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

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

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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