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Verb
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Meaning
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Example
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ask someone out
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invite on a date
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John asked Mary out to dinner.
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ask around
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ask many people the same question
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I asked around but nobody has seen my wallet.
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add up to something
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equal
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Your purchases add up to $500.
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back something up
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reverse
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You’ll have to back up your vehicle so that I can get out.
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backsomeoneup
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support
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All my family members backed me up over my decision to quit my job.
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blow up
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explode
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The car blew up after it crashed into the wall.
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blow something up
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add air
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We have to blow 50 balloons up for the party.
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break down
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stop functioning (vehicle, machine)
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Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm.
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break down
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get upset
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The woman broke down when the police told her that her son had died.
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break something down
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divide into smaller parts
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The manager broke the final project down into three separate parts.
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break in
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force entry to a building
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A thief broke in last night and stole our TV.
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break into something
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enter forcibly
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The fireman had to break into the room to rescue the children.
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break something in
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wear something a few times so that it doesn’t look/feel new
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I need to break these shoes in before we run next week.
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break in
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interrupt
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The TV channel broke in to report the news of the plane crash.
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break up
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end a relationship
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My girlfriend and I broke up before I moved to America.
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break up
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start laughing (informal)
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The kids just broke up as soon as the clown started talking.
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break out
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escape
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The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards were sleeping.
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break out in something
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develop a skin condition
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I broke out in a rash after our camping trip.
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bring someone down
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make unhappy
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This sad music is bringing me down.
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bring someone up
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raise a child
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His grandparents brought him up after his parents died.
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bring something up
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start talking about a subject
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My mother walks out of the room when my father brings up sports.
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bring something up
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vomit
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He drank so much that he brought his dinner up in the toilet.
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call around
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phone many different places/people
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We called around but we couldn’t find the car part we needed.
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call someone back
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return a phone call
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I called the company back but the offices were closed for the weekend.
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call something off
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cancel
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Smith called the wedding off because he wasn’t in love with his fiancé.
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call on someone
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ask for an answer or opinion
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The professor called on me for question 5.
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call on someone
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visit someone
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We called on you last night but you weren’t home.
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call someone up
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phone
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Give her your phone number and she will call you up when she in Sevilla.
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calm down
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relax after being angry
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You are still mad. You need to calm down before you drive the car.
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not care for someone/something
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not like (formal)
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I don’t care for his behaviour.
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catch up
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get to the same point as someone else
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You’ll have to run faster than that if you want to catch up with Marty.
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check in
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arrive and register at a hotel or airport
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We will get the hotel keys when we check in.
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check out
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leave a hotel
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You have to check out of the hotel before 12:00 a.m.
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check someone/something out
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look at carefully, investigate
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The company checks out all new employees.
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check out someone/something
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look at (informal)
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Check out the crazy hair on that girl!
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cheer up
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become happier
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We cheered up when we heard the good news.
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cheer someone up
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make happier
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She brought me some flowers to cheer me up.
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chip in
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help
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If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by noon.
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clean something up
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tidy, clean
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Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside.
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come across something
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find unexpectedly
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I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet.
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come apart
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separate
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The top and bottom come apart if you pull hard enough.
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come down with something
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become sick
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My nephew came down with chicken pox this weekend.
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come forward
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volunteer for a task or to give evidence
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The woman came forward with her husband’s finger prints.
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come from somewhere
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originate in
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The art of origami comes from Asia.
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count on someone/something
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rely on
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I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out.
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cross something out
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draw a line through
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Please cross out your old address and write your new one.
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cut back on something
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consume less
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My doctor wants me to cut back on sweets and fatty foods.
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cut something down
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make something fall to the ground
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We had to cut the old tree in our yard down after the storm.
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cut in
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interrupt
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Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle.
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cut in
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pull in too closely in front of another vehicle
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The bus driver got angry when that car cut in.
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cut in
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start operating (of an engine or electrical device)
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The air conditioner cuts in when the temperature gets to 22ºC.
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cut something off
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remove with something sharp
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The doctors cut off his leg because it was severely injured.
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cut something off
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stop providing
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The phone company cut off our phone because we didn’t pay the bill.
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cut someone off
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take out of a will
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My grandparents cut my father off when he remarried.
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cut something out
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remove part of something (usually with scissors and paper)
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I cut this ad out of the newspaper.
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do someone/something over
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beat up, ransack (Br.E., informal)
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He’s lucky to be alive. His shop was done over by a street gang.
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do something over
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do again (N.Amer.)
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My teacher wants me to do my essay over because she doesn’t like my topic.
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do away with something
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discard
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It’s time to do away with all of these old tax records.
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do something up
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fasten, close
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Do your coat up before you go outside. It’s snowing!
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dress up
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wear nice clothing
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It’s a fancy restaurant so we have to dress up.
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drop back
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move back in a position/group
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Andrea dropped back to third place when she fell off her bike.
