This Phrasal Verb list, anyhow, substitutes a dictionary, yet it is a brief way of memorizing basic ideas.

Phrasal Verb

Idea

Example

Add up

To totalize

When will you finish adding up all these bills?

Answer back

To reply to someone rudely.

Little Joe always answers back his mother. He is a nasty boy.

Back up

To support.

Whenever you need me, I'll back you up.

Be in

At home, inside.

He hasn't been in lately.

Be out

Not at home, outside.

He's been out these days.

Boil over

To flow over the sides.

The milk always boils over at my house.

Break away

To escape from.

She broke away from him last night.

Break down

To stop working. To have a nervous collapse.

I couldn't turn on the computer.I think it broke down.

Break out of

To escape from.

Escadinha broke out of prison in the 80's.

Break up

To divide something into many pieces.

Hey! Break up this chocalate bar!

Break up with

To finish a relationship

Mary broke up with Jane last weekend.

Bring back

To remember.

These photos bring me back good memories.

Bring down

To cause someone in a position of power to lose their job.

This scandal may bring him down.

To reduce the level of something.

The prices have been brought down recently.

Bring up

To educate a child until he becomes an adult.

He has been brought up by his grandparents.

Call back

To call someone in return.

In a few minutes I'll call you back.

Call off

To cancel

The game was called off because of the heavy rain.

Call on

To visit.

She called me on just the other day.

Call out

To shout something loudly.

You should shout out. Maybe she can hear you.

Carry on

To continue.

Carry on! You cannot give in.

Catch up with

To reach the same level.

Now that I flunked, It'll be difficult to catch up with the rest of the group.

Climb down

To change your opinion or admit that you were wrong (over).

They climbed down over the previous decision.

Climb up

To go up

She climbed up that mountain along with her brother.

Come down on

To punish or criticize a person or activity very strongly

They're coming down heavily on people for not paying their licence fees

Come down with To start to suffer from an illness, especially one that is not serious.

Due to the bad weather, I came down with the flu.

Come out

To come outside.

He came out to see what was going on.

To be published.

His new book will come out next semester.

To be expressed in speech.

I don't know what is going on, but today, the words don't come out.

To reach a result.

Your painting has come out really well.

Come over

To move from one place to another, or move towards someone

Come over here!

Come up

To happen, usually unexpectedly.

I've got to go - something has just come up at home and I'm needed there

Come up to

To reach the usual or necessary standard.

They can't come up to us! We're far ahead!

Come up with

To suggest or think of an idea or plan.

During the meeting, Jane came up with good ideas for the next semester.

Cut down on

To reduce.

We should cut down on expenses.

Die away

To diminish gradually (sound).

I could hear her voice dying away in the cave.

Do over

To do something againg.

Shit! I'll have to do it over!

To redecorate.

Sheila wants to do over her apartment.

Do without

To survive without.

We can't do without water.

Drop in

To visit.

She drops me in once in a while.

Drop out of

To choose to leave school, etc

Many students have dropped out of school lately.

Eat in

At home, inside.

I usually eat in.

Eat out

Not at home, outside.

On weekends I usually eat out.

Fall back (on)

To make use of sth in an emergency = to turn to someone for help.

When I need a piece of advice I fall back on my friends.

Fall down

To fall to the ground.

The vase fell down and broke.

Fall over

To fall to the ground.

She tripped and fell over.

Figure out

To calculate. To understand.

I can't figure out what he says.

Find out

To discover.

She found out all the truth about his affair.

Get along with

To have a good relationship with someone.

Thanks God I get along with all my relatives.

Get away

To escape from.

She got away in the middle of the night.

Get back

To return.

I'll get back to you in ten minutes

Get down

To write something, especially something that someone has said.

Please, Get down what he is saying. I cannot hear him well.

Get down to

To start to direct your efforts and attention towards something.

Tomorrow I'll have a test, so, let me get down to what I'm studying.

Get in

To enter

Get in! Otherwise you'll get cold. Besides it's raining it's too cold.

Get off

To leave a train, bus or aircraft. to leave a place, usually in order to start a journey.

Wake me up near the Fifth Avenue. It's where I must get off.

Get on

To go onto a bus, train, aircraft or boat.

In a few minutes I'll have to get on the bus to Chicago.

To continue doing something, especially work.

Get on doing what you were doing. I really don't care about it.

Get out

To leave.

Get out of here immediately!

Get over

To recover from (illness).

I took some hot tea, and then, I got over tha indigestion.

Get up

To wake up and get out of bed, or to tell or help someone to do this.

I usually get up at 10 a.m.

To organize a group of people to do something.

Now, because of the project, we have to get up a group of tem.

Give away

To reveal (a secret).

Please keep quiet, or else you may give away her secrets.

