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English Phrasal Verbs Dictionary

Browse our list of English phrasal verbs, providing meanings and example sentences for a total of 3,611 phrasal verbs.

What is a Phrasal Verb?

Phrasal verbs (also called multi-word verbs) are idiomatic expressions, combining verbs and prepositions to make new verbs whose meaning is often not obvious from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. They are widely used in both written and spoken English, and new ones are formed all the time as they are a flexible way of creating new terms.

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition or adverb that modifies or changes the meaning; 'give up' is a phrasal verb that means 'stop doing' something, which is very different from 'give'. The word or words that modify a verb in this manner can also go under the name particle.

Phrasal verbs can be divided into groups:

Intransitive verbs

These don't take an object

Example: They had an argument, but they've made up now.

Inseparable verbs

The object must come after the particle.

Example: They are looking after their grandchildren.

Separable verbs

With some separable verbs, the object must come between the verb and the particle:
The quality of their work sets them apart from their rivals.

In our phrasal verb list, we classify these as Separable [obligatory]

With some separable verbs, the object can before or after the particle, though when a pronoun is used it comes before the particle:

Example: Turn the TV off.

Example: Turn off the TV.

Example: Turn it off.

In our phrasal verb list, we classify these as Separable [optional]

Our Phrasal Verbs List

Click on the A-Z menu to browse our phrasal verb list alphabetically.

Our phrasal verbs list includes entries from around the world submitted by numerous contributors. It covers both modern language and older phrases. If you know of phrasal verbs in English that you feel should be included here, please use our online form to let us know about it. Please note that all submissions are reviewed for validity and accuracy by our Editor.

The latest 30 entries added to our Phrasal Verbs dictionary:

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Zip up To close a zip fastener, such as on a jacket or a bag. He asked me to ZIP the bag UP because he couldn't do it himself.
Turn up To arrive unexpectedly. We were just about to leave for the evening when John TURNED UP at our door.
Turn around To change direction; Reverse one's course or actions. a) Having taken the wrong turn, we had to TURN AROUND and retrace our steps. b) The company was struggling financially, but they TURNED their fortunes AROUND and became profitable within a year.
Take back To return something. I TOOK the books BACK to the library.
Run out To have none left. He RAN OUT of energy after playing with his children for hours.
Go out Participate in a romantic relationship, spending time together in social settings. I started GOING OUT with her when I was 21
Come in To enter. Their mother told them to COME IN because it had started raining.
Take on Begin to accumulate or absorb. The boat started to TAKE ON water after hitting the rocks, and we had to act quickly to prevent it from sinking
Set up To arrange or establish something. I tried to SET UP a meeting between us, but they were busy.
Pick up To lift something or someone After the accident, I couldn't PICK UP anything heavy.
Aim for To plan for something; Intend to achieve When I had my last meeting with Richard we were AIMING FOR 5pm, but it was delayed by half an hour.
Delve into Examine, investigate The press DELVE INTO people's social media posts to find things that will be damaging.
Dig down Spend your own money We had to DIG DOWN when the funds ran out for the project.
Knock back If you knock someone back, you reject them emotionally or sexually. She KNOCKED me BACK and went for a friend of mine.
Key out If you key out a plant, you identify it by using binary choices like whether it has needle leaves or doesn't. They KEYED OUT some new plants in the rain forest.
Glow down Become less attractive Those excessive fillers make her GLOW DOWN.
Plant up Fill an area with plants or seeds They PLANTED UP the flower beds with geraniums.
Work out To Exercise She went to the gym three times a week to WORK OUT
Rip into Criticise She RIPPED INTO me for not going along with her scheme.
Drag out of Force someone to confess or tell the truth The police DRAGGED a confession OUT OF him when they interrogated him.
Drag out Make something last longer than necessary They DRAGGED OUT the training course for a whole day when we could have done it in an hour.
Bubble with Form a support group with people when contact is restricted You can BUBBLE WITH six people in this phase of the pandemic.
Bubble under Be likely to be popular or successful in the near future The band's single is BUBBLING UNDER and may hit the charts soon.
Cut through Fail to get attention in the media If a news story does NOT CUT THROUGH, it fails to attract much attention because there are stories attracting more attention, regardless of the merits of the story.
Brim with Be full of something She was BRIMMING WITH enthusiasm when she arrived for the interview.
Brim over Be too full and overflow They filled my sake glass till it BRIMMED OVER as a sign of hospitality.
Level down Make something worse, when you are meant to be making things more equal The government is LEVELLING DOWN the parts of the country it said it would level up.
Tap out Surrender In combat sports, if someone TAPS OUT, they surrender. They can do this by tapping their opponent or the floor, with their hand or foot,
Clue in on Give someone the information they need She's new to the team, so please CLUE her IN ON the work you've done so far.
Puke up vomit They PUKED UP eating the shellfish.

Search the Dictionary

Enter single words here. Use the infinitive without 'to' for a verb. If you enter 'go', it will list all the phrasal verbs with 'go'. If you enter a preposition or particle in the box, like 'up', you can look at all the phrasal verbs containing 'up'.

If you have any suggestions for phrasal verbs that are not listed here, you can submit them to us using our online form.


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