To confirm or secure

We need to nail down the details.

221

Narrow down

To reduce options

We’ve narrowed down the choices to three.

222

Nod off

To fall asleep

I nodded off during the film.

223

Note down

To write something

I noted down the address.

224

Opt for

To choose or select

She opted for the vegetarian dish.

225

Own up

To confess

He owned up to breaking the vase.

226

Pack in

To stop doing something

I’ve packed in smoking.

227

Pack up

To stop working or gather belongings

Let’s pack up and go home.

228

Pass away

To die

Her grandfather passed away peacefully.

229

Pass by

To go past without stopping

I watched the cars pass by.

230

Pass off

To pretend or present falsely

He passed off the fake notes as real.

231

Pass on

To transmit or decline

I’ll pass on the message.

232

Pass out

To faint or distribute

He passed out during the heatwave.

233

Pay back

To repay money or revenge

I’ll pay you back tomorrow.

234

Pay off

To settle a debt or succeed

The hard work finally paid off.

235

Pick at

To eat slowly or reluctantly

She picked at her salad.

236

Pick on

To bully or single out

He’s always picking on his little brother.

237

Pick out

To choose or identify

Can you pick out the correct answer?

238

Pick up

To collect or learn

I picked up some Spanish in Madrid.

239

Pin down

To define or restrict

It’s hard to pin down his exact role.

240

Pipe down

To be quiet

Pipe down – I’m trying to concentrate.

241

Pitch in

To contribute or help

Everyone pitched in to clean up.

242

Play along

To cooperate or pretend

I played along with the joke.

243

Play down

To minimise importance

He played down the incident.

244

Play up

To exaggerate or misbehave

My knee’s playing up again.

245

Plug in

To connect electrically

Plug in the kettle, please.

246

Point out

To highlight or indicate

She pointed out the mistake.

247

Polish off

To finish quickly

He polished off the cake in minutes.

248

Pop in

To visit briefly

I popped in to say hello.

249

Pop out

To leave briefly

I’m just popping out to the shop.

250

Pull ahead

To move in front

Our team pulled ahead in the final lap.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

251

Quarrel with

To argue or dispute

He’s always quarrelling with his neighbours.

252

Queue up

To wait in line

We queued up for concert tickets.

253

Quiet down

To become less noisy

The children finally quieted down.

254

Rattle off

To say quickly and easily

She rattled off the answers in seconds.

255

Reach out

To offer help or connect

He reached out to old friends.

256

Read out

To read aloud

She read out the names on the list.

257

Read up on

To study or research

I’m reading up on climate change.

258

Reckon on

To expect or rely on

We didn’t reckon on the rain.

259

Ring back

To return a phone call

I’ll ring you back after lunch.

260

Ring up

To call by phone

He rang up to confirm the booking.

261

Rip off

To overcharge or cheat

That shop totally ripped me off.

262

Roll in

To arrive in large numbers

The guests started rolling in around 7.

263

Roll out

To launch or introduce

They rolled out the new app last week.

264

Round off

To finish nicely

Let’s round off the evening with dessert.

265

Rub in

To remind someone of a failure

Don’t rub it in – I know I messed up.

266

Rule out

To eliminate or exclude

We can’t rule out the possibility of rain.

267

Run across

To find unexpectedly

I ran across an old photo album.

268

Run after

To chase or pursue

He’s always running after fame.

269

Run away

To escape or flee

The dog ran away during the storm.

270

Run down

To criticise or lose power

Don’t run him down – he’s trying his best.

271

Run into

To meet unexpectedly

I ran into my tutor at the station.

272

Run off

To leave suddenly

She ran off with the prize money.

273

Run out

To exhaust supply

We’ve run out of milk.

274

Run over

To hit with a vehicle

He was nearly run over by a bus.

275

Run through

To rehearse or review

Let’s run through the presentation again.

276

Save up

To accumulate money

I’m saving up for a new laptop.

277

See off

To say goodbye or defeat

We saw them off at the airport.

278

See through

To realise the truth

I saw through his lies instantly.

279

See to

To deal with or arrange

I’ll see to the catering.

