In English, we sometimes find combinations of verbs with particles (prepositions or adverbs) that produce new and unique meanings. This is called a phrasal verb.
Mastering phrasal verbs is one of the keys to improving your overall English skills. Because native English speakers often use phrasal verbs in their daily conversations.
Ready to explore 100 commonly used phrasal verbs, their meanings, and examples with EZClass?
What is a Phrasal Verb?
Phrasal verbs are combinations of verbs with particles in the form of adverbs or prepositions that produce a new meaning distinct from that of the original verb.
The general structure is verb + adverb (examples: back down, look for, turn away) or verb + preposition (examples: get out, split up, turn on).
Types of Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs can be classified into two types: transitive and intransitive.
Transitive phrasal verbs require a direct object after them. For example, turn on, put down, and clean up. The example sentences are:
- Before you use the computer, you need to turn it on.
- She looked at the book and then put it down.
- We need to clean up the dead leaves in the garden.
From the example sentences above, we can see that the bolded words are transitive phrasal verbs. On the other hand, the italicized word is the object that follows it.
Meanwhile, intransitive phrasal verbs do not need an object after them. For example, grow up, carry on, and sold out. Look at the following example:
- Where did you grow up?
- You're doing well, so carry on like this.
- All the tickets are sold out.
In the example sentences above, the bolded intransitive phrasal verbs stand alone and are not followed by any object.
Also read: Examples of Adjectives in English
List of Phrasal Verbs in English
After understanding the definition and types of phrasal verbs, let's look at the various examples of phrasal verbs with their meanings and example sentences. Check it out!
Phrasal Verbs | Meaning | Examples |
| Act up | Behave badly or strangely | “The car started to act up right before our trip.” |
| Add up | Calculating the total number of counts | “Rosie added the bill up to 40$.” |
| Ask around | Ask several people the same question | “I’ll ask around to see if anyone knows.” |
| Ask for | Request something | “He asked for help.” |
| Back down | Withdraw from a position or claim | “Neither side is willing to back down.” |
| Back up | Support or confirm | “Make sure to back up your files regularly.” |
| Blow up | Explode or inflate | “The fireworks blew up in the sky.” |
| Break down | Stop functioning | “The car broke down on the way.” |
| Break in | Enter forcibly | “Someone broke into my house last night.” |
| Break up | End a relationship | “They decided to break up after 2 months.” |
| Bring up | Raise a child or mention a topic | “He brought up her children alone.” |
| Call off | Cancel | “They called off the meeting.” |
| Calm down | Become quiet and calm | “Please calm down, everything will be okay.” |
| Carry on | Continue | “The show must carry on.” |
| Carry out | Perform or execute | “The doctor carried out the operation.” |
| Catch up | Reach the same level as others | “I need to catch up on my work.” |
| Check-in | Register at a hotel or airport | “Passengers must check in before departure.” |
| Check out | Leave a hotel or borrow a library book | “We need to check out by noon.” |
| Come across | Find something unexpectedly | “I came across an old photo.” |
| Come on | Hurry up, or don’t be silly | “Come on, we’ll be late if we don’t hurry!” |
| Cut off | Disconnect or isolate | “The electricity was cut off due to repairs." |
| Deal with | Handle or cope with | “I can’t deal with this anymore.” |
| Die down | Gradually decrease or disappear | “The storm finally died down.” |
| Dress up | Dress nicely or formally | “We need to dress up for the party.” |
| Drop off | Deliver someone or something | “I’ll drop you off at the airport.” |
| Drop out | Quit a course or program | “He dropped out of college.” |
| Eat out | Eat at a restaurant | “My mom decided to eat out instead of cooking.” |
| End up | Finally, arrive at a place or situation | “How did we end up getting lost here? |
| Figure out | Understand or solve something | “I’m trying to figure out the answer.” |
| Fill in | Complete a form or substitute someone | “You have to fill in the form before submitting it.” |
| Fill up | Fill to the top | “Please fill up the gas tank.” |
| Find out | Discover information | “I’ll find out the details later.” |
| Get along | Have a good relationship with someone | “I get along well with my classmates.” |
| Get away | Escape | “The thief got away very quickly.” |
| Get back | Return | “I’ll get back to you later.” |
| Get in | Enter a car or a small places | “How did you get in here?” |
| Get off | Leave a bus, train, or plane | “I need to get off at the next stop.” |
| Get on | Enter a bus, train, or plane | “Get on the bus now. We’re leaving!” |
| Get over | Recover from an illness or disappointment | “It took me a long time to get over it.” |
| Get up | Stand up or wake up | “I get up early every morning.” |
| Give up | Stop trying | “Don’t give up on your dreams!” |
