Yuliya Geikhman Last updated: 63 Most Common English Phrasal Verbs (with Meanings and Examples)
Phrasal verbs are when we combine a verb with a preposition of another grammatical element, and end up with a completely new meaning.
They’re used constantly by native speakers in spoken and written English, which makes them important to know.
In this English phrasal verbs list, we’ll show you 63 of the most common phrasal verbs, conveniently organized by type.
Afterwards, you’ll find a complete lesson on what phrasal verbs are, how to form them, and how to learn them effectively.
But to give you an introduction before we jump into the list, here’s a quick video explanation:
Contents
- Most Common English Phrasal Verbs
- What Is a Phrasal Verb?
- Types of Phrasal Verbs
- How to Use English Phrasal Verbs
- How to Learn English Phrasal Verbs
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Most Common English Phrasal Verbs
1. Bring up
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To mention something.
Example: “Mark was sick and had to miss the party, so please don’t bring it up, I don’t want him to feel bad for missing it.”
2. Bring on
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To cause something to happen, usually something negative.
Example: “His lung cancer was brought on by years of smoking.”
3. Bring it on!
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To accept a challenge with confidence.
Example: “You want to have a race? Bring it on! I can beat you!”
4. Call on (1)
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To visit someone.
Example: “I’ll call on you this evening to see how you’re feeling.”
5. Call on (2)
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To use someone’s or something’s knowledge.
Example: “I may need to call on the university’s excellent professors in order to answer your question.”
6. Call off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To cancel something.
Example: “We had to call off the picnic because of the rain.”
7. Check in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To register at a hotel for a stay.
Example: “We haven’t checked in at the hotel yet.”
8. Check out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To see something or try something out in order to learn more about it.
Example: “Check out my new car!”
9. Cheer on
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To support someone by giving them words of encouragement.
Example: “Even though Samantha was in the last place, her brother cheered her on through the entire race.”
10. Cheer up
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: This phrase can either be used as a phrase of encouragement said to someone who seems sad (just saying “cheer up!” to them), or it can mean to try to make someone happier.
Example: “Andrew was having a bad day, so his girlfriend cheered him up by taking him out for ice cream.”
11. Come up (with something)
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To think of an idea.
Example: “I came up with this idea for a TV show about a woman living with her best friend and daughter. I call it ‘Two and a Half Women.’”
12. Come up (1)
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To bring up a topic.
Example: “I wanted to tell her that I got a new job but the chance never came up.”
13. Come up (2)
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: When something happens unexpectedly.
Example: “I was going to meet my friends for dinner, but something came up so I had to cancel.”
14. Come in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To enter.
Example: “‘Come in, the door is open!’ said the grandmother to the wolf.”
15. Come across
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To meet or find by chance.
Example: “I was cleaning the attic and I came across my high school uniform. Can you believe it still fits?”
16. Come forward
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To volunteer information about something, like a crime.
Example: “The police are encouraging people to come forward with any information about the kidnapped girl.”
17. Cut off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: This phrase can be used in several ways, but its general meaning is “to interrupt or stop something.”
Example: “His father is rich but he cut him off without any money of his own.”
18. Cut (it) out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: This phrase has the same meaning as saying “Stop it.”
Example: “Hey, cut it out! I was watching that movie, so stop changing the channel!”
19. Cut in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To interrupt someone when they are speaking.
Example: “I was about to ask that girl on a date, but her friend cut in and I lost the chance.”
20. Drop by/in
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To stop by for a visit, for a short time.
Example: “Andrew is such a great boyfriend, when he heard that his girlfriend had a cold he dropped by to bring her some soup.”
21. Drop off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To leave something or someone in their destination.
Example: “I can give you a ride and drop you off at work.”
22. Fall apart
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: This phrase means “to break into pieces,” but it can be used to talk about things that are not physical, like a marriage or a person.
Example: “They tried to save their marriage by going to therapy but in the end, it fell apart anyway.”
23. Fall down
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To drop to the ground, usually by accident.
Example: “My friend slipped on a banana peel and fell down. I thought that only happened in cartoons!”
24. Fill (someone) in
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To give someone the details about something.
