Phrasal Verbs

break up | start laughing (informal) | The kids just broke up as soon as the clown started talking. |
break out | escape | The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards weren't looking. |
break out insomething | develop a skin condition | I broke out in a rash after our camping trip. |
bring someone down | make unhappy | This sad music is bringing me down. |
bring someone up | raise achild | My grandparents brought me up after my parents died. |
bring something up | start talking about a subject | My mother walks out of the room when my father brings up sports. |
bring something up | vomit | He drank so much that he brought his dinner up in the toilet. |
call around | phone many different places/people | We called around but we weren't able to find the car part we needed.|
call someone back | return a phone call | I called the company back but the offices were closed for the weekend. |
call something off | cancel | Jason called the wedding off because he wasn't in love with his fiancé. |
call on someone | ask for an answer or opinion | The professor called on me for question 1. |
call on someone | visit someone | We called on you last night but youweren't home. |
call someone up | phone | Give me your phone number and I will callyou up when we are in town. |
calm down | relax after being angry | You are still mad. You need to calm downbefore you drive the car. |
not care forsomeone/something | not like (formal) | I don't care for his behaviour. |
catch up | get to the same point as someone else | You'll have to run faster than that if youwant to catch up with Marty. |
check in | arrive and register at a hotel or airport | We will get the hotel keys when we check in. |
check out | leave a hotel | You have to check out of the hotel before 11:00 AM. |
checksomeone/somethingout | look at carefully, investigate | The company checks out all new employees. |
check outsomeone/something | look at (informal) | Check out the crazyhair on that guy! |
cheer up | become happier | She cheered up when she heard the good news. |
cheer someone up | make happier | I brought you some flowers to cheer youup. |
chip in | help | If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by noon. |
clean something up | tidy, clean | Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside. |
come acrosssomething | find unexpectedly |I came across these old photos when I was tidying the closet. |
come apart | separate | The top and bottom come apart if you pull hard enough. |
come down withsomething | become sick | My nephew came down with chicken pox this weekend. |
come forward | volunteer for a task or to give evidence | The woman came forward with her husband's finger prints. |
come fromsomewhere | originate in | The artof origami comes from Asia. |
count onsomeone/something | rely on | I am counting on you to make dinner while I am out. |
cross something out | draw a line through | Please cross out your old address and write your new one. |
cut back onsomething | consume less | My doctor wants me to cut back onsweets and fatty foods. |
cut something down | make something fall to the ground | We hadto cut the old tree in our yarddown after the storm. |
cut in | interrupt | Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle. |
cut in | pull in too closely in front of another vehicle | The bus driver got angry when that car cut in. |
cut in | start operating (of an engine or electrical device) | The air conditioner cuts in when the temperature gets to 22°C. |
cut something off | removewith something sharp | The doctors cut off his leg because it was severely injured. |
cut something off | stop providing | The phone company cut off our phone because we didn't pay the bill. |
cut someone off | take out of a will | My grandparents cut my father off when he remarried. |
cut something out | remove part of something (usually with scissors and paper) | I cut this ad out of...