52 Must-Know Phrasal Verbs in Context

Daves alarm goes off at 4:30: this means that the alarm rings or makes a sound.

• is that your alarm going off?

As soon as he gets up: to get?up means to get out of your bed in the morning

• what time should we get up tomorrow?

He turns on the coffee machine: to turn?something?on means to start it

• how do you turn this on?

He’s run out of cream: if you run?out?of something, it means you don’t have any left

• We’re running out of cream (nearly gone)

It’s time to work out: to work?out means to exercise

• I haven’t worked out much this week

He sets off on his 20-mile run: to set?off means to start a journey/run

• what time did you set off this morning?

breathing in the ocean air: this means to inhale. It can also be used to experience something, for example:

• Breathe it in – this is magical

As he runs along the oceanfront: to run?along?something means to run next to something – it can be used for other things too such as:

• The trail runs along the train tracks

He’s running out of energy: similar to the milk example before, we can use this for energy, patience, and other things

• I’m running out of patience

He doesn’t give up: to give?up means to quite / to stop doing something

• Don’t give up now!

He bangs out 100 push-ups: if you bang something out it means to do something in a quick manner

• Bang out three laps for me

He turns on the shower: Again, this means to start something

• Should we turn on the A.C.?

He jumps in the shower: this means to get in the shower

• The water’s cold but just jump in

He dries himself off: to dry?yourself?off means to dry yourself with a towel

• Give me a second – I just need to dry myself off and get changed

He opens up his computer: to open a closed laptop – it can be used to open files too:

• Open up the presentation and I’ll show you how to do it

He logs in to his emails: enter your username and password to access your emails

• I can’t log in to my account

He turns down five offers: to turn?down?something means to refuse to do it

• I had to turn that job down

He has to iron out a few details: to resolve/agree to some details

• Let’s iron everything out in the morning

He looks up flights to New York: find information about / research something

• Can you look something up for me?

He doesn’t have time to shop around: to shop?around means to consider several options and compare prices before making a decision

• I’m going to shop around a bit

He fills out the form: to complete a form with information (name, address, etc.)

• Fill this out first and the doctor will see you soon

It’s time to get on with writing his presentation: to get?on?with?something is to spend your time doing something

• just get on with it (in this case, just start it – it’s critical)

He doesn’t want to put this off until next week: to put?something?off means to delay something

• I keep putting this off

He gave them up a few years ago: to give?something?up means to quit something

• When did you give up alcohol

He warms up leftover pasta: to make something warm (especially, food)

• Do you want me to warm this up for you?

He digs in: to dig?in means to start eating something with enthusiasm

• It’s ready. Dig in, everyone!

The afternoon is dragging on a bit: if something is dragging?on it means that time is going slowly or that things aren’t going as quickly as you like

• Man, this movie is dragging on!

He adds in a little honey: to include it as part of something else

• Should I add in some wine to this pasta sauce?

He spends the rest of the afternoon finishing up his presentation: this means to complete the presentation

• I just have to finish up writing this email

It’s now time to chill out for the rest of the evening: this means to relax/take it easy – it can also mean to not worry

• Chill out – it’s not a big problem

… to see if she wants to hang out: to hang?out means to spend time together in a social way

• Let’s hang out soon

He heads out just before 5: to head?out means to leave your house/office to go somewhere else

• I can’t speak right now, I’m just heading out

He’s looking forward to catching up: to look?forward?to?something means that you are excited about something

• Are you looking forward to tonight?

They grew up together: this means that they spent their childhood together

• Growing up in northern England meant playing outside in the rain

He pops in for a few minutes: to pop in means to enter someone’s house for a brief period of time

• I’m going to pop round to Dave’s to pick something up

They?decide?to?eat?out: to eat out means to eat at a restaurant

• They’re always eating out

He wolfs them down: to eat something very quickly

• I hate how he wolfs down that expensive meal

Sarah only picks at them: the opposite of wolf?down – to not eat a lot and eat slowly

• I’m going to get extra chips as I know she’ll pick at them

They then go through the menu again: this means to look at the menu again to see what’s on offer

• I haven’t gone through the menu yet

… and pick out a main meal to share: this means to choose something

• She takes forever picking out an outfit

Sarah then knocks back a couple of very expensive cocktails: to drink – usually alcohol – quickly

• He’s knocking back beers like there’s no tomorrow

He’s trying to cut back on alcohol during the week: this means to reduce

• I’ve cut back on sugar

They actually run into an old friend from school: to meet someone who you know by chance

• Guess who I ran into today!

They decide to stay out a bit longer: to remain out of the home

• I couldn’t stay out late on a school night

Dave drops Sarah off at home: to drop?someone?off means to take them home (in a car)

• Can you drop me off?

He has enough time to write down what he has learned that day: to write something on a piece of paper

• Write this down

He then turns off the lights: the opposite of turn?on

• Can you turn your light off?

He gets into bed: to enter your bed

• He hurt his knee getting out of his car

And passes out immediately: to fall asleep straight away

• I was so tired I passed out on the train