Example: “Quickly, let’s go! There’s no time to explain, I’ll fill you in on the way.”
25. Fill up
Type: Separable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To become completely full.
Example: “The little girl filled up on candy before dinner, and didn’t want to eat any of the chicken.”
26. Get away
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To escape. You may have heard the phrase “getaway car,” which can help you remember this phrasal verb. That’s the car used by criminals to run away from a crime scene, like a bank robbery.
Example: “Carmen’s neighbor tried to show her pictures of all her cats, but Carmen managed to get away.”
27. Get around
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To solve a problem by avoiding the main issue. This phrase can also be used very informally to refer to someone who has many sexual partners. As you can imagine, it’s not very nice to say that someone “gets around”!
Example: “Some people know all the different ways to get around tax laws.”
28. Get along (with)
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To have a friendly relationship with someone.
Example: “Some people are surprised that I get along with my mother-in-law really well!”
29. Get up
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To stand up, or to wake up.
Example: “I have so much trouble getting up in the morning that I have to set three alarms.”
30. Get back to
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To return to someone or something. This phrase is often used to say that you will return with an answer to a question or a request at a later time.
Example: “Derek’s coworker wasn’t sure what time the meeting was, so he said he’d get back to him with the time.”
31. Get back at
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To get revenge on someone.
Example: “Her ex-husband took her house so she got back at him by taking his dogs.”
32. Give out (1)
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To break down or stop working.
Example: “The city had to rebuild the bridge completely because it was about to give out and fall down.”
33. Give out (2)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To hand out or distribute something
Example: “He has a lot of contacts because he gives out his business card to everyone he meets.”
34. Give in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To surrender, especially in a fight or argument.
Example:“ Ben’s mother gave in and let him stay out late with his friends.”
35. Give away
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To hand things out for free.
Example: “When Linda’s cat had kittens, she gave them all away to good homes.”
36. Give up
Type: Separable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To stop trying, surrender.
Example: “After two weeks of trying to build my own table, I gave up and just bought one.”
37. Go out (with)
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To go on a date with someone.
Example: “Sarah was so happy when Peter finally asked her to go out with him!”
38. Go ahead
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To go in front of someone, or to give permission to do or say something.
Example: “Go ahead, explain to me why there is a car on my roof.”
39. Grow up
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To grow up, sometimes used to tell someone to stop acting childish.
Example: “Some people tell Steve he needs to grow up, but he loves acting like a child.”
40. Grow apart
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To get distant from someone, like a friend.
Example: “When my friend moved to a different country I tried to stay close with her, but we slowly grew apart.”
41. Hang on
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To keep something.
Example: “When everyone else was getting fired, Paul managed to hang on to his job.”
42. Hang out
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To spend time with someone, casually.
Example: “My friends and I used to hang out in the park after school.”
43. Hang up
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To end a call on the phone, especially if it’s before the other person is ready.
Example: “I was in the middle of a sentence, and he hung up on me! How rude.”
44. Hold on
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To hold something tightly. This phrase can also be a way of asking someone to wait for a moment.
Example: “You’d better hold on to your hat, it’s windy out there!”
45. Hold back
Type: Separable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To stop yourself from doing or saying something.
Example: “Amy has a great voice but whenever she’s singing in public she feels shy and holds back.”
46. Log in (to)
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: Used with computers, this phrase means to sign in to your account on a website or computer.
Example: “Don’t forget to log in to your account to learn English better and faster.”
47. Log out/off
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: Also used with computers, this phrase means to sign out of your account.
Example: “You should always log out of your accounts when you use a public computer.”
48. Look up
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To check the meaning of something.
Example: “If you don’t know the meaning of a word, you should look it up in the dictionary.”
49. Look out
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To watch out for something.
Example: “Look out, there’s a baseball coming your way!”
50. Pay back
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To give someone back money that you owe them. When it’s written as one word, “payback” means revenge.
Example: “Thanks for getting me lunch when I forgot my wallet at home! I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”
51. Pay for
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: This phrase can either mean to give someone money for a particular purpose (like paying for a new car), or to suffer because of something you did.
Example: “He’ll pay for all the problems he caused me by being late today!”
