Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English 1

Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English

Phrasal Verbs! A phrasal verb is a name given to an English verb which is composed of two or three words.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs: Environment

1. wipe outdestroy something completely

Whole villages were wiped out by the floods.

2. break downdecompose, when something slowly reduces to its smallest parts

Plastics do not break down quickly. It takes hundreds of years for a plastic bottle to decompose.

3. scale backreduce the amount or size of something

The country has scaled back its use of fossil fuels and has started investing in renewable energy.

4. use upfinish a supply of something

I worry that we will use up the world’s non-renewable resources.

5. freeze overbecome frozen

The lake has frozen over.

6. chop downmake a tree fall down by cutting it with a sharp tool

Large areas of rainforest are being chopped down every day.

 

Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English 2

Phrasal Verbs: Health

1. break outstart suddenly

I’ve broken out in a rash.

2. fight offfree yourself from an illness

Elaine’s fighting off a cold.

3. come tobecome conscious

Has he come to yet?

4. get overrecover from something

It’s taken me ages to get over the flu.

5. come down withbecome sick

I think I’m coming down with a cold.

6. throw upbe sick, vomit

Georgia was bent over the basin, throwing up.

 

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Phrasal Verbs for Business

1. Branch outExpand or extend one’s interests

The supermarkets have branched out into banking.

2. Break intoEnter (with effort or force)

It’s always been his ambition to break into broadcasting.

3. Carry onContinue

He moved to New York to carry on his work

4. Back upMake a copy of information

It’s a good idea to back up your files onto a memory stick.

5. Carry outDo and complete a task

The building work was carried out by a local contractor.

6. Find outDiscover a fact or piece of information

Can you find out what our customers think of their local bus service?

7. Call offCancel something

With the weather worsening, they have called off their field trip.

8. Drop inMake a short visit somewhere

I will drop in tomorrow morning.

9. Fill outComplete (a form)

It took me several hours to fill out the application form.

10. Bail outTo rescue somebody from a difficult situation, especially financial problems

Some local businesses have offered to bail out the museum.

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Phrasal Verbs about Food and Cooking

1. Bake offFinish baking partly baked food

She baked off the cakes in the oven.

2. Boil awayCause liquid to evaporate completely by boiling

The soup’s almost boiled away.

3. Boil overCause liquid to rise and flow over the side of the container

The milk was boiling over on the stove behind her.

4. Bolt downEat a large amount of food very quickly

She bolted down her lunch and rushed back to work.

5. Cut upCut something into small pieces

He cut the pie up into little pieces.

6. Eat outEat in a restaurant instead of at home

Do you feel like eating out tonight?

7. Slice offCut something from a larger piece

She sliced off a piece of sausage.

8. Whip upQuickly make a meal or something to eat

She whipped up a delicious lunch for us in 15 minutes.

Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English 5

Travel Phrasal Verbs

1. Check outLeave the hotel after paying

We checked out at noon.

2. Set offStart a journey

We set off for Paris just after ten.

3. Get inArrive (train, plane)

The train got in late.

4. Take offWhen a plane departs or leaves the ground

The plane took off an hour late.

5. Check inArrive and register at a hotel or airport

Please check in at least an hour before departure.

6. Get offLeave a bus, train, plane

We get off at the next station.

 

Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English 6

Most Useful Phrasal Verbs in English 7