Phrasal Verbs in English: A Complete Guide with Examples

Phrasal verbs are the small, everyday phrases that make English sound natural: give up, look after, put off, come up with. They are also one of the biggest challenges for learners, because the meaning is often different from the meaning of the words taken separately.

This guide explains what phrasal verbs are, the four types, and the one rule that decides where the object goes. It then gives 200 common phrasal verbs, grouped by particle with meanings and example sentences, followed by formal alternatives, common mistakes, key points, ten practice questions and a teacher activity.

It builds on Parts of Speech and Tenses & Verb Forms. Phrasal verbs change tense like any other verb: gives up, gave up, given up, giving up. Spelling in this guide follows British English.

1.What Is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with a small word called a particle (an adverb or a preposition), such as up, out, off or in. Together they make a new meaning.

Sentence	What it means
She looked up at the sky.	She raised her eyes (literal meaning).
She looked up the word.	She searched for the word in a dictionary (new meaning).
The plane took off.	It left the ground.
He gave up smoking.	He stopped smoking.

You cannot always guess the meaning from the parts, so phrasal verbs must be learned as whole units, in sentences.

2.The Four Types of Phrasal Verbs

Type	Does it take an object?	Example
Intransitive	No object	The plane took off. We set off early.
Transitive, separable	Object can go in the middle or after	Turn off the light / Turn the light off / Turn it off.
Transitive, inseparable	Object must come after the particle	Look after the baby / Look after her.
Three-word (phrasal-prepositional)	Verb + two particles + object	I look forward to the holidays. She came up with a plan.

3.The Separable Rule: Where Does the Object Go?

With a noun, separable verbs allow two positions: Pick up the book or Pick the book up.
With a pronoun (it, him, her, them, us), a separable verb must be split: Pick it up, never Pick up it.
Inseparable verbs are never split: Look after her, never Look her after.
Long objects usually go after the particle: Turn off all the lights in the building.

A good dictionary marks the type for you, for example with a sign such as [separable]. When unsure, check the entry.

4.Phrasal Verbs with UP

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
give up	stop trying; quit	Despite repeated setbacks, she refused to give up her ambition of becoming a surgeon.
look up	search for information	Students should look up unfamiliar terms in a reliable dictionary before using them in essays.
pick up	lift; collect; learn casually	He picked up basic Mandarin during his two-year posting in Beijing.
wake up	stop sleeping	The residents woke up to the sound of heavy rain on the roof.
grow up	become an adult	She grew up in a small town surrounded by mountains.
set up	start or arrange	The two graduates set up a consultancy to advise local farmers.
turn up	arrive; appear	Several delegates turned up an hour after the conference had begun.
make up	invent; become friends again	He made up an elaborate excuse to avoid attending the meeting.
show up	arrive; appear	Only a handful of volunteers showed up for the early shift.
cheer up	become happier	A thoughtful message from her colleagues helped to cheer her up after the disappointing result.
clean up	make tidy	Volunteers gathered to clean up the riverbank after the flood.
break up	end a relationship; separate	The committee broke up without reaching a final decision.

5.Phrasal Verbs with DOWN

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
sit down	move to a seated position	The invigilator asked the candidates to sit down and read the instructions carefully.
turn down	refuse; lower the volume	The company turned down the proposal because it exceeded the budget.
break down	stop working	Negotiations broke down after both parties rejected the compromise.
calm down	become quiet and relaxed	The teacher asked the anxious students to calm down before the examination began.
slow down	reduce speed	Drivers must slow down when approaching a pedestrian crossing.
write down	record on paper	Please write down the key dates so that you do not overlook them.
let down	disappoint	He felt that he had let down his supporters by withdrawing from the race.
shut down	stop operating	The authorities shut down the factory because of safety violations.
settle down	become calm; start a stable life	After the initial excitement, the class settled down and began working.
bring down	reduce; cause to fall	Improved supply is expected to bring down the price of essential goods.
take down	remove; write notes	The journalist took down every detail of the witness's statement.

6.Phrasal Verbs with OUT

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
find out	discover	Investigators are trying to find out how the fire started.
carry out	perform; complete	Researchers carried out a survey among two thousand households.
work out	solve; exercise; succeed	It took the engineers several weeks to work out a solution to the problem.
figure out	understand after thinking	She could not figure out why the experiment kept producing inconsistent results.
point out	draw attention to	The examiner pointed out several weaknesses in the argument.
hand out	distribute	Volunteers handed out leaflets about the new recycling scheme.
fill out	complete a form	Applicants must fill out the registration form in block capitals.
sort out	organise; solve	The manager promised to sort out the scheduling conflict by Friday.
break out	start suddenly	A dispute broke out between the neighbouring communities over water rights.
come out	be published; become known	The author's latest novel comes out in the spring.
look out	be careful	Hikers should look out for loose rocks along the narrow path.
turn out	prove to be	The rumour turned out to be completely unfounded.

