List 14 - Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal Verbs (Sentence examples: hand around/round – hold up as)
Phrasal Verb |
Meaning |
Example Sentence |
hand around/round |
To pass something to all the people present in a group. |
Could one of you hand these drinks around, please? |
hand back |
To return something to the same person who gave it out. |
The officer handed back the form to me for filling it wrongly. |
hand down |
To pass on from older to younger generation. |
These fairy stories and legends have been handed down from generation to generation. |
To pass something on to a younger member of the family. |
Her pearl necklace was handed down from her grandmother. |
|
To publicly announce a judgment. |
The sentence handed down by the judge was too lenient. |
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hand in |
To give something to a person who is in a position of authority. |
The students handed in their homework without being told to. |
hand out |
To distribute. |
The volunteers helped to hand out parcels of food to victims of the disaster. |
hand over |
To give up. |
The captives were ordered to hand over their weapons. |
To pass control of someone to someone else |
Members of the crowd caught the pickpocket and handed him over to the police. |
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To pass responsibility for something to someone else |
The receptionist handed my call over to the person in charge. |
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hang around |
To idle. |
She spends her time hanging around with friends in the park. |
To spend with someone |
He hanged around with the wrong people and ended up in prison. |
|
hang back |
To be reluctant to do something because of lack of confidence or shyness. |
He is often advised not to hang back but to mix freely at school. |
hang on |
To wait. |
She asked me to hang on while she made a telephone call. |
To hold tightly to something. |
The standing passengers hung on tight as the bus went along a narrow, bumpy road. |
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To continue in spite of difficulty. |
We were exhausted but we realized we had to hang on a bit longer as we were nearing the summit. |
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To depend on. |
He believes the success of his public speaking hangs on his ability to speak effectively and clearly. |
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To pay particular attention to |
The cult members hang on every word spoken by their leader as they have great faith in him. |
|
hang on to |
To keep something. |
Grandpa hangs on to his collection of stamps with the belief that they become more and more valuable as time passes. |
hang out |
To spend a lot of time with someone at some place. |
After school, he hangs out with his classmates in a snooker hall. |
hang over |
To mull the possibility of something happening. |
The thought of her husband’s unfaithfulness never ceases to hang over her. |
hang together |
To stick or stay together. |
They hung together while waiting for the rescue team to find them. |
hang up |
To abruptly end a telephone conversation. |
She was so angry she hung up before I could explain. |
To replace the telephone receiver |
Finally, she hung up after speaking for more than an hour. |
|
happen along |
To be, come, or go to a place by chance. |
We invited our former lecturer to join us for a drink when he happened along. |
happen by |
To find a place by chance. |
We would have remained lost if we hadn’t happened by a souvenir shop selling street maps. |
happen on/upon |
To find by chance. |
He happened upon the key to his car just as he was about to give up his search. |
To come upon. |
We were walking and chatting when we happened on a fat wallet on the pavement. |
|
happen to |
To have or seem to have disappeared |
Whatever happened to those ducks that used to waddle along the river bank? |
hold against |
To dislike someone for their past wrong or mistake. |
It was not totally his fault, so I can’t hold it against him alone. |
hold back |
To have control over something. |
She struggled to hold back her tears. |
To block one’s advancement. |
He felt his lack of qualifications would hold him back from his well-deserved promotion. |
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To retain in one’s possession. |
The police subjected him to further interrogation as they believed he was holding back some information. |
|
hold down |
To keep a job. |
Mick seems unable to hold down a job for longer than a month. |
To restrain someone. |
He wanted to beat up the other guy, and it took the two of us to hold him down. |
|
hold forth |
To talk at great length. |
For more than an hour, the speaker held forth on the inevitable end of the world. |
hold off |
To delay doing something. |
He always holds off making decisions until the very last moment. |
To have not happened at once |
It was unexpected that, despite the looming dark clouds, the rain held off until after we arrived home. |
|
To avoid being attacked |
They held the invading armies off until reinforcements arrived. |
|
hold on |
To wait for a short while. |
He asked me to hold on and he will be out in a minute. |
To maintain a firm hold of something |
In the tug of war, the participants held on tightly to the rope and pulled it with all their might. |
|
hold on to |
To grip firmly to something. |
We held tightly on to the rail as the bus sped on. |
To retain possession of |
She held on to the national title for the second year running. |
|
hold out |
To offer. |
The supermarket held out the chance for customers to win a brand new car. |
To defend or continue to resist. |
They could not hold out the fort as reinforcements arrived late. |
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To last. |
Will the food hold out through the winter? |
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To offer the prospect for the future |
The financial leaders are not holding out any hope of a quick recovery in the national economy. |
