Phrasal Verbs

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 story just doesn't add up. |
  | advise against |  recommend not doingsomething |  The doctor advised him against carrying heavy loads. |
  | agree with |  have the same opinion as somebody else. |  I agree with you. I think she deserves the award too. |
  | aim at |  point something in the direction of
 a target |  The policeman aimed his gun at the hijacker. |
  | allow for |  take into consideration,
 include in a calculation |  You'd better leave early toallow for traffic jams. |
  | answer back |  reply rudely |  Don't answer back your mother! |
  | appeal to |  1) plead or make an earnest request
 2) be attractive or interesting | 1) The organizers appealed to the crowd to stay calm.
2) A trekking holiday doesn't appeal to me. |
  | apply for |  make a formal request for something
 (job, permit, loan etc.) |  He applied for the jobhe 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 authoritiesbacked 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. |
  | bail out | 1) pay money to secure someone's release
2) rescue from financial difficulties | 1) When he wasarrested, his family refused to bail him out.
2) The government bailed out the bank. |
  | bank on |  base your hopes on someone/something |  Don't forget the date. I'm banking on your help. |
  | beef up |  improve, make more substantial |  He beefed up his presentation with diagrams and statistics. |
  | black out |  faint, lose consciousness |  When he fell off the horse 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. |
  | boot up |  start acomputer by loading an
 operating system or program. |  Just give my a few minutes to boot up the computer. |
  | break away |  escape from captivity |  A few horses broke away from the paddock. |
  | 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 forcé |  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 going to 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...