Most Common Phrasal Verbs in English

August 08, 2024

What are phrasal verbs?

Phrasal verbs are combinations of two or more words that function as unique verbs with meanings that are different from the separate words used in the phrase. For instance, "pick up" means to grab or lift, which is different from the meanings of the individual words "pick" and "up."

Although phrasal verbs are commonly used in spoken English, they can be quite confusing because their meanings are not always easy to guess, and there are numerous phrasal verbs to learn. Additionally, many base verbs used in phrasal verbs are part of multiple phrases, each with different meanings, which adds to the complexity.

Phrasal verbs, often considered one of the most challenging aspects of learning English, especially for multilingual speakers, are made more manageable with our guide to English phrasal verbs. We've compiled a list of the most common phrasal verbs, making this complex topic easier to understand.

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a main verb with an adverb or a preposition. The result is an entirely new verbal phrase with a meaning often unrelated to the meanings of the individual words.

When used in a sentence, phrasal verbs behave like other verbs in terms of conjugation and placement, but they have special grammatical rules regarding word order. They can be conjugated into all types of verb forms. For example, the phrasal verb "get over" means to recover from or overcome something, even though the words "get" and "over" have different meanings when used separately.

Here is a list of most commonly used phrasal verbs with meanings:

account for	to explain or justify The auditors asked him to account for the missing funds.
act up	to misbehave Her old knee injury started to act up in the cold weather.
ask around	to ask severs people the same question When they couldn't find the bookstore, they decided to ask around.
back up	to move backwards; to make a copy You should back up your files regularly to avoid losing data.
bail out	to provide financial help; to rescue The government decided to bail out the struggling airline.
bear out	to confirm; to support The evidence presented in court would bear out his version of events.
blow up	to explode The engineers conducted a test to see how the new material would behave if it were to blow up.
break down	to suddenly stop functioning or separate Let's break down the project into smaller tasks so it's easier to manage.
break in	to wear something in; to interrupt something I need to break in these new shoes before the marathon.
bring up	to mention something The new strategy is expected to bring up the company's market share.
brush up on	to refresh or improve Before the exam, I need to brush up on my chemistry.
buckle up	to fasten a seat belt Make sure to buckle up before the car starts moving.
bump into	to see or meet someone/something unexpectedly We might bump into some issues with the new software implementation.
call off	to cancel Due to bad weather, they had to call off the outdoor concert.
calm down	to become less agitated; to relax She needed a few minutes to calm down after the argument.
carry on	to continue with an activity They decided to carry on with the project despite setbacks.
catch on	to understand; to become popular The new trend quickly caught on with teenagers.
check in	to register at a airport ot hotel Please check in at least an hour before your flight.
check on	to make sure someone is okay or safe I check on him every day.
check out	to examine something We should check out this information.
check with	to ask someone if something is okay I just have to check with my friend.
come across	to find something unexpectedly When I was cleaning my room, I came across my old photos.
come back	to return I'm not sure when he'll come back from his vacation.
come down with	to become ill with a disease or sickness She came down with a cold just before the conference.
come in	to enter Please come in.
come up with	to think of a plan or an idea You can come up with a new idea.
count on	to rely on; to trust You can count on me to help you with the move.
cross out	to delete or remove He decided to cross out the old plans and start fresh with a new approach.
cut back	to reduce or decrease They decided to cut back on their expenses to save money.
cut down on	to reduce the amount of something; to consume less I'm trying to cut down on caffeine to improve my sleep.
cut down	to make something fall by cutting it at its base To build this house, they had to cut down several of trees.
cut off	to stop suddenly or to interrupt The storm cut off power to the entire neighborhood.
cut out	to remove or to stop doing something He needs to cut out sweets from his diet.
do over	to do again or to repeat She had to do over the experiment due to errors.
draw up	to create a plan or a document They will draw up a contract before finalizing the deal.
dress up	to wear formal or elegant clothing The children love to dress up as their favorite superheroes for Halloween.
drop by	to go somewhere for a casual visit You can drop by for tea whenever you’re free.
drop off	to take something or someone to a specific place Can you drop off the package at the post office on your way to work?
ease up on	to become less strict about something She has eased up on her rules lately.
eat out	to eat at a restaurant or outside of one’s home They usually eat out on Fridays instead of cooking.
end up	to finish in a certain way If you don't study, you might end up failing the exam.
fall apart	to break into pieces The project began to fall apart due to poor planning and communication.
fall behind	to fail to keep up with others He started to fall behind in his studies because of the illness.
