| Phrasal
Verbs |
Meanings |
Examples |
| SAVE UP |
to collect money for future
use |
Mimi and Charles are saving
up for a new car. |
| SELL OUT |
to sell the entire supply
of something |
The tickets to the Rolling
Stones concert have been sold out. We can't go. |
| SEND BACK |
to return something |
I sent the package back because
I didn't order it. |
| SET BACK |
to cause a delay in scheduling |
There is a problem with the
report that has set us back at least two days. |
| SET BACK |
to cost money |
How much did your new coat
set you back? |
| SET OFF |
to set in motion; to cause
to begin |
The crazy man set a bomb off. |
| SET OFF |
to leave; the depart |
We set off to Los Angeles
early to avoid the traffic. |
| SET UP |
to start, organize, or configure |
Jenny talked to Sara about
setting up her computer. |
| SET UP |
to make arrangements for something |
I'm going to set a meeting
up for 9:30. Is that OK? |
| SETTLE DOWN |
to start living a quiet family life |
You're already 30 years old.
It's really time for you to settle down. |
| SETTLE DOWN |
to get someone to quiet down |
We need to settle the baby
down. The neighbors are trying to sleep. |
| SHAKE OFF |
to free oneself from |
Are you ever going to shake
that cold off? You've been coughing for three weeks! |
| SHAKE UP |
to stir someone's feelings;
to upset someone |
Patrick was really shaken
up when he saw the bank robber. |
| SHAKE UP |
to jar or jolt |
The collision shook up both
drivers. |
| SHAKE UP |
to reorganize something on
a large scale |
The company shook the management
structure up and fired a lot of employees. |
| SHAVE OFF |
to remove hair by shaving |
Why did Sinead O'Conner shave
all her hair off? |
| SHOOT DOWN |
to make something hit the
ground by shooting it |
Charles shot a duck down when
he went hunting. |
| SHOOT DOWN |
to reject an idea, suggestion or proposal |
Danielle shot Pablo down when he asked her to go out on a date with him. |
| SHOP AROUND |
to go to many different merchants
to find the best price |
I really like the Chanel dress,
but I am going to shop around to see if I can find a better price. |
| SHOW OFF |
to try to impress by doing
or showing something |
Brett rode his bicycle off
the stairs to show off. Too bad he broke his arm! |
| SHOW OFF |
to display something to impress
others |
Some parents dress their kids
in expensive clothes to show them off. |
| SHOW UP |
to arrive; to appear |
The manager was very upset
when you didn't show up for the meeting. Where were you? |
| SHOW UP |
to do a noticeably better
job than someone else |
Everyone thought the red team
would win, but the blue team did. The blue team really showed them up. |
| SHUT OFF |
to turn something off; to
stop a machine |
Bill shut the gas off after
the earthquake. |
| SIMMER DOWN |
to become less angry |
Steve let his wife simmer
down before he asked her for forgiveness. |
| SIT AROUND |
to just sit not doing much |
A) What did you do last weekend?
B) Not much. I just sat around
and watched TV. |
| SLIP UP |
to make a mistake |
You slipped up when you told
Sara about her surprise party. You shouldn't have done that. |
| SPEAK UP |
to speak more loudly |
You should speak up in class.
Nobody can hear you. |
| SPLIT UP |
to divide |
The bank robbers split the
money up equally. |
| STAND FOR |
to represent |
A.S.A.P. stands for as
soon as possible. |
| STAND FOR |
to tolerate; permit |
The manager won't stand for
his workers to be late. He fires anyone who comes late more than 3 times. |
| STAND IN FOR |
to take someone's place |
In old times, the oldest brother
stood in for his father when he went to war. |
| STAND OUT |
to be noticeably better than
other similar people or things |
Pam's work really stands out
from the other employees. Her work is fantastic. |
| STAND UP |
to make a date but not keep
it |
Peter planned to go dancing
with Mary, but she stood him up and went with Carlos instead. |
| STAND UP |
to rise to a standing position |
When the President entered
the room, everyone stood up. |
| STAY IN |
to not go out |
Barry decided to stay in this
weekend because it was raining. |
| STAY OUT |
to remain away from home for
the evening; to not return home |
Would you get angry if your
boyfriend stayed out all night? |