280

Sell out

To sell all stock or betray

The tickets sold out in minutes.

281

Send off

To dispatch or say goodbye

He was sent off for a foul.

282

Set about

To begin doing something

She set about cleaning the house.

283

Set aside

To reserve or ignore

Set aside time for revision.

284

Set back

To delay or cost

The repairs set us back £500.

285

Set in

To begin and likely continue

Winter has set in early this year.

286

Set off

To start a journey or trigger

We set off at dawn.

287

Set out

To begin a task or explain

He set out his goals clearly.

288

Set up

To arrange or establish

They set up a charity for children.

289

Show off

To boast or display

He’s always showing off his new gadgets.

290

Show up

To arrive or appear

She showed up late to the meeting.

291

Shut down

To close or stop operation

They shut down the factory last year.

292

Shut out

To exclude or block

He shut out all distractions.

293

Shut up

To stop talking

Shut up and listen for a moment.

294

Sign in

To register or log in

Please sign in at reception.

295

Sign off

To end communication

I’ll sign off now – speak soon.

296

Single out

To choose or isolate

She was singled out for praise.

297

Sit back

To relax or not get involved

Sit back and enjoy the show.

298

Sit down

To take a seat

Please sit down and wait.

299

Size up

To assess or evaluate

He sized up the competition.

300

Sort out

To organise or resolve

I’ll sort out the travel arrangements.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

301

Take after

To resemble a relative

She takes after her mum in looks and temperament.

302

Take apart

To dismantle

He took the radio apart to fix it.

303

Take away

To remove or subtract

The waiter took away our plates.

304

Take back

To retract or return

I take back what I said earlier.

305

Take down

To write or remove

She took down the minutes of the meeting.

306

Take in

To absorb or deceive

I couldn’t take in all the details.

307

Take off

To remove or become airborne

The plane took off at 9am.

308

Take on

To accept or challenge

He took on too much work.

309

Take out

To remove or treat someone

I’ll take you out for dinner.

310

Take over

To assume control

She took over the company last year.

311

Take to

To develop a liking for

He’s taken to jogging lately.

312

Take up

To begin or occupy

I’ve taken up photography.

313

Talk back

To reply rudely

Don’t talk back to your elders.

314

Talk into

To persuade

He talked me into buying it.

315

Talk out of

To dissuade

She talked him out of quitting.

316

Talk over

To discuss

Let’s talk it over before deciding.

317

Tear down

To demolish

They tore down the old cinema.

318

Tear up

To destroy or become emotional

He tore up the letter in anger.

319

Tell off

To scold

Mum told me off for being late.

320

Think over

To consider carefully

I’ll think it over and let you know.

321

Throw away

To discard

Don’t throw away that receipt.

322

Throw up

To vomit or produce

He threw up after the ride.

323

Tie up

To secure or occupy

The traffic tied us up for hours.

324

Tip off

To warn or inform secretly

The police were tipped off about the robbery.

325

Tone down

To moderate or soften

He toned down his speech for the audience.

326

Top up

To refill or increase

I need to top up my mobile credit.

327

Touch down

To land

The plane touched down safely.

328

Track down

To locate or find

They tracked down the missing files.

329

Trade in

To exchange for something new

I traded in my old car.

330

Try on

To test clothing or behaviour

Try on this jacket – it suits you.

331

Try out

To test or experiment

We’re trying out a new recipe.

332

Turn down

To reject or reduce

She turned down the job offer.

333

Turn in

To submit or go to bed

I turned in my essay last night.

334

Turn off

To stop or repel

Turn off the lights before leaving.

335

Turn on

To activate or excite

He turned on the charm.

336

Turn out

To result or attend

It turned out better than expected.

337

Turn over

To flip or transfer

Turn over the page, please.

338

Turn to

To seek help or begin

She turned to her friends for support.

339

Turn up

To arrive or increase

He turned up late again.

340

Use up

To consume completely

We’ve used up all the sugar.

341

Wait on

To serve or depend on

She waited on the guests all evening.

342

Wake up

To stop sleeping

Wake up – it’s nearly midday!

