| Phrasal Verbs |
Meanings |
Examples |
| BACK OFF |
to retreat; not follow a threat |
That car was following me closely, but
finally it backed off. |
| BACK UP |
to move backwards |
You are crowding me. Please back up a
few steps. |
| BACK UP |
to make a protection copy |
Don't forget to back up your important
computer files! |
| BACK UP |
to confirm facts; support |
Frank backed Mary's story up. He told
us the same facts that Mary told us. |
| BEAT UP |
to hurt someone by hitting or kicking them
repeatedly |
The men in the pub were trying to beat
each other up. It was a terrible fight! |
| BEG OFF |
to decline an invitation |
I asked my friends over for dinner, but
they begged off. |
| BLEND IN |
to match the surroundings |
New immigrants often try to blend in
with the citizens of a country. |
| BLOW UP |
destroy with an explosion |
The bomb blew up and hurt one person. |
| BLOW UP |
to inflate something |
The clown blew up the balloons.
The clown blew the balloons up.
He blew them up. |
| BONE UP ON |
to refresh one's memory with information |
Nick's study group boned up on
prepositions before the test. |
| BOSS AROUND |
to tell someone what to do repeatedly |
I hate when my sister tries to boss me
around! |
| BREAK DOWN |
to lose control of one's emotions |
Brent broke down in tears when he heard
that his wife had been saved from the fire. |
| BREAK DOWN |
to destroy |
The robbers broke the door down when
they came in last night. |
| BREAK DOWN |
to stop working |
Sara's car broke down yesterday. |
| BREAK IN |
to train. |
One of the manager's duties is to break
the new employees in. |
| BREAK INTO |
to enter forcefully or abruptly |
Cory broke into a house and stole a TV.
Now, he's in jail! |
| BREAK OFF |
to end a conversation or relationship |
Allen and I broke up yesterday. He
already has a new girlfriend! |
| BREAK UP |
to end a relationship |
Peter and June broke up
yesterday. |
| BRING BACK |
to return something |
My homework is due tomorrow. Will you
please bring my book back today? |
| BRING OFF |
to do the impossible or unlikely |
Nobody thought Cary could get an A in
that class, but she brought it off! |
| BRING UP |
to mention |
No one brought up the subject of
employee raises at the meeting. |
| BRING UP |
to raise. |
I was brought up with very strict
rules. I had to be a good child, or I was punished. |
| BRUSH UP ON |
to improve your skill or knowledge |
Nick's study group brushed up on
pronouns before the test. |
| BURN DOWN |
to destroy by fire
|
If you smoke in bed, you may burn the
house down. |
| BURN UP |
to cause someone to become very angry |
That rude woman really burned me up! |
| BUTT IN |
to enter a conversation uninvited;
impolitely interrupt |
That rude man butted into our
conversation. |
| BUTT OUT |
to tell someone to mind their own business. |
Butt out! This is none of your
business! |
| BUTTER UP |
to praise someone excessively with the hope
of getting some benefit |
I guess Marilyn really wants to be
promoted. She's been buttering her supervisor up all week. |
