Phrasal Verb

Meaning

Example Sentence

make away with

To steal.

I saw in a store a kid made away with a bar of chocolate.

make for

To move towards somewhere.

We quickly made for the river bank when our boat started to leak. 

To produce a particular result.

Knowing the same language makes for better communication.

make into

To change something so that it becomes something else.

They made trash into adorable ornaments.

make of

To influence the formation or development of.

Your life is what you make of it.  

To ask someone for their opinion.

His last word before he died was about poison; what do you make of it?

make off

To leave hurriedly.

The robbers made off when the alarm sounded. 

To take something away illegally.

Police arrested a pickpocket who made off with ten wallets.

make out

To understand.

She whispered in my ear, but I could not make out what it was. 

To see, hear or recognize with difficulty.

I couldn’t make out the sign through the fog. 

To write out.

He made out a cheque in payment of the fees. 

To portray someone in a particular way

Why do they make him out to be a religious person when he is not?

make over

To transfer the ownership of something to someone else.

He made over his entire estate to his only child. 

To restore to a good state.

The family bought the old crumbling mansion and made it over into an imposing one.

make towards

To go in the direction of something.

She made towards the exit when she had made all her purchases.

make up

To set something in order.

The maid made up their bedroom when they were out. 

To invent something such as a story, excuse, etc. so as to deceive.

It’s pretty obvious she made up that story about being attacked. 

To put something together.

We made up a list of the tasks that are to be tackled in order of priority. 

To make good the amount that falls short of what is required.

He saved as much as he could for the car, and his dad made up the deficit. 

To replace.

They are making up for lost time by working overtime. 

To apply make-up.

Each morning, she takes considerable time to make up before leaving for work. 

To form a part of a whole.

Tips made up a large portion of his income. 

To restore friendly relations after a quarrel)

The two neighbours mutually agreed to make up with a handshake.

make up for

To compensate.

No amount of money could make up for the loss of her husband.

make up to

To do something that is to one’s advantage.

Jack made up to Jill in hopes of keeping her as his girlfriend.

mark down

To reduce the price of something.

The store attracts a big crowd as most items on sale have been marked down.

mark off

To use a mark to indicate an item has been dealt with.

She marked off all the items she had bought. 

To use something to separate an area

Police marked off the crime scene with tape. 

mark out

To draw lines to indicate something.

They have marked out the area for vehicles to park.

mark up

To increase the price of something.

Flour is likely to be marked up as there will soon be a shortfall in supply.  

mete to

To give punishment.

His family felt that the sentence meted out to him was unjustly harsh.

mix up

To fail to distinguish between two or more persons or things.

I called the wrong number when I mixed your telephone number up with another. 

To disarrange a group of things by putting them in the wrong order.

Someone mixed those cards up when they should arrange the titles on the cards in alphabetical order.

mop up

To clean a surface by soaking up the liquid.

The milk spilled across the floor, and who is to mop it up?

move away

To go to a different place to live.

The children moved away as soon as they got married.

move in

To begin to occupy a new house.

We moved in as soon as it was ready for occupation.

move in on

To go closer to a place in order to attack or seize control of it.

The police have located the gang’s hideout and are moving in on them.

move on

To get going.

We have already been here a couple of days; let’s move on to our next destination. 

To leave a place

I pulled over but a traffic policeman waved to me to move on.

move out

To cease to live in a house.

We decided to move out when the landlord increased the rent again.

move over

To change from one position to another so that more space is available.

Let’s move over and let him sit down.

nibble away at

To make or become gradually less.

All these tidbits are nibbling away at the money we brought along with us.

nod off

To doze off unintentionally.

He often nods off while watching television.

occur to

To come to one’s mind.

It never occurred to me that you really believe the world is flat.

open into

To lead to a particular place

Like a hotel, each room in the mansion opens into the corridor.

open up

To begin firing.

In the army barracks, a soldier went berserk and opened up with a machine gun. 

To start business.

Every morning the stallholders in the new market open up well before dawn. 

To speak readily.

After much persuasion, she finally opened up and revealed the truth about what happened that day. 

To perform a surgical operation.

The surgeons opened the patient up and discovered what they had been suspecting all along. 

To convert land to a new purpose, especially by constructing buildings.

The developer opened up the land for a housing estate.