Give back

To return something to someone.

Give the book back to him when you finish reading it.

Give up

To quit. To stop.

She gave up trying to fix the door.

Go down

To move down to a lower level or place.

She went down the hill to see what was going on.

To be reduced in price, value, amount, quality, level or size.

The milk price has gone down lately.

To stop working.

The computer has just gone down.

Go off

To stop working.

The computer has just gone off.

To explode.

A bomb went off in front of a building last night.

To fire (gun).

His gun went off by chance.

To spoil.

The milk, you left out of the fridge, went off.

To start to ring loudly or make a loud noise.

The alarm clock wil go off at 7:00 a.m.

Go on

To continue.

Go on doing what you're doing!

To move to the next thing.

Can I go on now?

Go over

To examine.

Please, go over your test before handing it in!

Go up

To move higher, rise or increase.

The prices have gone up recently.

Grow up

(Person)To gradually become an adult.

I grew up in São Gonçalo.

Help out

To help.

She asked me to help her out.

Hold back

To control (feelings)

Every time I see her I can't hold back my tears.

Hold down

To keep something down.

I wish the government would hold the prices down.

Hurry up

hurry (sb/sth) up
To move or do things more quickly than normal or to make someone do this.

Hey! Hurry up or else we'll miss the bus!

Jump on

To criticize someone as soon as they have done something wrong or said something that you disagree with.

I remember that when I talked about the accident, they immediately jumped on me.

Jump over

To jump or go over something without touching it.

The horse jumded over the fence.

Keep back

To have sth as a secret.

Please keep it back. No one, I said, no one must find it out.

Keep off

To avoid going somewhere or doing something.

I have to keep off Jane's home.

Not to eat.

I have to keep off eating chocolate.

Keep on

To continue doing something without stopping, or to do it repeatedly.

She kept on talking about him all night long.

Knock over

To strike to the ground.

When she ran into the house, she knocked the vase over and it, of course, broke.

To steal.

Someone knocked over that expensive car the day before yesterday.

Lay down

To stop fighting.

Please, Lay down your gun!

Let down

To disappoint.

I'll never let you down.

Look back (on)

To think about the past.

When I look back I see where I went wrong. I get sad when I look back on it.

Look down on

To despise; to consider someone inferior.

Some rich people enjoy looking down on the poor.

Look for

To search for.

Jon had looked for his missing son for two days before finding him.

Look into

To investigate.

The police is still looking into the millionaire murder.

Look out

To be careful (usually in the imperative form).

Look out you don't get robbed while you are hanging around the city.

Look over

To fast examine something

Before leaving, please look the list over to see if it's ok.

Look(sth) up

To try to find a piece of information by looking in a book or on a computer

Look it up in the dictionary! There you'll get the meaning.

Look up to

To admire.

I look up to my father. He's the kind of man I want to be when I grow older.

Make off with

To steal.

Someone who works here must have made off with the reports!

Make out

To understand (something or someone). To decipher.

I can't make out what he wrote here. It seems hieroglyphics.

Make up

To invent.

She made up a good excuse for not having come to party.

To prepare.

Let's make up something to eat with the last night leftovers.

Make up for

To compensate for.

Next week I'll make you up for the last class.

Pass away

To die. (Euphemism)

Dr. Pastor passed away just the other day. I guess it was on Tuesday.

Pick out

To choose. To select.

Vini picked out the most beautiful flowers to Lidi.

Push in

To rudely join a line of people, by moving in front of some of the people who are already there

I was waiting in the bus queue when two men pushed in in front of me.

Put away

To put something in their correct place.

Please, when you finish using the pen put it away.

Put back

To put something where it was before.

Put the books back. I think Jane will need them again. Putting them back will be easier for her.

Put off

To postpone; to delay.

The fligh to Chicago was put off twice this week.

Put on

To cover part of the body with clothes, shoes, make-up or something similar.

Come on! Put on your gloves, otherwise your fingers will freeze.

To gain weight on, to become heavier.

Jane put on a lot last summer.

To pretend to have a particular feeling or way of behaving which is not real or natural to you.

Why are you putting on that silly voice?

To make a device operate, or to cause a device to play something, such as a CD or video, by pressing a
switch.

Please! Put this CD on. I want listen to it.

Put out

To extinguish fire.

She put out her cigarette before entering.

To turn off lights.

Put off the lights! Time to turn in!

To put (something or someone) outside.

Put the cat out! Either me or him!

To produce.

Ford has just put out a new model.

Run away

To escape from.

She ran away from prision.

Run out of

To leave a place by running.

She ran out of home in despair.

Run out of

To have no more.

Last night I ran out of money and then I had to come back home on foot.

Run over

To hit and drive over someone.