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hold out for |
To accept something less. |
The other party is not holding out for a compromise, but instead insisted they are the legal owners of the land. |
To desist from providing information |
Why do you hold out on me all the things I need to know? |
|
hold over |
To postpone. |
The match was held over because of the snowy conditions. |
To extend the duration of the showing of a film |
The film was unexpectedly held over for a couple of months. |
|
hold to |
To manage to achieve a draw and nothing more against an opponent. |
The home team held the away team to a 2-2 draw. |
To remain faithful |
She held to her religious beliefs despite marrying someone from another religion. |
|
hold together |
To remain united or mutually loyal. |
The different factions within the party are held together by a charismatic leader. |
hold up |
To delay. |
We arrived late as we were held up by traffic jam. |
To rob someone using the threat of violence |
The gang held up a money changer at gunpoint before fleeing with huge amounts of different currencies. |
|
hold up as |
To use as a model. |
The Governor was held up as a model of integrity and decency. |
Phrasal Verbs (Sentence examples: identify with – knock up)
Phrasal Verb |
Meaning |
Example Sentence |
identify with |
To consider oneself as equivalent to someone else. |
He identified very much with the main character in the film. |
improve on |
To produce something better than. |
The second edition greatly improves on the first one. |
inform against |
To disclose incriminating information to an authority. |
A member informs against the other members of the armed gang. |
inform on |
To reveal incriminating information about someone. |
He was summarily arrested when his comrades informed on him. |
infringe on |
To encroach on someone or something. |
Discussing a politician’s divorce is tantamount to infringing on his personal life. |
inquire after |
To ask about the state of health of someone. |
Amy is deeply concerned about you; she’s always inquiring after your health and well-being. |
inquire into |
To investigate or gather information. |
The police are inquiring into his relationship with the terrorist group. |
inquire of |
To ask for information. |
The reporters inquired of the party leader when he would resign for his part in the bribery scandal. |
interfere with |
To prevent something from working effectively. |
Lack of confidence has seriously interfered with his performance at school. |
To sexually molest. |
A teacher was arrested for interfering with his young charges. |
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invest in |
To spend for future benefit. |
The company invests heavily in research and development. |
To acquire something useful. |
Their old leaking house makes them feel the need to invest in a new one. |
|
invest with |
To provide with power or authority. |
The party constitution invested the party leader with the power to approve candidates for election. |
To endow someone or something with a particular quality or characteristic. |
He was invested with great charisma which few leaders in his country have had. |
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issue forth |
To flow or come out from something. |
The relatives could hear the groans issuing forth from the dying patient. |
To come out |
From a long distance, we could see smoke issuing from a lone cottage chimney. |
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To raise. |
The storekeepers wouldn’t dare jack up prices because of a new supermarket nearby. |
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jack up |
To increase. |
This is the third time in two years the landlord has jacked up the rents. |
|
To use a jack to lift a heavy object off the ground |
We had to jack up the car to replace its punctured tyre/tire. |
join in |
To become a member of a group involved in an activity. |
They were clearing the beach and we joined in. |
join up |
To become a member of one of the armed forces. |
The three sisters thought the army was the right choice for them, and they joined up. |
To unite with other people to do something. |
We joined up with a vigilante group to patrol the neighbourhood. |
|
join with |
To come or bring together for a common purpose; to unite. |
They are asking anyone to join with them in their campaign for racial equality. |
jot down |
To write something hastily. |
I jotted her telephone number down on my palm. |
jump at |
To accept eagerly. |
He jumped at the chance to join the trip to the Niagara Falls. |
To act quickly as a reaction to something. |
She jumped at the bargain on offer. |
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To make a verbal attack. |
The supervisor jumped at me for making the same mistake again. |
|
jump in |
To interrupt someone. |
That was not the first time he jumped in when I was still talking. |
jump on |
To express disapproval of. |
Her mother never failed to jump on her whenever she was home late. |
jump out at |
To appear highly noticeable. |
We felt the luminous billboard really jumped out at us especially when we pass by it in the dark. |
keep at |
To persist. |
We kept at it until we completed it ahead of schedule. |
|
To force someone to persist |
To complete the work on time, the employer kept the foreign workers at it until late at night. |
keep away |
To avoid going to a place. |
You should keep away from that fast-flowing river. |
To prevent someone from seeing someone else |
The villagers kept their children away from outsiders who happened to be there. |
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keep back |
To not tell everything. |
I think she is keeping something back that she does not want us to know. |
To not use all. |
We can’t use all our savings to buy the car; we have to keep some back for emergency use. |
|
keep down |
To stop oneself from vomiting. |
Last night, I overate and couldn’t keep my food down. |
To prevent something from growing. |
