English phrasal verbs

 
 ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  ENGLISH  PHRASAL  VERBS  

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb;
the combination creates a meaning different from the original verb. |   |

idiom-a-day                                                                                                                         phrasal verb crossword

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A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K| L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z |
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  |  Phrasal
 Verb | Meaning | Example |
A | abide by |  respect or obey. (the law, a decision, a rule) |  If you want to stay at this school, you must abide by the rules. |
  | account for |  explain, give a reason |  I hope you can account for the money you spent! |
  | add up |  make sense, seem reasonable |  Her storyjust doesn't add up. |
  | agree with |  have the same opinion as somebody else. |  I agree with you. I think she deserves the award too. |
  | allow for |  take into consideration,
 include in a calculation |  You'd better leave early to allow for traffic jams. |
  | answer back |  reply rudely |  Don't answer back your mother! |
  | apply for |  make a formal request for something (job, permit, loan etc.) |  He applied for the job he saw advertised in the newspaper. |
  | avail (oneself) of |  take advantage of something (an opportunity) |  When the company is privatized, you should avail yourself of
 the opportunity and buy some shares. |
  |   |   |   |
B | back away |  move backwards, in fear or dislike |  When he saw the dog, he backed away. |
  | back down | withdraw,  concede defeat |  Local authorities backed down on their plans to demolish the building. |
  | back up | 1) give support or encouragement
2) make a copy of (file, program, etc.) |  1) If I tell the boss we've got too much work, will you back me up?
 2) It is recommended to back up all files in a secure location. |
  | black out |  faint, lose consciousness |  When he fell off thehorse he blacked out. |
  | block off |  Separate using a barrier. |  The area was blocked off during the demonstration. |
  | blow up | 1) explode;
2) be destroyed by an explosion |  1) The terrorists said the bomb would blow up at 9 o'clock.
 2) The car blew up but luckily there was nobody in it. |
  | boil down to |  be summarized as |  The problem boils down to a lack of money. |
  |break down | 1) go out of order, cease to function
2) lose control of one's emotions |  1) John's car broke down so he had to take the bus.
 2) The parents broke down when they heard the bad news. |

  | break into |  enter by force |  Burglars broke into the house around midnight. |
  | break out |  start suddenly |  Rioting broke out as a result of the strike. |
  | break out of | escape from a place by force |  Three prisoners broke out of jail. |
  | break up |  come to an end (marriage, relationship) |  After her marriage broke up, Emma went to live in London. |
  | bring up |  raise (a child) |  She stopped working in order to bring up her children. |
  | brush up on |  improve, refresh one's knowledge of something |  Mary had to brush up on her Spanish before goingto South America. |
  | bump into |  meet by accident or unexpectedly |  Pedro bumped into his English teacher at the supermarket. |
  | burn out | 1) stop (something) working
2) become exhausted from over-working | 1) The fuse has burnt out.
2) Tom will burn himself out if he doesn't slow down. |
  | butt in (on sthg) |  interrupt impolitely |  It's rude to butt in on a conversation likethat! |
  |   |   |   |
C | call back |  return a phone call |  I'll call you back as soon as possible. |
  | call off |  cancel |  The meeting was called off because of the strike. |
  | call on/upon sby |  formally invite or request |  I now call upon the President to address the assembly. |
  | calm down |  become more relaxed, less angry or upset |  He was angry at first but he...