7.Phrasal Verbs with OFF

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
take off	leave the ground; remove clothing	The aircraft took off despite the heavy fog.
turn off	stop a machine or light	Please turn off all electronic devices before entering the examination hall.
put off	delay	The board put off the decision until more evidence was available.
call off	cancel	The organisers called off the match because of the thunderstorm.
set off	begin a journey	The expedition set off at dawn to avoid the afternoon heat.
show off	display to impress	He tends to show off his knowledge rather than listen to others.
get off	leave a bus or train	Passengers should get off at the next station for the museum.
see off	say goodbye at a departure	Relatives gathered at the airport to see off the departing students.
switch off	stop a device	Remember to switch off the equipment at the end of the experiment.
go off	explode; ring; become bad	The smoke alarm went off in the middle of the night.
doze off	fall asleep lightly	The weary traveller dozed off during the long journey.

8.Phrasal Verbs with ON

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
carry on	continue	Despite the interruption, the speaker carried on with her presentation.
get on with	have a good relationship with	She gets on well with her colleagues and enjoys working in a team.
hold on	wait	Please hold on while I transfer your call to the manager.
turn on	start a machine or light	Turn on the projector so that everyone can see the slides.
put on	dress in; switch on	He put on his jacket and hurried out into the cold.
try on	test clothes	Customers are welcome to try on the garments before purchasing them.
go on	continue; happen	The discussion went on for nearly three hours.
keep on	continue repeatedly	The team kept on working until the deadline was met.
move on	go forward; change the subject	Having answered the question, the lecturer moved on to the next topic.
come on	hurry up; encourage	Come on, or we shall miss the opening ceremony.
log on	connect to a computer system	Students can log on to the portal using their registration numbers.
pass on	give to another person	Could you pass on my apologies to the headmaster?

9.Phrasal Verbs with IN

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
check in	register at a hotel or airport	Passengers must check in at least two hours before departure.
fill in	complete; replace temporarily	Please fill in the missing information in the table below.
give in	surrender	After weeks of pressure, the government finally gave in to public demand.
hand in	submit	All assignments must be handed in before the end of the term.
join in	take part	The audience was encouraged to join in the discussion.
drop in	visit briefly	Please drop in at the office whenever you need advice.
move in	start living in a new home	The new tenants will move in at the end of the month.
take in	absorb; deceive	It took a moment to take in the full significance of the announcement.
break in	enter by force	Burglars broke in through a rear window while the family was away.
plug in	connect to power	Plug in the laptop before the battery runs out.
fit in	belong to a group	The new student found it difficult to fit in at first.

10.Phrasal Verbs with OVER, AROUND AND ABOUT

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
think over	consider carefully	She asked for a week to think over the job offer.
get over	recover from	It took him months to get over the disappointment of failing the exam.
look over	check quickly	The editor looked over the manuscript before sending it to the printer.
take over	take control	A younger director will take over the company next year.
hand over	give control or possession	The outgoing manager handed over the keys to her successor.
turn over	flip	Please turn over the page when you have finished the first section.
go over	review	The teacher went over the main points before the test.
come over	visit	Do come over for dinner when you are in town.
look around	explore	We looked around the old fort for nearly an hour.
turn around	face the other way	The driver turned around and headed back to the city.
come about	happen	The change came about after years of campaigning.
bring about	cause	Technological advances have brought about major changes in education.

11.Phrasal Verbs with AWAY AND BACK

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
get away	escape	The suspect managed to get away before the police arrived.
run away	flee	The frightened child ran away from the barking dog.
throw away	discard	It is wasteful to throw away food that is still edible.
put away	store in the right place	Please put away the apparatus once the experiment is complete.
give away	donate; reveal	The charity gave away thousands of textbooks to rural schools.
go away	leave	The headache did not go away until the following morning.
take away	remove	The waiter took away the plates and brought the dessert.
come back	return	She promised to come back after completing her studies abroad.
call back	return a phone call	The receptionist said that someone would call back within the hour.
give back	return something	Please give back the borrowed books before the library closes.
pay back	repay	He worked two jobs to pay back the money he owed.
cut back on	reduce	The school decided to cut back on unnecessary spending.
look back on	remember	Many graduates look back on their school years with fondness.

