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Verb Meaning Example

asksomeoneout invite on a date Brian asked Judyout to dinner and a

movie.ask around ask many people the

same questionI asked around butnobody has seenmy wallet.

add up tosomething equal Your purchasesadd up to $205.32.

backsomethingup reverse You'll have to backup your car so that I

can get out.

backsomeoneup support My wife backed meup over mydecision to quit my

job.

blow up explode The racing car blewup after it crashedinto the fence.

blowsomethingup add air We have to blow50 balloons up forthe party.

break down stop functioning(vehicle, machine)

Our carbrokedown at the side ofthe highway in thesnowstorm.

break down get upset The woman brokedown when thepolice told her thather son had died.

breaksomethingdown

divide into smaller parts Our teacherbrokethe final project

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down into threeseparate parts.

break in force entry to a building Somebody broke in

last night and stoleour stereo.

break intosomething enter forcibly The firemen had tobreak into theroom to rescue thechildren.

breaksomethingin wear something a fewtimes so that it doesn't

look/feel new

I need to breakthese shoes in

before we run nextweek.

break in interrupt The TV stationbroke in to reportthe news of thepresident's death.

break up end a relationship My boyfriend and Ibroke up before Imoved to America.

break up start laughing (informal) The kids just brokeup as soon as theclown startedtalking.

break out escape The prisonersbroke out of jailwhen the guardsweren't looking.

break out insomething

develop a skin condition I broke out in arash after ourcamping trip.

bringsomeonedown make unhappy This sad music is

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bringing me down.

bringsomeoneup raise a child My grandparentsbrought me up

after my parentsdied.

bringsomethingup start talking about asubject

My mother walksout of the roomwhen my fatherbrings up sports.

bringsomethingup vomit He drank so muchthat he brought his

dinnerup in thetoilet.

call around phone many differentplaces/people

We called aroundbut we weren't ableto find the car partwe needed.

callsomeoneback return a phone call I called thecompany back butthe offices wereclosed for theweekend.

callsomethingoff cancel Jason called thewedding offbecause he wasn'tin love with hisfianc.

call onsomeone ask for an answer oropinion

The professorcalled on me forquestion 1.

call onsomeone visit someone We called on youlast night but youweren't home.

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callsomeoneup phone Give me your phone number and Iwill call you upwhen we are in

town.

calm down relax after being angry You are still mad.You need to calmdown before youdrive the car.

not care forsomeone/something

not like (formal) I don't care forhisbehaviour.

catch up get to the same point assomeone else You'll have to runfaster than that ifyou want to catchup with Marty.

check in arrive and register at ahotel or airport

We will get the hotelkeys when wecheck in.

check out leave a hotel You have to checkout of the hotelbefore 11:00 AM.

checksomeone/somethingout

look at carefully,investigate

The companychecks out all newemployees.

check outsomeone/something

look at (informal) Check out thecrazy hair on thatguy!

cheer up become happier She cheered upwhen she heard thegood news.

cheersomeoneup make happier I brought you someflowers to cheer

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you up.

chip in help If everyone chipsin we can get the

kitchen painted bynoon.

cleansomethingup tidy, clean Please clean upyour bedroombefore you gooutside.

come acrosssomething

find unexpectedly I came acrossthese old photos

when I was tidyingthe closet.

come apart separate The top and bottomcome apart if youpull hard enough.

come down withsomething

become sick My nephew camedown with chickenpox this weekend.

come forward volunteer for a task or togive evidence

The woman cameforward with herhusband's fingerprints.

come fromsomewhere

originate in The art of origamicomes from Asia.

count onsomeone/something

rely on I am counting onyou to make dinner

while I am out.

crosssomethingout draw a line through Please cross outyour old addressand write your newone.

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cut back onsomething

consume less My doctor wants meto cut back onsweets and fattyfoods.

cutsomethingdown make something fall tothe ground

We had to cut theold tree in our yarddown after thestorm.

cut in interrupt Your father cut inwhile I was dancingwith your uncle.

cut in pull in too closely infront of another vehicle The bus driver gotangry when that carcut in.

cut in start operating (of anengine or electricaldevice)

The air conditionercuts in when thetemperature gets to22C.

cutsomethingoff remove with somethingsharp

The doctors cut offhis leg because itwas severelyinjured.

cutsomethingoff stop providing The phonecompany cut offour phone becausewe didn't pay thebill.

cutsomeoneoff take out of a will My grandparentscut my fatheroffwhen he remarried.

cutsomethingout remove part ofsomething (usually withscissors and paper)

I cut this ad out ofthe newspaper.

