Common Phrasal Verbs
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition or adverb that creates a new meaning.
| Word | Meaning | Sample Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Wake up | stop sleeping | I wake up at 6 AM every day. |
| Get up | leave the bed | She got up and made breakfast. |
| Turn on | start a device | Can you turn on the TV? |
| Turn off | stop a device | He forgot to turn off the stove. |
| Sit down | take a seat | Please sit down and relax. |
| Stand up | rise from a sitting position | The students stood up to greet their teacher. |
| Look at | direct your eyes to something | Look at the sky! It’s so beautiful. |
| Pick up | lift something | Can you pick up that book? |
| Put down | place something on a surface | He put down his coffee cup. |
| Run out of | use all of something | We ran out of milk. |
| Give up | stop trying | Don’t give up on your dreams. |
| Come in | enter a place | Please come in and have a seat. |
| Go out | leave a place | Let’s go out for dinner tonight. |
| Bring back | return something | Please bring back my book. |
| Call back | return a phone call | I’ll call you back later. |
| Look for | try to find | I’m looking for my keys. |
| Take off | remove clothing / airplane leaves | The plane took off at 10 AM. |
| Try on | test clothing before buying | She tried on a new dress. |
| Write down | record on paper | Please write down your name. |
| Turn up | increase volume | She turned up the radio to hear the news. |
| Turn down | decrease volume or refuse | He turned down the job offer. |
| Get on | enter a vehicle | She got on the bus at the next stop. |
| Get off | exit a vehicle | I got off at the wrong station. |
| Come back | return to a place | She came back from her trip. |
| Go back | return to a previous place | I have to go back to work. |
| Check out | look at something or leave a place | Let’s check out that new café. |
| Fill in | complete a form | Please fill in your name and address. |
| Find out | discover information | He found out that he got the job. |
| Give back | return something | Can you give back my book? |
| Hang up | end a phone call | She hung up before I could say goodbye. |
| Hold on | wait a moment | Please hold on while I get my notebook. |
| Keep on | continue doing something | She keeps on talking in class. |
| Let in | allow someone to enter | Can you let in the cat? |
| Look after | take care of someone or something | She looks after her younger brother. |
| Look up | search for information | I looked up the word in the dictionary. |
| Pass out | lose consciousness | He passed out from the heat. |
| Put on | wear clothing or accessories | She put on a beautiful dress. |
| Run away | leave quickly / escape | The dog ran away from home. |
| Set up | arrange or establish something | They set up a meeting for next week. |
| Show up | arrive at a place | He showed up late to the party. |
| Take away | remove or subtract something | Please take away the dirty dishes. |
| Take out | remove or bring something outside | Please take out the trash. |
| Think over | consider something carefully | I need to think over my decision. |
| Try out | test something new | She tried out a new hairstyle. |
| Work out | exercise or solve a problem | He works out at the gym every morning. |
| Put up with | tolerate something | She can’t put up with the noise anymore. |
| Break down | stop working or become very upset | My car broke down on the way home. |
| Break up | end a relationship | They broke up after five years together. |
| Bring up | mention a topic or raise a child | She brought up an interesting point. |
| Cut down on | reduce the amount of something | I need to cut down on sugar. |