| Phrasal Verbs |
Meanings |
Examples |
| CALL BACK |
to return a phone call;
to call again |
Could you call back later please? |
| CALL OFF |
to cancel something |
Shelly called the wedding off because
her boyfriend cheated on her. |
| CALL ON |
to visit somebody at their home |
Frank called on Sara. They visited for
two hours. |
| CALL OUT |
to shout aloud |
When the lights went out, I called out
for help. |
| CALL UP |
to telephone someone |
The secretary will call the client up at
2:00pm. |
| CALM DOWN |
to help someone become calmer. |
Steve was so upset that nothing could
calm him down. |
| CARE FOR |
to like, want . |
-"Would you care for some dessert?
We have ice cream, cookies, or cake."
-"No thank you. I don't care for sweets." |
| CARE FOR |
to take care of somebody. |
Emily's family is caring for her
brother at home. |
| CARRY ON |
to continue |
Sorry for interrupting
you. Please
carry on. |
| CARRY OUT |
to complete a task |
The secretary carried her boss's orders
out exactly. |
| CATCH UP |
to get to the same level as others |
The new employees are slow workers, but
they'll catch up as they learn more. |
| CHECK IN |
to register . |
Thomas checked in at the front desk. |
| CHECK OFF |
to make a mark to indicate that something
on a list has been completed |
The teacher checked off the student's
homework as they handed it in. |
| CHECK OUT |
to follow procedures for leaving (a
meeting, hotel, hospital, etc.) |
Thomas checked out on Friday. |
| CHEER UP |
to help someone feel less worried,
depressed or sad |
Henry was sad about fialing his test, so
I took him out to dinner to cheer him up. |
| CHEW OUT |
to scold someone severely |
My supervisor chewed out my coworker
today. |
| CHICKEN OUT |
to lose the courage or confidence to do
something--usually at the last minute |
Mark was going to ask Lisa for a date
when he saw her, but he chickened out. |
| CHIP IN |
to add money to something done by a group |
Everyone chipped in and we bought our
manager a birthday gift. |
| calm up |
to suddenly become quiet |
My friends clammed up when I walked into
the room. Nobody would tell me what they were talking about. |
| CLEAN UP |
to clean something completely |
Kids - clean your room up and then we'll
leave. |
| CLEAR UP |
to explain |
Her explanation cleared up the
misunderstanding. |
| CLEAR AWAY |
to remove |
When the dinner dishes were cleared
away, they played cards at the table. |
| COME ACROSS |
to find; to discover unexpectedly. |
I came across an old picture in my desk
drawer. |
| COME TO |
to regain consciousness; come awake |
- "Nurse, has the patient regained
consciousness?"
- "Not yet doctor. He's still in a coma." |
| COME TO |
to total an amount |
Let's see... 5 hamburgers and 10 hotdogs
comes to $12.00 please. |
| COME UP WITH |
to suddenly think of an idea |
The marketing department came up with a
brilliant idea. |
| COPY DOWN |
to record in writing |
Patty gave Max her phone number and Max
copied it down. |
| COUNT ON |
to rely on somebody/something |
Are you crazy? You can't count on
winning the lottery! Stop using your credit card so much! |
| CUT OFF |
to stop service |
When we didn't pay the bill, the
electricity was cut off. |
| CUT OFF |
to eliminate from contact |
He was cut off by the storm. He couldn't
get home. |
| CUT OUT |
to remove something |
I cut the picture out of the
magazine. |
| CUT OUT |
to stop something |
She cut out smoking and now her health
is better. |
