Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs :



Many English verbs occur with one or more prepositions or adverbs where the meaning is not really apparent from the different elements. Here is a list of many of these combinations for the verbs. We have omitted most of the forms considered slang.

Phrasal Verbs in Alphabetical Order

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N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Phrasal Verbs : B

1. Be about : occupy self with
   You should be about your business.
   
   
2. Bear down : apply maximum effort
   It’s time for us to bear down and get this job completed.
   
   
3. Bear down on : harm
   The financial pressures are already beginning to bear down on him.
   
   
4. Bear out : confirm
   The results of the experiment bore out our worst fears.
   
   
5. Bear up : withstand the pressure
   Given all of the commotion, it is a wonder how well he is bearing up.
   
   
6. Bear with : endure, persevere
   Bear with me for just a minute as I try to explain.
   
   
7. Beat off : repel
   They ultimately beat off their attackers.
   
   
8. Beat it : leave quickly
   He beat it when the police arrived.
   
   
9. Beal out : arrive first
   He heat out the other candidate by just two votes.
   
   
10. Become of : happen to
    What becomes of a broken heart?
    
    
11. Beg off : ask to be excused
    Given the constraints on his time, he begged off the assignment.
    
    
12. Bid up : force a price higher
    They bid up the price of the painting to over a million dollars.
    
    
13. Bind over : to hold someone on bail or bond
    The prisoner was bound over for trial.
    
    
14. Blow away : overwhelm
    His performance blew me away.
    
    
15. Blow off : release
    Let him blow off some steam.
    
    
16. Blow out : extinguish
    Please don’t forget to blow out the candles.
    
    
17. Blow over : pass by (like a storm)
    We're hoping the controversy will blow over with time.
    
    
18. Blow up : enlarge
    Can you blow up these photos?
    
    
19. Blow up : explode
    If you're not careful, you'll blow up the whole neighborhood with that explosive charge.
    
    
20. Boot up : turn on a computer
    After you boot up, open the program.
    
    
21. Break down : cause to collapse
    The elevator is always breaking down.
    
    
22. Break down : become distressed
    When confronted with the evidence the suspect broke down and cried.
    
    
23. Break even : gain back the original investment
    After many years of hard work they finally broke even.
    
    
24. Break in : train
    They were trying to break in the new horse.
    
    
25. Break in : adapt for a purpose
    He used the oil to break in his new baseball glove.
    
    
26. Break in : enter illegally
    The burglars broke in last evening.
    
    
27. Break in : interrupt
    The secretary broke in our conversation with an important message.
    
    
28. Break into : interrupt
    The secretary broke into our conversation with an important message.
    
    
29. Break into : enter a profession
    He broke into the major leagues in 1947.
    
    
30. Break off : cease
    They broke off negotiations after the last round of talks.
    
    
31. Break out : skin eruption
    He broke out in a rash after eating just a few peanuts.
    
    
32. Break out : escape
    Last evening two criminals broke out of a maximum security prison
    
    
33. Break out : begin
    Fighting broke out in the streets of Jerusalem.
    
    
34. Break up : separate
    The couple broke up after the argument on their last date.
    
    
35. Bring around : convince one to adopt an opinion
    The shop foreman finally brought the workers around to management’s point of view.
    
    
36. Bring around : restore to consciousness
    They used smelling salts to bring her around.
    
    
37. Bring back : recall to mind
    Those songs bring back such fond memories.
    
    
38. Bring down : cause to fall
    The Russian Revolution brought down the Romanov dynasty.
    
    
39. Bring forth : propose
    They brought forth a series of new proposals at our meeting this morning.
    
    
40. Bring forth : give birth
    And she brought forth a son.
    
    
41. Bring in : render a verdict
    The jury brought in a verdict of “not guilty”.
    
    
42. Bring off : accomplish
    I don’t see how we can bring that off without help.
    
    
43. Bring on : cause to appear
    You can bring on the dancers.
    
    
44. Bring out : reveal or expose
    The lecture brought out the best and worst in him.
    
    
45. Bring to : restore to consciousness
    The doctor brought him to.
    
    
46. Bring up : raise
    I didn’t want to bring this up. But since you mentioned it, I feel I must.
    
    
47. Build in : include as an integral part
    The car stereo is built in.
    
    
48. Build on : use as a basis
    These proposals finally give us something to build on.
    
    
49. Build up : increase gradually
    The errors continued to build up until they harmed his performance.
    
    
50. Bum out : wear out from exhaustion
    Toward the end of the race he felt like he was burning out.
    
    
51. Bum up : make very angry
    Your attitude really burns me up.
    
    
52. Burst out : begin suddenly
    They burst out laughing at the speaker.
    
    
53. Buy into : buy a stock of
    I bought into IBM when it was just beginning.
    
    
54. Buy into : give credence to
    He never bought into the company’s philosophy.
    
    
55. Buy off : bribe
    They bought off the politician with a large contribution to her campaign.
    
    
56. Buy out : purchase all the shares
    The larger company bought them out.
    
    
57. Buy up : purchase all that is available
    The speculator keeps buying up the plots in that old neighborhood.

Phrasal Verbs in Alphabetical Order : Phrasal Verbs

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M
N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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