| Go on | Continue | “I can’t go on working like this. I’m tired.” |
| Go out | Leave home to go to a social event | “Let’s go out for dinner!” |
| Grow up | Become an adult | “I grew up in a small town.” |
| Hand in | Submit something | “Please hand in your homework.” |
| Hang on | Wait a moment | “Hang on a second while I get the key.” |
| Hang out | Spend time relaxing | “I like to hang out with my friends.” |
| Hold on | Grip tightly or wait | “Please hold on until the announcement is released.” |
| Keep on | Continue | “Keep on this good work!” |
| Knock out | Make someone unconscious | “The boxer knocked out his opponent.” |
| Keep up | To maintain pace | “She struggled to keep up with the other swimmers.” |
| Keep out | Stop from entering | “Keep the wet cat out from entering the living room.” |
| Look after | Take care of someone or something | “She looks after her younger siblings.” |
| Look forward | Anticipate with pleasure | “I’m looking forward to the weekend.” |
| Look into | To investigate or examine | “The police are looking into the cause of the accident.” |
| Look up | Search for information | “I looked up the word in the dictionary.” |
Log in
| Sign in (to a website, database, etc) | “I can't log in to Facebook because I've forgotten my password.” |
| Make up | Invent a story or reconcile | “They made up after the fight.” |
| Mix up | Confuse things or people | “I mixed up the date.” |
| Move on | Proceed to something else | “It’s time to move on!” |
| Pass away | Die | “He passed away peacefully in his sleep.” |
| Pay back | Return money that you borrowed | “I'll pay you back next week.” |
| Pick up | Lift something or someone up | “I’ll pick you up at 8 o’clock.” |
| Point out | Draw attention to something | “He pointed out the mistake in my essay.” |
| Put off | Postpone | “The meeting was put off until next week.” |
| Put up | Tolerate something unpleasant | “I can’t put up with his behavior any longer.” |
Run into
| Meet unexpectedly | “I ran into an old school friend at the mall.” |
| Run out | Have no more of something | “We’ve run out of milk.” |
| Set up | Arrange or organize something | “We need to set up the tent for camping.” |
| Show up | Arrive or appear | “He didn’t show up for the party.” |
| Shut down | Stop operating | “The factory was shut down last year.” |
| Sit down | Take a seat | “Please sit down in the available place.” |
| Sort out | Resolve a problem | “I’ll try to sort out the situation.” |
| Speak up | Talk louder | “Could you speak up a bit?” |
| Stand up | Rise to your feet | “Please stand up when the national anthem is played.” |
| Stay up | Go to bed later than usual | “I stayed up late watching the movie.” |
| Stick to | Continue doing something | “You should stick to your diet.” |
Set off
| To start or trigger. | “The fireworks set off a loud explosion.” |
| Slow down | To decrease speed or pace. | “I need to slow down and take it easy.” |
| Sum up | Summarize | “He ended his presentation by summing up his main points.” |
| Take after | Resemble a family member | “He takes after his father.” |
| Take off | Remove clothing or leave the ground | “Please take off your shoes before entering the room.” |
| Take on | Accept a responsibility | “She said she can’t take on any more work.” |
| Take out | Remove or go on a date | “I’ll take out the trash later.” |
| Take over | Take control of something | “She will take over as manager next month.” |
| Think over | Consider carefully | “I’ll think over your offer.” |
| Throw away | Discard something | “I threw away the old newspaper.” |
| Try on | Put on clothes to see if they fit | “I want to try on these jeans.” |
| Turn down | Reject an offer or lower volume | “He turned down the job offer.” |
| Turn up | Increase volume or find something | “Could you turn up the music?” |
Toss up
| To decide on the chance | “We had to toss up a coin to decide who would go first.” |
Turn in
| To retire for the night or submit | “I need to turn in early. I have an early meeting tomorrow.” |
| Turn out | To result or attend. | “The event turned out to be a great success.” |
| Wake up | Get up, stop sleeping | “I wake up at seven every morning.” |
| Walk away | Leave a situation | “He walked away from the argument.” |
| Warm-up | Prepare for exercise | “We need to warm up before the match.” |
| Watch out | Be careful | “Watch out for the car!”
|
| Wear out | Become tired or used up | “My shoes are starting to wear up.” |
| Work out | Exercise to find a solution | “I work out at the gym three times a week.” |
| Write down | To record or note | “Can you write down the phone number for me?” |
Conclusion
Those are 100 frequently used phrasal verbs with their meanings and example sentences. By understanding this article, you will be more confident in speaking English.
Don't let phrasal verbs be a mystery anymore! Try to use some of these phrasal verbs in everyday conversation so that you will become more proficient.
Are you interested in other topics? Visit EZClass and the EZClass blog for more interesting articles. Also, remember to share this article with your friends who are learning English!