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dosomeone/somethingover

beat up, ransack (Br.E.,informal)

He's lucky to bealive. His shop wasdone overby astreet gang.

dosomethingover do again (N.Amer.) My teacher wantsme to do my essayoverbecause shedoesn't like mytopic.

do away withsomething

discard It's time to do awaywith all of these oldtax records.

dosomethingup fasten, close Do your coat upbefore you gooutside. It'ssnowing!

dress up wear nice clothing It's a fancyrestaurant so wehave to dress up.

drop back move back in aposition/group

Andrea droppedback to third placewhen she fell off herbike.

drop in/by/over come without anappointment

I might dropin/by/overfor teasome time thisweek.

dropsomeone/somethingoff

takesomeone/somethingsomewhere and leavethem/it there

I have to drop mysisteroffat workbefore I come over.

drop out quit a class, school etc I dropped out ofScience because it

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was too difficult.

eat out eat at a restaurant I don't feel likecooking tonight.

Let's eat out.end up eventually

reach/do/decideWe ended uprenting a movieinstead of going tothe theater.

fall apart break into pieces My new dress fellapart in thewashing machine.

fall down fall to the ground The picture that youhung up last nightfell down thismorning.

fall out separate from aninterior

The money musthave fallen out ofmy pocket.

fall out (of hair, teeth) become

loose and unattached

His hair started to

fall out when hewas only 35.

figuresomethingout understand, find theanswer

I need to figure outhow to fit the pianoand the bookshelf inthis room.

fillsomethingin to write information inblanks (Br.E.)

Please fill in theform with your

name, address, andphone number.

fillsomethingout to write information inblanks (N.Amer.)

The form must befilled out in capitalletters.

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fillsomethingup fill to the top I always fill thewater jug up whenit is empty.

find out discover We don't knowwhere he lives. Howcan we find out?

findsomethingout discover We tried to keep thetime of the party asecret, butSamantha found itout.

getsomethingacross/over communicate, makeunderstandable I tried to get mypoint across/overto the judge but shewouldn't listen.

get along/on like each other I was surprised howwell my newgirlfriend and mysistergot along/on.

get around have mobility My grandfather canget around fine inhis new wheelchair.

get away go on a vacation We worked so hardthis year that wehad to get away fora week.

get away withsomething

do without being noticedor punished

Jason always getsaway with cheatingin his maths tests.

get back return We got back fromour vacation lastweek.

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getsomethingback receive something youhad before

Liz finally got herScience notes backfrom my room-mate.

get back atsomeone retaliate, take revenge My sistergot backat me for stealingher shoes. Shestole my favouritehat.

get back intosomething

become interested insomething again

I finally got backinto my novel andfinished it.

get onsomething step onto a vehicle We're going tofreeze out here ifyou don't let us geton the bus.

get oversomething recover from an illness,loss, difficulty

I just got overtheflu and now mysister has it.

get oversomething overcome a problem The company willhave to close if itcan't get overthenew regulations.

get round tosomething

finally find time to do(N.Amer.: get aroundtosomething)

I don't know when Iam going to getround to writing thethank you cards.

get together meet (usually for socialreasons)

Let's get togetherfor a BBQ thisweekend.

get up get out of bed I got up early todayto study for myexam.

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get up stand You should get upand give the elderlyman your seat.

givesomeoneaway reveal hiddeninformation aboutsomeone

His wife gave himaway to the police.

givesomeoneaway take the bride to thealtar

My fathergave meaway at mywedding.

givesomethingaway ruin a secret My little sister gavethe surprise party

away by accident.givesomethingaway give something to

someone for freeThe library wasgiving away oldbooks on Friday.

givesomethingback return a borrowed item I have to give theseskates back toFranz before hishockey game.

give in reluctantly stop fightingor arguing

My boyfriend didn'twant to go to theballet, but he finallygave in.

givesomethingout give to many people(usually at no cost)

They were givingout free perfumesamples at thedepartment store.

givesomethingup quit a habit I am giving upsmoking as ofJanuary 1st.

give up stop trying My mathshomework was too

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difficult so I gaveup.

go aftersomeone follow someone My brother tried to

go afterthe thief inhis car.

go aftersomething try to achieve something I went aftermydream and now Iam a publishedwriter.

go againstsomeone compete, oppose We are goingagainst the best

soccer team in thecity tonight.