343

Walk away

To leave or abandon

He walked away from the deal.

344

Walk out

To leave suddenly

The workers walked out in protest.

345

Wash up

To clean dishes or hands

I’ll wash up after dinner.

346

Watch out

To be careful

Watch out – the floor’s slippery.

347

Wear off

To fade or diminish

The painkillers wore off quickly.

348

Wear out

To exhaust or damage

These shoes are worn out.

349

Wind down

To relax or reduce activity

I need time to wind down after work.

350

Work out

To exercise or solve

Everything worked out in the end.

Sr. No.

Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

351

X out

To delete or cancel

He x-ed out the incorrect answer.

352

Yell at

To scold loudly

He yelled at the kids for making a mess.

353

Yell out

To shout loudly

She yelled out his name across the street.

354

Yell down

To shout from above

She yelled down from the balcony.

355

Yell for

To call out loudly

She yelled for help.

356

Yell out for

To call loudly for someone

He yelled out for his dog.

357

Yell over

To shout across a distance

He yelled over the crowd to get attention.

358

Yawn over

To be bored by something

I yawned over the lengthy report.

359

Yawn off

To bore someone into leaving

The film yawned me off halfway through.

360

Yawn at

To show boredom

He yawned at the dull presentation.

361

Yawn through

To endure something boring

I yawned through the entire seminar.

362

Yawn off at

To bore someone at a location

He yawned me off at the lecture hall.

363

Zero in on

To focus closely on

The police zeroed in on the suspect.

364

Zip around

To move quickly

She zipped around the office all day.

365

Zone out

To lose concentration

I zoned out during the lecture.

366

Zoom in

To focus closely (visually or mentally)

Zoom in on the details of the image.

367

Zoom out

To broaden perspective

Let’s zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

368

Zip up

To fasten with a zip

Zip up your coat – it’s cold outside.

369

Zigzag through

To move in a winding path

He zigzagged through the crowd.

370

Zone in

To concentrate intensely

I zoned in on the task at hand.

371

Zap through

To complete quickly

He zapped through the paperwork.

372

Zoom past

To go by very fast

The motorbike zoomed past us.

373

Zip off

To leave quickly

He zipped off after the meeting.

374

Zero out

To eliminate or reset to zero

The accountant zeroed out the balance.

375

Zone off

To separate into areas

They zoned off the construction site.

376

Zip through

To move or complete quickly

She zipped through the exam.

377

Zoom over

To rush to a place

I zoomed over to his flat.

378

Zip along

To travel quickly

The car zipped along the motorway.

379

Zero in

To target precisely

The ad campaign zeroed in on young adults.

380

Zap out

To remove or destroy

The antivirus zapped out the malware.

381

Zigzag up

To climb in a winding path

We zigzagged up the hill.

382

Zip down

To unzip or move quickly down

Zip down your jacket before changing.

383

Zone out of

To mentally disconnect from

She zoned out of the conversation.

384

Zoom in on

To examine closely

Let’s zoom in on the key findings.

385

Zip through to

To reach quickly

He zipped through to the final round.

386

Zero in upon

To concentrate on

The team zeroed in upon the main issue.

387

Zip across

To move swiftly across

He zipped across the room.

388

Zoom away

To depart quickly

The taxi zoomed away.

389

Zip into

To enter quickly

She zipped into the shop for milk.

390

Zone into

To become absorbed in

He zoned into the film completely.

391

Zoom back

To return quickly

I zoomed back to grab my keys.

392

Zip out of

To exit quickly

He zipped out of the meeting early.

393

Zip over to

To visit briefly

I zipped over to my mate’s house.

394

Zoom through

To complete rapidly

She zoomed through the revision notes.

395

Zip past

To go by quickly

The cyclist zipped past us.

396

Zoom in for

To approach closely

The drone zoomed in for a better view.

397

Zip out

To leave swiftly

She zipped out before anyone noticed.

398

Zone out from

To disconnect mentally

I zoned out from the conversation.

399

Zoom off

To leave in a hurry

He zoomed off without saying goodbye.

400

Zip in

To arrive quickly

She zipped in just before the bell.