I'm afraid we've just run a rabbit over.

Send back

To return something to the person who sent it to you, especially because it is damaged or not suitable

I had to send the shirt back because it didn't fit me.

Send in

To order to enter.

Please! Send in the next candidate!

Send off/away

(to / for)To write to an organization or place to ask them to send you something:I've sent off for a
catalogue.We had to send off to Ireland for a replacement part.

I've sent off for a catalogue.We had to send off to Ireland for a replacement part.

Send on

To send something from someone's old address to their new one.

Paul's moved back to New York and he's asked me to send on his letters.

Send out

To send something to a lot of different people, usually by post.

We sent out the wedding invitations about three weeks ago.

Set down

To write or print something, especially to record it in a formal document. ( OFTEN PASSIVE FORM)

The rules of the club are set down in the members' handbook.

Set up

To start a business.

The Johnsons have just set up a new snack bar near the school.

Settle down

To start living in a place where you intend to stay for a long time, usually with your partner.

Eventually I'd like to settle down and have a family, but not yet.

Settle for

To accept or agree to something, although it is not exactly what you want or it is not the best.

He wants a full refund and he won't settle for anything less.

Sit up

To sit with a straight back.To show interest or surprise.

The news that he was getting married really made her sit up.

Slow down

To calm down. To become calmer.

Slow down! Otherwise you'll have a heart attack!

Sneak away

To leave a place secretly.

She sneaked / snuck away while we slept last night.

Speed up

To happen or move faster, or to make something happen or move faster.

The car industry has invested in technology to speed up production.

Stand up

To become standing.

Stand up when Colonel Marcus Furlong comes in!

Start up

To start functioning or operating.

This morning the car didn't start up.

Stay away

To avoid going somewhere or doing something.

I have to stay away Jane's home.

Not to eat.

I have to stay away eating chocolate.

Stay in

At home, inside.

I usually stay in on Sundays.

Stay off

= To keep off - to not eat, drink or use something that can harm you.

She must stay off candies.

To continue not to attend, (something such as school).

She has stayed off college since last year.

Stay on

To continue to be in a place, job or school after the other people who were with you have left.

Mark, the teacher asked us to stay on and prepare the paper for tomorrow.

Stay out

Not at home, outside.

She stays out every other week.

Switch off

To use a switch to change a device from one state or type of operation to another. Switch the TV off.
To stop giving your attention to someone or something

She switched me off. I don't know what's going on!

Switch on

To use a switch to change a device from one state or type of operation to another.

Switch the TV on, please!

Take away

To subtract.

5-3=2

Take back

To retract sth said or written.

You should take back what you said about her.

Take off

To remove clothes.

It's hot here! I'll take off my shirt.

To departure.

The airplane took off 10 minutes late.

Take over

To control.

The new boss took over last Monday.

Talk over

To discuss.

We need to talk over what has happened here.

Think back

To remember something that happened in the past.

It might help you to understand Elaine if you think back to when you were her age.

Think over

To think carefully about something.

Before taking any decision it's advisable to think over.

Think up

To invent.

We must think up something really interesting for the students.

Throw away

To cast out. To get rid of (something or someone).

She threw away the old magazines last night.

Throw out

To cast out. To get rid of (something or someone).

She threw out the old magazines last night.

Try on

To test. To experiment. Clothes and shoes.

I bought a new pair of shoes, but I forgot to try them on at the store.

Try out

To test. To experiment. Equipment, devices, utensils and food.

Please! Try out the computer first before you buy it!

Turn away

To not look.

Please! Turn away while I try to get the pencil which is under the desk.

Turn back

(To begin to) return.

She turned back when she heard him cry.

Turn down

To refuse an offer or request.

She turned down my proposal.

To reduce the level (sound).

Please, turn down the radio.

Turn in

To go to bed to sleep.

I usually turn in at 2:00 a.m.

Turn off

To change a device from one state or type of operation to another.

Turn the TV off, please!

To stop someone feeling interested or excited, especially sexually.

You know what?! She turned me off.

Turn on

To change a device from one state or type of operation to another.

Turn the TV on, please!

To interest or excite you, especially sexually.

Short girls really turn me on.

Turn out

to happen in a particular way or to have a particular result, especially an unexpected one.

As events turned out, we were right to have decided to leave early.

Turn up

To arrive or appear somewhere, usually unexpectedly or in a way that was not planned.

She turned up out of the blue!

Wash off

To remove by washing.

Wash it off right now! Otherwise it cannot be removed at all.

Work out

To exercise.

I work out twice a week.

To understand.

I can't work out what she says.

To find a solution.

We have problems and I'll try to work them out.

To succeed; to result.

Yes! It finally worked out!

To calculate.

We need to work out the total cost of the project.