12.Phrasal Verbs with THROUGH, ALONG AND ACROSS

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
go through	experience; examine	The family went through a difficult period after the factory closed.
get through	finish; survive	She studied hard to get through the entrance examination.
see through	not be deceived by	Experienced readers can see through exaggerated advertising claims.
come across	find by chance	While researching the topic, I came across a rare manuscript.
get across	communicate clearly	A good teacher knows how to get complex ideas across clearly.
get along	have a good relationship	The two cousins get along well despite their different interests.
play along	pretend to agree	He decided to play along until the truth became clear.
bring forward	move to an earlier time	The meeting was brought forward to Tuesday because of the holiday.

13.Phrasal Verbs with Prepositions: With, For and To

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
look after	take care of	The nurse looked after the patients throughout the night.
look for	search for	Detectives are looking for fresh evidence.
look into	investigate	The ministry will look into the complaint.
ask for	request	He asked for permission to leave early.
wait for	stay until something happens	Candidates must wait for the signal to begin.
apply for	make a formal request	She applied for a scholarship at a leading university.
care for	look after; like	Volunteers care for abandoned animals.
account for	explain; make up a part of	Poor planning accounts for most of the delay.
stand for	represent	The letters UN stand for United Nations.
send for	ask someone to come	The principal sent for the parents.
fall for	be tricked by	Many people fall for fraudulent emails.
deal with	handle	The counsellor dealt with the complaint sensitively.
cope with	manage successfully	Students must learn to cope with pressure.
agree with	share the same opinion	I agree with the committee's conclusion.
comply with	obey	All employees must comply with the safety regulations.
provide for	supply what is needed	He works hard to provide for his family.
object to	disagree with	Several residents objected to the proposed road.
refer to	mention; consult	The speaker referred to recent research.
belong to	be owned by; be a member of	The manuscript belongs to the national archive.
lead to	cause	Heavy rain led to widespread flooding.
turn to	seek help from	She turned to her mentor for advice.
get to	reach	We got to the venue ahead of schedule.

14.Phrasal Verbs with Into, At, Of and By

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
run into	meet by chance	I ran into an old classmate at the market.
turn into	become	The small shop turned into a successful chain.
break into	enter by force	Thieves broke into the shop during the night.
get into	enter; be accepted by	She got into a leading medical college.
go into	examine in detail	The report goes into the causes of poverty.
look at	examine	Look at the graph carefully before answering.
laugh at	mock	It is unkind to laugh at someone's mistakes.
aim at	intend to achieve	The project aims at reducing waste.
arrive at	reach (a decision)	The jury arrived at a unanimous verdict.
think of	consider; remember	Can you think of a better title?
consist of	be made up of	The committee consists of seven members.
dream of	hope for	He dreamed of becoming a pilot.
approve of	think well of	Her parents approve of her choice of career.
stand by	support	Friends stood by him during the trial.
drop by	visit briefly	He dropped by the library on his way home.
go by	pass	As the years went by, the town grew.
stand up for	defend	Leaders should stand up for the weak.

15.More Common Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
back up	support; make a copy of data	The data should be backed up regularly.
bring up	raise (a child or a topic)	She was brought up by her grandparents.
build up	increase gradually	Regular practice builds up confidence.
call up	summon	The army called up reservists.
catch on	become popular	The new fashion quickly caught on.
come down with	become ill with	He came down with a fever.
count on	rely on	You can count on my support.
cross out	draw a line through	Cross out any incorrect answers.
do over	repeat	The teacher asked him to do the essay over.
dress up	wear formal or special clothes	Students dressed up for the ceremony.
drop out	leave school or a course	Many students drop out for financial reasons.
end up	finally be in a situation	They ended up in a different city.
fall apart	break into pieces; fail	The plan fell apart without funding.
fall behind	fail to keep pace	He fell behind in mathematics.
get back	return	They got back from the trip on Sunday.
get by	manage with difficulty	She gets by on a small salary.
give out	distribute	The lecturer gave out copies of the notes.
go ahead	proceed	The school will go ahead with the plan.
hang on	wait	Hang on while I check the schedule.
hold back	restrain	Fear held him back from applying.
hold up	delay	Heavy traffic held up the delegation.
keep up	continue at the same level	Keep up the good work.
knock out	eliminate	The team was knocked out in the semi-final.
lay off	dismiss workers	The company laid off fifty employees.
leave out	omit	Do not leave out any important details.
let on	reveal a secret	She never let on that she knew.
line up	form a queue; arrange	Candidates lined up outside the hall.
look through	read quickly	He looked through the files before the meeting.
make out	see or understand with difficulty	I could barely make out the handwriting.
mix up	confuse	Many learners mix up affect and effect.
own up	admit a fault	He owned up to the mistake.
pull off	succeed in a difficult task	The team pulled off a remarkable victory.
pull out	withdraw	The sponsor pulled out of the deal.
put forward	propose	She put forward a convincing argument.
put together	assemble	The students put together a documentary.
reach out	make contact to offer help	Colleagues reached out to support him.
rule out	exclude	Police have ruled out foul play.
sell out	sell all of the stock	Tickets sold out within minutes.
set aside	reserve	She set aside an hour each evening for revision.
settle for	accept less than wanted	He settled for a smaller salary.
show around	guide someone through a place	The guide showed us around the museum.
stand out	be easily noticed	Her essay stood out for its originality.
stay up	remain awake	He stayed up late revising.
step down	resign	The chairman stepped down after a decade.
take part in	participate	Over three hundred students took part in the contest.
take up	begin a hobby or activity	She took up photography last year.
work on	try to improve	I need to work on my pronunciation.