52. Put out (1)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To extinguish a fire.
Example: “The firefighters managed to put out the fire before it spread to other houses.”
53. Put out (2)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To irritate someone by asking them for a favor. Be aware that in very informal slang, this phrase has a more offensive meaning.
Example: “I’d ask you to make me dinner but I don’t want to put you out.”
54. Put on
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To get your clothes or makeup on.
Example: “Every morning she puts on her dress, lipstick, shoes and hat—in that order.”
55. Take off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: This phrase can mean to remove clothing, or to leave for a journey (e.g. planes take off when they begin their flights).
Example: “She was very happy when she finally got home and took off her shoes. They had been hurting her feet all day!”
56. Take out (1)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To remove something, like from a pocket or a bag. The phrase can also mean to remove someone, as in by killing them—but this is probably not something you would need to use in everyday conversation!
Example: “The children sat at their desks and took out their pens and paper.”
57. Take out (2)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To take someone on a date.
Example: “He took her out to the most expensive restaurant in the city.”
58. Turn on/off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To switch a machine or light on or off.
Example: “Turn off the light, I’m trying to sleep!”
59. Turn around
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To move so that you’re facing the opposite direction.
Example: “Sally was about to get on the plane, but she turned around when someone called her name.”
60. Turn up
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: When something that was lost is found unexpectedly.
Example: “Anything I lose usually turns up under the couch. It’s my cat’s favorite hiding place.”
61. Warm up (to)
Type: Inseparable, transitive / intransitive
Meaning: To start liking someone or something more as you spend more time with them, especially if you didn’t really like them in the beginning.
Example: “The new puppy was scared of my husband when we first got him, but he warmed up to him pretty quickly.”
62. Work out
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To exercise.
Example: “I try to work out every morning, by repeatedly lifting a heavy donut to my mouth.”
63. Work (something) out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To come up with a solution or a compromise with someone.
Example: “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can work something out so that everyone is happy.”
To help you get comfortable with these top phrasal verbs, here’s a video that features 15 of them, with example sentences read out loud:
What Is a Phrasal Verb?
A phrasal verb is a phrase that’s made up of a verb and another word or two, usually a preposition but sometimes an adverb. The same verb can be used in several phrasal verbs, such as cut off, cut in, and cut out, but the meaning will be different.
So before we can talk about English phrasal verbs, it’s important to understand what verbs, prepositions and adverbs are.
- A verb is an action word. It describes something happening (e.g. hearing, seeing), a state of being (e.g. to live, to sleep), or an action being done (e.g. to read, to sing).
- A preposition is a word that describes the relationship between two words. For example, the bees are above the table or under the table, but not inside the table (hopefully). Prepositions mainly deal with location or direction (e.g. on, through, around) and time (e.g. “by” or “around” a certain time).
- An adverb is a word that describes a verb. For example, you can run quickly or slowly and arrive to class early or late.
Now that you know what verbs and prepositions are, you’re ready to start putting them together into phrasal verbs.
It’s easier than you think—you probably already know a number of phrasal verbs. For example, read the last sentence before this section: “So come on, let’s learn some phrasal verbs.” The words “come on” in that sentence are a phrasal verb!
The word “come,” on its own, means to move towards something. Together with the preposition “on,” though, the phrase “come on” becomes a phrase of encouragement.
There are many other phrasal verbs out there! If the idea of phrasal verbs still takes some getting used to, you can pick them up more naturally by watching English movies, TV clips, or online videos and then trying to notice the phrasal verbs that come up. English shows make great material for this because they often use everyday language, so you’ll see how native speakers actually use phrasal verbs (and in which situations they’re appropriate).
Sometimes it can be tricky to do on your own, though, especially since phrasal verbs might be split up or you might have trouble figuring out the exact meaning. As an English learning resource, FluentU approaches this by combining native English content with interactive subtitles that explain phrasal verbs, slang, and other expressions:
For every audio and video clip on FluentU, you can access transcripts, a video dictionary, and flashcard reviews. There are also personalized quizzes based on each clip, with speaking and listening exercises included.
FluentU has a web version as well as a mobile version (Android and iOS).