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drop in/by/over
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come without an appointment
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I might drop in/by/over for tea some time this week.
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drop someone/something off
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take someone/something somewhere and leave them/it there
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I have to drop my sister off at work before I come over.
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drop out
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quit a class, school etc
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I dropped out of Science because it was too difficult.
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eat out
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eat at a restaurant
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I don’t feel like cooking tonight. Let’s eat out.
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end up
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eventually reach/do/decide
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We ended up renting a movie instead of going to the theatre.
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fall apart
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break into pieces
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My new dress fell apart in the washing machine.
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fall down
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fall to the ground
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The picture that you hung up last night fell down this morning.
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fall out
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separate from an interior
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The money must have fallen out of my pocket.
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fall out
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(of hair, teeth) become loose and unattached
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His hair started to fall out when he was only 35.
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figure something out
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understand, find the answer
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I need to figure out how to fit the piano and the bookshelf in this room.
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fill something in
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to write information in blanks (Br.E.)
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Please fill in the form with your name, address, and phone number.
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fill something out
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to write information in blanks (N.Amer.)
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The form must be filled out in capital letters.
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fill something up
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fill to the top
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I always fill the water jug up when it is empty.
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find out
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discover
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We don’t know where he lives. How can we find out?
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find something out
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discover
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We tried to keep the time of the party a secret, but Samantha found it out.
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get something across/over
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communicate, make understandable
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I tried to get my point across/over to the judge but she wouldn’t listen.
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get along/on
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like each other
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I was surprised how well my new girlfriend and my sister got along/on.
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get around
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have mobility
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My grandfather can get around fine in his new wheelchair.
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get away
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go on a vacation
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We worked so hard this year that we had to get away for a week.
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get away with something
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do without being noticed or punished
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Jason always gets away with cheating in his maths tests.
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get back
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return
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We got back from our vacation last week.
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get something back
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receive something you had before
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Liz finally got her Science notes back from my room-mate.
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get back at someone
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retaliate, take revenge
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My sister got back at me for stealing her shoes. She stole my favourite hat.
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get back into something
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become interested in something again
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I finally got back into my novel and finished it.
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get on something
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step onto a vehicle
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We’re going to freeze out here if you don’t let us get on the bus.
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get over something
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recover from an illness, loss, difficulty
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I just got over the flu and now my sister has it.
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get over something
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overcome a problem
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The company will have to close if it can’t get over the new regulations.
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get round to something
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finally find time to do (N.Amer.: get around tosomething)
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I don’t know when I am going to get round to writing the thank you cards.
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get together
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meet (usually for social reasons)
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Let’s get together for a BBQ this weekend.
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get up
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get out of bed
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I got up early today to study for my exam.
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get up
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stand
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You should get up and give the elderly man your seat.
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give someone away
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reveal hidden information about someone
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His wife gave him away to the police.
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gives omeone away
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take the bride to the altar
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My father gave me away at my wedding.
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give something away
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ruin a secret
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My little sister gave the surprise party away by accident.
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give something away
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give something to someone for free
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The library was giving away old books on Friday.
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give something back
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return a borrowed item
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I have to give these skates back to Franz before his hockey game.
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give in
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reluctantly stop fighting or arguing
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My boyfriend didn’t want to go to the ballet, but he finally gave in.
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give something out
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give to many people (usually at no cost)
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They were giving out free perfume samples at the department store.
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give something up
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quit a habit
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I am giving up smoking as of January 1st.
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give up
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stop trying
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My maths homework was too difficult so I gave up.
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go after someone
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follow someone
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My brother tried to go after the thief in his car.
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go after something
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try to achieve something
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I went after my dream and now I am a published writer.
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go against someone
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compete, oppose
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We are going against the best soccer team in the city tonight.
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go ahead
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start, proceed
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Please go ahead and eat before the food gets cold.
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go back
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return to a place
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I have to go back home and get my lunch.
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go out
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leave home to go on a social event
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We’re going out for dinner tonight.
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go out with someone
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date
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Jesse has been going out with Luke since they met last winter.
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go over something
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review
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Please go over your answers before you submit your test.
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go over
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visit someone nearby
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I haven’t seen Tina for a long time. I think I’ll go over for an hour or two.
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go without something
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suffer lack or deprivation
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When I was young, we went without winter boots.
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grow apart
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stop being friends over time
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My best friend and I grew apart after she changed schools.
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grow back
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regrow
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My roses grew back this summer.
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grow up
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become an adult
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When Jack grows up he wants to be a fireman.
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grow out of something
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get too big for
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Elizabeth needs a new pair of shoes because she has grown out of her old ones.
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grow into something
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grow big enough to fit
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This bike is too big for him now, but he should grow into it by next year.
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hand something down
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give something used to someone else
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I handed my old comic books down to my little cousin.
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hand something in
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submit
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I have to hand in my essay by Friday.
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hand something out
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to distribute to a group of people
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We will hand out the invitation
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