16.Three-Word Phrasal Verbs

These combine a verb with two particles. They are inseparable, so the object always comes last: I cannot put up with it.

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
look forward to	await with pleasure	We look forward to welcoming you to the annual conference.
put up with	tolerate	Residents are tired of having to put up with constant construction noise.
get along with	have good relations with	It is important to get along with your colleagues.
come up with	think of an idea	The students came up with an inventive solution to the problem.
catch up with	reach the same level as	She worked extra hours to catch up with the rest of the class.
keep up with	stay at the same pace as	It is hard to keep up with the rapid pace of technological change.
look down on	consider inferior	A good leader never looks down on those who work for him.
look up to	admire	Many young athletes look up to him as a role model.
get away with	avoid punishment for	He cannot expect to get away with such careless work.
face up to	accept bravely	We must face up to the consequences of our decisions.
run out of	use up	The expedition ran out of supplies before reaching the summit.
cut down on	reduce	Doctors advise patients to cut down on salt and processed food.

17.Phrasal Verbs in Formal and Informal Writing

Phrasal verbs are very common in speech, emails and stories. In formal essays, reports and exams, a single-word verb often sounds more serious. Use the form that suits your reader.

Phrasal verb (everyday)	Formal one-word verb
find out	discover
carry out	perform or conduct
put off	postpone
call off	cancel
set up	establish
look into	investigate
put up with	tolerate
go on	continue
give up	abandon
turn down	reject
make up	invent
hand in	submit
come up with	devise

Neither style is wrong. See Formal vs. Informal English for more.

18.Common Mistakes with Phrasal Verbs

Mistake	Correct	Why
Turn off it.	Turn it off.	A pronoun goes between a separable verb and its particle.
Look it after.	Look after it.	Inseparable verbs are never split.
I look forward to meet you.	I look forward to meeting you.	To is a preposition, so use the -ing form.
He ran out the milk.	He ran out of the milk.	The three-word verb needs of.
I cannot put up the noise.	I cannot put up with the noise.	Do not drop the last particle.
She picked up it.	She picked it up.	Same rule as turn it off.
We came across to an old book.	We came across an old book.	Come across takes no extra to.

19.How to Learn Phrasal Verbs

Learn in sentences, not in lists. A sentence shows the meaning and the word order.
Group by particle or topic. Up often means increase or completion; out often means leaving or finishing; off often means starting a journey or stopping.
Learn five a week and use each in a sentence of your own.
Notice them in reading, news and films, and write down the whole phrase.
Check the type (separable or not) in a dictionary the first time you meet a new one.

Key points to remember

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle, and the meaning is often new.
There are four types: intransitive, separable, inseparable and three-word.
With a separable verb, a pronoun object goes in the middle: turn it off.
Three-word phrasal verbs are inseparable: put up with it.
Phrasal verbs are natural in everyday English; use one-word verbs in very formal writing.
Learn them in sentences, in small groups, and check the dictionary for the type.

For teachers and parents

Activity: give each pair of students six cards with a verb on one set and a particle on another. They match them to make real phrasal verbs, then write one sentence for each. Finish by asking them to replace three phrasal verbs with a formal one-word verb.

Please note: this guide uses British spelling. Some phrasal verbs have more than one meaning, and only the most common meanings are shown here.

Where These Facts Come From

Cambridge DictionaryMeanings, examples and phrasal verb entries
British Council LearnEnglishGrammar explanations and practice
Oxford Learner's DictionariesPhrasal verb meanings and usage notes