fall down	to collapse or fall to the ground The storm caused the old tree in our garden to fall down.
fill out	to complete a form or document Please fill out this form and return it to the front desk.
find out	to discover The detective worked hard to find out who committed the crime.
fix up	to repair or renovate; to make something ready They plan to fix up the old house and sell it.
follow through	to complete an action or promise She always follows through on her promises.
get along	to have a good relationship with someone We always get along with each other.
get away	to escape I need to get away from the city noise and find some peace.
get by	to be able to live through a difficult situation We don’t have a lot of money for food, but we’ll get by.
get over	to recover from a negative experience I know she’s mad at you now, but she’ll get over it.
get rid of	to eliminate or to remove They decided to get rid of their old furniture.
get together	to meet or to reunite with others Let's get together for dinner next week.
get up	to stand I always get up at 7 a.m. – even on Saturdays.
give away	to give something to others for free Don’t give away the secret.
give in	to finally agree to someone’s requests after refusing for a while We finally gave in and got them a puppy.
give up	to stop doing something permanently I need to give up drinking.
go ahead	to start or continue a planned activity Despite the social distancing rules, the music festival will go ahead.
go off	to explode; to sound an alarm; to go bad The alarm clocks usually go off at 6 AM.
go on	to continue; to happen She didn't go on the trip due to work commitments.
go out	to leave home and go somewhere My girlfriend and I have been going out two years now.
grow apart	to drift away from each other It's natural for siblings to grow apart as they develop their own lives and families.
grow up	to develop into adulthood When I grow up, I want to be a biologist.
hang on	to wait for a short period of time This boat ride will be a little bumpy – hang on!
hang out	to spend time relaxing or socialising casually My favourite thing to do at the weekend is to hang out with my friend.
hang up	to end a phone call Please hang up the phone when you're finished.
hold back	to restrain or to prevent from advancing She couldn't hold back her tears during the sad movie.
hold on	to wait; to persevere Please hold on while I transfer your call to the right department.
keep up	to continue at the same pace or level; to maintain something He struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the class.
kick out	to forcefully tell someone to leave a place They threatened to kick out anyone who didn't follow the club's rules.
knock out	to defeat or to cause unconsciousness This boxer may knock out in the first round.
lead to	to result in; to cause Poor communication lead to misunderstandings.
leave behind	to abandon or to forget He didn't want to leave behind his favorite toy.
let down	to disappoint or to fail to fulfill a promise He let down his guard and started to relax after a long day.
let me in	to allow someone to enter a place Let me in the house.
look after	to take care of something or someone Can you look after my plants while I’m on holiday next week?
look for	to try to find something Help me look for my glasses, please.
look forward to	to be excited about something that will happen in the future We look forward to our vacation every year.
look into	to investigate; to research They promised to look into the issue as soon as possible.
look up	to search for information Can you look up the Japanese restaurant menu online?
make up	to become friendly with someone again or forgive them after a disagreement When are you going to make up your relationship?
mess up	to make a mistake; to ruin or spoil something We accidentally mess up our presentation slides.
move in	to start living in a new home or apartment They plan to move in to their new apartment next week.
move out	to leave one’s current residence She decided to move out of her parents' house.
pass up	to reject or to decline an opportunity She didn't want to pass up the opportunity to travel.
pay back	to repay the money you borrowed from someone I want to pay back your support by helping you with your project.
pick out	to choose or to select She helped him pick out a new suit for the wedding.
pick up	to lift something from a surface I'll pick up the kids from school after work.
point out	to draw attention to; to indicate They usually point out mistakes in the report.
put down	to criticize or to insult; to write something on paper He quickly put down his thoughts on paper.
put on	to begin wearing something If you want to play outside in the snow, make sure to put on a coat.
put up with	to tolerate something The neighbour’s dog barks all night long, but I put up with it because I love my house.
run out	to have no more of something Oh, no! Why didn’t you tell me we ran out of coffee?
set up	to establish or to frame They will set up a meeting to discuss the project.
show off	to display one’s abilities or possessions He likes to show off his new car to everyone.
stand by	to support or to wait for They promised to stand by their decision despite criticism.
stand for	to represent or to tolerate The initials stand for the company's name.
take off	to leave The plane will take off in half an hour.
turn on	to cause something to start working; to activate Let’s turn on the lights.
turn up	to increase the volume, heat, or lights This is my favourite song! Turn up it, please.
wait up	to stay awaken I’ll be home late tonight. You don’t have to wait up for me.
watch out	to be careful of danger Watch out! There’s a car coming!