go ahead start, proceed Please go aheadand eat before thefood gets cold.

go back return to a place I have to go backhome and get mylunch.

go out leave home to go on asocial event

We're going out fordinner tonight.

go out withsomeone date Jesse has beengoing out withLuke since they metlast winter.

go oversomething review Please go overyour answers

before you submityour test.

go over visit someone nearby I haven't seen Tinafor a long time. Ithink I'll go overfor

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an hour or two.

go withoutsomething

suffer lack ordeprivation

When I was young,we went without

winter boots.grow apart stop being friends over

timeMy best friend and Igrew apart aftershe changedschools.

grow back regrow My roses grewback this summer.

grow up become an adult When Jack growsup he wants to be afireman.

grow out ofsomething

get too big for Elizabeth needs anew pair of shoesbecause she hasgrown out ofherold ones.

grow intosomething grow big enough to fit This bike is too big

for him now, but heshould grow into itby next year.

handsomethingdown

give something used tosomeone else

I handed my oldcomic books downto my little cousin.

handsomethingin submit I have to hand inmy essay by Friday.

handsomethingout to distribute to a groupof people

We will hand outthe invitations at thedoor.

handsomethingover give (usually unwillingly) The police askedthe man to hand

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overhis wallet andhis weapons.

hang in stay positive (N.Amer.,

informal)

Hang in there. I'm

sure you'll find a jobvery soon.

hang on wait a short time(informal)

Hang on while Igrab my coat andshoes!

hang out spend time relaxing(informal)

Instead of going tothe party we are

just going to hang

out at my place.hang up end a phone call He didn't say

goodbye before hehung up.

holdsomeone/somethingback

prevent fromdoing/going

I had to hold mydog back becausethere was a cat inthe park.

holdsomethingback hide an emotion Jamie held backhis tears at hisgrandfather'sfuneral.

hold on wait a short time Please hold onwhile I transfer youto the SalesDepartment.

hold ontosomeone/something

hold firmly using yourhands or arms

Hold onto your hatbecause it's verywindy outside.

holdsomeone/somethingu

rob A man in a blackmask held the bank

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p up this morning.

keep on doingsomething

continue doing Keep on stirringuntil the liquid

comes to a boil.keepsomethingfromsomeone

not tell We kept ourrelationship fromour parents for twoyears.

keepsomeone/somethingout

stop from entering Try to keep the wetdog out of the livingroom.

keepsomethingup continue at the samerate

If you keep thoseresults up you willget into a greatcollege.

letsomeonedown fail to support or help,disappoint

I need you to be ontime. Don't let medown this time.

letsomeonein allow to enter Can you let the cat

in before you go toschool?

look aftersomeone/something

take care of I have to look aftermy sickgrandmother.

look down onsomeone

think less of, considerinferior

Ever since we stolethat chocolate baryour dad has

looked down onme.

look forsomeone/something

try to find I'm looking forared dress for thewedding.

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look forward tosomething

be excited about thefuture

I'm lookingforward to theChristmas break.

look intosomething investigate We are going tolook into the priceof snowboardstoday.

look out be careful, vigilant, andtake notice

Look out! That car'sgoing to hit you!

look out forsomeone/something

be especially vigilant for Don't forget to lookout forsnakes on

the hiking trail.looksomethingover check, examine Can you look over

my essay forspelling mistakes?

looksomethingup search and findinformation in areference book ordatabase

We can look herphone numberupon the Internet.

look up tosomeone have a lot of respect for My little sister hasalways looked upto me.

makesomethingup invent, lie aboutsomething

Josie made up astory about aboutwhy we were late.

make up forgive each other We were angry lastnight, but we made

up at breakfast.

makesomeoneup apply cosmetics to My sisters mademe up for mygraduation party.

mixsomethingup confuse two or more I mixed up the

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things twins' names again!

pass away die His uncle passedaway last night

after a long illness.pass out faint It was so hot in the

church that anelderly lady passedout.

passsomethingout give the same thing tomany people

The professorpassed thetextbooks out

before class.passsomethingup decline (usually

something good)I passed up the jobbecause I am afraidof change.

paysomeoneback return owed money Thanks for buyingmy ticket. I'll payyou back on Friday.

pay forsomething be punished for doing

something bad

That bully will pay

forbeing mean tomy little brother.

picksomethingout choose I picked out threesweaters for you totry on.

