| Abide by | To respect or obey a decision, a law or a rule |
| Account for | To explain, give a reason |
| Add up | To make sense, seem reasonable |
| Advise against | To recommend not doing something |
| Agree with | To have the same opinion as someone else |
| Allow for | To take into consideration |
| Appeal to | 1. To plead or make a request
2. To be attractive or interesting |
| Apply for | To make a formal request for something |
| Back away | To move backwards, in fear or dislike |
| Back down | To withdraw, concede defeat |
| Back up | 1. To give support or encouragement
2. To make a copy of file, program, etc |
| Bank on | To base your hopes on something / someone |
| Black out | To faint, lose consciousness |
| Block off | To separate using a barrier |
| Blow up | 1. To explode
2. To get angry |
| Boil down to | To be summarized as |
| Boot up | To start a computer by loading an operating system or program |
| Break away | To separate from a crowd |
| Break down | 1. To go out of order, cease to function
2. To lose control of one’s emotions |
| Break into | To enter by force |
| Break out | To start suddenly |
| Break out of | To escape from a place by force |
| Break up | To come to an end (marriage, relationship) |
| Bring up | To raise (a child) |
| Brush up on | To improve, refresh one’s knowledge of something |
| Bump into | To meet by chance or unexpectedly |
| Burn out | 1. Stop (something) working
2. Become exhausted from over-working |
| Call back | To return a phone call |
| Call off | To cancel |
| Calm down | To become more relaxed, less angry or upset |
| Carry on | To continue |
| Carry out | 1. To do something as specified (a plan, an order, a threat)
2. To perform or conduct (test, experiment) |
| Check in | To register at a hotel or airport |
| Check out | 1. To pay one’s bill and leave (a hotel)
2. To investigate |
| Clam up | To refuse to speak |
| Clamp down on | To act strictly to prevent something |
| Come across | 1. To find by chance
2. To appear, seem, make an impression |
| Come forward | To present oneself |
| Count on | To rely or depend on (for help) |
| Cut down on | To reduce in number or size |
| Cut out | 1. To remove using scissors
2. To stop doing something |
| Deal with | To handle, take care of (problem, situation) |
| Die down | To calm down, become less strong |
| Do without | To manage without |
| Drag on | To last longer than expected |
| Draw up | To write (contract, agreement, document) |
| Dress up | Wear elegant clothes |
| Drop in | To visit, usually on the way somewhere |
| Drop off | 1. To deliver someone or something
2. To fall asleep |
| Drop out | To leave school without finishing |
| Ease off | To reduce, become less severe or slow down (pain, traffic, work) |
| End in | To finish in a certain way; result in |
| End up | To finally reach a state, place or action |
| Fall through | To fail; doesn’t happen |
| Figure out | To understand, find the answer |
| Fill out | To complete (a form/an application) |
| Find out | To discover or obtain information |
| Focus on | To concentrate on something |
| Get at | To imply |
| Get away | To escape |
| Get along (with) | To be on good terms; work well with |
| Get by | To manage to cope or to survive |
| Get in | To enter |
| Get off | 1. To leave (bus, train, plane)
2. To remove |
| Get on | To board (bus, train, plane) |
| Get into | To enter |
| Get on with | To continue to do; make progress |
| Get out | To leave |
| Get out of | To avoid doing something |
| Get over | To recover from (illness, disappointment) |
| Get rid of | To eliminate |
| Get together | To meet each other |
| Get up | To rise, leave bed |
| Give in | 1. To cease opposition; yield
2. To To hand in; submit |
| Give up | To stop doing something |
| Go through | To experience |
| Grow up | To spend one’s childhood; develop; become an adult |
| Hand in | To submit (report, homework) |
| Hand out | To distribute |
| Hang out | To spend time in a particular place or with a group of friends |
| Hang up | To end a phone conversation |
| Hold on | 1. To wait
2. To grip tightly |
| Hurry up | To be quick, act speedily |
| Iron out | To resolve by discussion, eliminate differences |
| Join in | To participate |
| Join up | 1. To engage in, become a member of
2. To meet and unite with |
| Keep on | To continue doing something |
| Keep up with | To stay at the same level as someone or something |
| Kick off | To begin, start |
| Leave out | To omit, not mention |
| Let down | To disappoint |
| Look after | To take care of |
| Look down on | To consider as inferior |
| Look on | To be a spectator at an event |
| Look for | To try to find something |
| Look forward to | To await or anticipate with pleasure |
| Look up to | To admire |
| Make fun of | To laugh at/ make jokes about |
| Make up | To invent (excuse, story) |
| Mix up | To mistake one thing or person for another |
| Move in | To arrive in a new home or office |
| Move out | To leave your home/office for another one |
| Nod off | To fall asleep |
| Own up | To admit or confess something |
| Pass away | To die |
| Pass out | To faint |
| Pay back | To reimburse |
| Put off | To postpone, arrange a later date |
| Put on | To turn on, switch on |
| Put out | To extinguish |
| Put up | To accommodate, give somebody a bed |
| Pick up | To collect somebody |
| Point out | To indicate/direct attention to something |
| Rely on | To count on, depend on, trust |
| Rule out | To eliminate |
| Run away | To escape from a place or suddenly leave |
| Run into | To meet by accident or unexpectedly (also: bump into) |
| Run out of | To have no more of something |
| Set off | To start a journey |
| Set up | To start a business |
| Shop around | To compare prices |
| Show off | To brag or want to be admired |
| Show up | To appear/arrive |
| Shut up | To be silent, stop talking |
| Sit down | To take a seat |
| Stand up | To rise from a sitting position |
| Stick up for | To defend |
| Take after | To resemble, in appearance or character |
| Take care of | To look after |
| Take off | To leave the ground |
| Take on | To hire or engage staff |
| Take out | To remove; extract |
| Tell off | To reprimand/criticize severely |
| Think over | To consider |
| Try on | To wear something to see if it suits or fits |
| Turn down | To refuse |
| Use up | To finish a product (so that there’s none left) |
| Watch out | To be careful |
| Wear out | 1. To become unusable
2. To become very tired |
| Work out | 1. To do physical exercise
2. To find a solution or calculate something |
| Wipe off | To clean (board, table) |