Something has to be done to keep global population down. |
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To bring under control. |
We are now in a library; please keep your voice down. |
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keep from |
To not tell about something. |
He has only two months to live, so should we keep him from knowing? |
To stop oneself from doing something |
Some spectators couldn’t keep from booing loudly at the referee for not giving a free kick. |
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keep in with |
To maintain friendly contact with someone that could prove beneficial in the future. |
He is keeping in with his former business mentor who he believes could one day help in steering his new business to success. |
keep off |
To not touch something. |
Keep your hands off my pizza. |
To refrain from doing or eating something that is harmful to one’s health. |
His doctor advised him to keep off excessive smoking in order to stay healthy. |
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To stay away from a particular area. |
Why is he walking on the grass when the notice in front of him says ‘keep off the grass’? |
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keep on |
To carry on doing or saying the same thing. |
She keeps harping on the one little mistake I made. |
To retain the employment of an employee. |
I was informed that they might not keep me on in the new year as the company will be downsizing. |
|
keep out |
To stop someone or something from being in a place. |
She should keep the baby monkey out instead of sleeping with it. |
To tell people to stay away |
At the construction site, there’s a big sign that read ‘keep out’. |
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keep out of |
To not get involved. |
It’s not our business, so we had better keep out of it. |
keep to |
To stick to a subject. |
Why do you beat about the bush? Keep to what you want to say. |
To maintain a secret. |
Keep what I just told you to yourself, or I will never tell you anything again. |
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To stay in a particular area, etc. |
Keep to this street for the time being, or we will get lost again. |
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To adhere to. |
If we keep to our plan, nothing will go wrong. |
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To not talk to or mix with other people |
If you keep to yourself all the time, you won’t know anybody or have any friend. |
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keep up |
To keep someone awake. |
The furious barking of the neighbour’s dog kept me up the whole night. |
To continue to pay off. |
It’s really tough to keep up the monthly payments for the house. |
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To continue doing something. |
The boss likes to tell me to keep up the good work, but I have not got an increment for two years. |
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To prevent a high level from falling |
The factory is maintaining double shifts to keep up the volume of production. |
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keep up with |
To be equal with someone else’s success or lifestyle. |
She’s always trying to keep up with her siblings. |
To be as good as someone else. |
He knows he has to work very hard to keep up with the rest of the class. |
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To keep abreast of |
We only watch the news on television to keep up with what’s goes on in the outside world. |
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knock around/about |
To treat with violence. |
This big bully would knock the smaller kids about. |
To travel through different places. |
I too would like to knock around the different countries on the Continent. |
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To discuss or think carefully about something. |
We have been meeting to knock around the idea of starting our own business. |
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To be lying somewhere that is not exactly known. |
After we bought a new lock, we found the one we were looking for knocking about in the storeroom. |
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knock back |
To swallow a drink quickly. |
He knocked back his drink in one go and ordered another one. |
To cost a lot. |
We are getting a second-hand car; a new one will knock us back a large sum of money. |
|
knock down |
To hit with a vehicle. |
The speeding car knocked down a villager’s goat. |
To demolish. |
The old building was knocked down to make way for a block of apartments |
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To reduce price. |
She bought a new dress which was knocked down to nearly half of its original price. |
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knock off |
To stop working or doing something. |
My dad can’t knock off work at the same time every day. |
To reduce price by an amount. |
The seller knocked off thirty dollars because of a slight dent. |
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To steal or imitate. |
He knocked off someone else’s invention and claimed it as his own. |
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knock out |
To defeat an opponent in sports. |
The underdog knocked out his opponent in the last round. |
To become unconscious. |
The tourist was knocked out by a coconut that dropped on his head. |
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To cause something to be not working. |
The storm knocked out the power lines. |
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knock over |
To be hit by a vehicle. |
His dog got knocked over by a car as it ran across the street. |
knock together |
To assemble. |
He knocked together a birdhouse with whatever he could find in the storeroom. |
knock up |
To wake someone up by knocking at the door. |
He doesn’t own an alarm clock, but depends on the landlady to knock him up in the morning. |
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