pointsomeone/somethingout

indicate with your finger I'll point myboyfriend out whenhe runs by.

putsomethingdown put what you areholding on a surface orfloor

You can put thegroceries down onthe kitchen counter.

putsomeonedown insult, make someonefeel stupid

The students putthe substitute

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teacherdownbecause his pantswere too short.

putsomethingoff postpone We are putting offour trip untilJanuary because ofthe hurricane.

putsomethingout extinguish The neighbours putthe fire out beforethe firemen arrived.

putsomething

together

assemble I have to put the

crib togetherbefore the babyarrives.

put up withsomeone/something

tolerate I don't think I canput up with threesmall children in thecar.

putsomethingon put clothing/accessorieson your body

Don't forget to puton your newearrings for theparty.

run intosomeone/something

meet unexpectedly I ran into an oldschool-friend at themall.

run oversomeone/something

drive a vehicle over aperson or thing

I accidentally ranoveryour bicycle inthe driveway.

run over/throughsomething

rehearse, review Let's runover/through theselines one more timebefore the show.

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run away leave unexpectedly,escape

The child ran awayfrom home and hasbeen missing forthree days.

run out have none left We ran out ofshampoo so I hadto wash my hairwith soap.

sendsomethingback return (usually by mail) My letter got sentback to mebecause I used thewrong stamp.

setsomethingup arrange, organize Our boss set ameeting up with thepresident of thecompany.

setsomeoneup trick, trap The police set upthe car thief byusing a hiddencamera.

shop around compare prices I want to shoparound a littlebefore I decide onthese boots.

show off act extra special forpeople watching(usually boastfully)

He always showsoffon hisskateboard

sleep over stay somewhere for thenight (informal)

You should sleepovertonight if theweather is too badto drive home.

sortsomethingout organize, resolve aproblem

We need to sort thebills out before the

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first of the month.

stick tosomething continue doingsomething, limit yourself

to one particular thing

You will lose weightif you stick to the

diet.switchsomethingoff stop the energy flow,

turn offThe light's toobright. Could youswitch it off.

switchsomethingon start the energy flow,turn on

We heard the newsas soon as weswitched on thecar radio.

take aftersomeone resemble a familymember

I take aftermymother. We areboth impatient.

takesomethingapart purposely break intopieces

He took the carbrakes apart andfound the problem.

takesomethingback return an item I have to take ournew TV back

because it doesn'twork.

take off start to fly My plane takes offin five minutes.

takesomethingoff remove something(usually clothing)

Take offyour socksand shoes andcome in the lake!

takesomethingout remove from a place orthing

Can you take thegarbage out to thestreet for me?

takesomeoneout pay for someone to gosomewhere with you

My grandparentstook us out fordinner and a movie.

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tearsomethingup rip into pieces I tore up my ex-boyfriend's lettersand gave themback to him.

think back remember (often + to,sometimes + on)

When I think backon my youth, I wishI had studiedharder.

thinksomethingover consider I'll have to think thisjob offeroverbefore I make myfinal decision.

throwsomethingaway

dispose of We threw our oldfurniture awaywhen we won thelottery.

turnsomethingdown decrease the volume orstrength (heat, light etc)

Please turn the TVdown while theguests are here.

turnsomethingdown refuse I turned the jobdown because Idon't want to move.

turnsomethingoff stop the energy flow,switch off

Your mother wantsyou to turn the TVoffand come fordinner.

turnsomethingon start the energy, switchon

It's too dark in here.Let's turn somelights on.

turnsomethingup increase the volume orstrength (heat, light etc)

Can you turn themusic up? This ismy favourite song.

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turn up appear suddenly Our cat turned upafter we put postersup all over theneighbourhood.

trysomethingon sample clothing I'm going to trythese jeans on, butI don't think they willfit.

trysomethingout test I am going to trythis new brand ofdetergent out.

usesomethingup finish the supply The kids used all ofthe toothpaste upso we need to buysome more.

wake up stop sleeping We have to wakeup early for work onMonday.

warmsomeone/somethingup

increase thetemperature

You can warm yourfeet up in front ofthe fireplace.

warm up prepare body forexercise

I always warm upby doing sit-upsbefore I go for arun.

wear off fade away Most of my make-up wore offbefore Igot to the party.

work out exercise I work out at thegym three times aweek.

work out be successful Our plan worked

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out fine.

worksomethingout make a calculation We have to workout the total cost

before we buy thehouse.

Br.E.: British English; N.Amer.: North American