Types of Phrasal Verbs
To sum it up, phrasal verbs can be either transitive or intransitive and separable or inseparable.
Transitive or Intransitive
Transitive
Transitive phrasal verbs have a direct object (a thing or person that’s being acted on).
For example, let’s take the phrasal verb “put on”:
She’ll put on some makeup before stepping onstage.
In this sentence, the makeup is the direct object. You can’t say “she’ll put on before stepping onstage” because with transitive verbs, there needs to be a direct object–what exactly is she putting on?
Here are some other transitive phrasal verbs:
We’re already indoors, take off your hat.
This is really tough, but the team’s confident that they can work out a solution.
I’m ready for this challenge, bring it on!
Intransitive
On the other hand, intransitive phrasal verbs don’t have a direct object. You can just use them in a sentence as is:
When I’ve had a really good nap, it’s hard to get up!
My friends want to hang out at this interesting café that just opened.
Separable or Inseparable
Separable
Separable phrasal verbs are phrasal verbs that can be split up, with a word or phrase in the middle:
Since you weren’t at the party yesterday, I’ll fill you in on the funny things that happened.
He had to take his jacket off because he was sweating.
One thing to remember is that separable phrasal verbs are always transitive—it’s the direct object that gets inserted into the middle of the phrase.
Usually, if the direct object is a noun, the word order is a bit more flexible. You can place it either inside the phrasal verb or simply add it afterwards:
I’m going to turn my phone off because there’s no signal here in the mountains.
I’m going to turn off my phone because there’s no signal here in the mountains.
There’s an exception to this, though. If the direct object is a pronoun (me, you, he, she, it, them), it would have to be inserted into the phrasal verb:
Correct: We brought a gift to cheer her up.
Incorrect: We brought a gift to cheer up her.
Inseparable
With inseparable phrasal verbs, you can’t break them up! If there’s a direct object, it has to come after the phrasal verb, even if it’s a pronoun:
Correct: Can you stay nearby so we can call on you if an emergency happens?
Incorrect: Can you stay nearby so we can call you on if an emergency happens?
Inseparable phrasal verbs can be either transitive or intransitive:
She came across her old school photos and felt surprised about how different she looked back then. (transitive)
As a teenager, he was excited to grow up and live in his own apartment. (intransitive)
The catch is that there’s no definite way to tell whether a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable, so if you encounter a new phrasal verb, you’ll have to observe how it’s used!
How to Use English Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are used just like verbs—you can use them anywhere they make sense.
First, you have to remember if a phrasal verb is separable or inseparable. Inseparable verbs need to have the verb and preposition said together, like in the phrase “fall down.”
For separable verbs, though, you can also separate the verb and the preposition by putting other words in between them. So you can say either “turn off the TV” or “turn the TV off.” Both are correct!
Another thing to keep in mind about phrasal verbs is that they’re still verbs. That means the verb part of the phrase can be changed depending on the tense and subject of the sentence. So “turn off” can transform like this:
I turned on the TV this morning.
She turns on the TV every time I enter the room!
Finally, some phrasal verbs have multiple meanings, such as give out and take out. There are also phrasal verbs that you’re more likely to say with friends (hang out, cut it out), while others are pretty common at work emails and meetings:
How to Learn English Phrasal Verbs
English phrasal verbs are commonly used, so it would not be unusual to hear them in a conversation. Do you hear a verb used together with another word very often? It might be a phrasal verb.
If you’re not sure whether a phrase is a phrasal verb or just a verb that happened to be spoken with a preposition, try looking it up. Most dictionaries have entries for phrasal verbs, so look the phrase up to be sure.
Some phrasal verb meanings are obvious—like “fall down”—but some are almost like idioms since they can’t be literally translated. To make them easier to learn, you can try grouping the phrasal verbs into categories, For example, you could group phrasal verbs that are focused on the time of day (e.g. wake up, lie down) or positive vs. negative (e.g. cheer up/give up).
It might take you a while to get used to the most common phrasal verbs, but you’ll hear them a lot, so hang in there!
How many of these English phrasal verbs did you already know? Phrasal verbs are everywhere! Don’t be afraid of how many there are—just start with a few at a time and soon you’ll be an expert.
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