DESTINATION B2 + C1, C2: PHRASAL VERBS

back down

stop demanding sth, stop saying that you will do sth

Eg: Local residents have forced the local council to back down from its plans to build a nightclub on their street.

back out

decide not to do sth you agreed to do

Eg: They backed out of the deal the day before they were due to sign the contract.

bank on

depend on

Eg: Can I bank on your support?

[ + -ing verb ] I wouldn't bank on him being there.

I'd banked on getting a pay rise this year.

break out

escape, bùng nổ, bùng phát

Eg: Cholera broke out in the city.

They broke out of prison and fled the country.

bring forward

change the date/time of an event so it happens earlier

Eg: The elections were brought forward by three months.

bring in

introduce a new law

Eg: New safety regulations have been brought in.

bring on sth / sb

cause an illness

help someone to improve, especially through training or practice:

Eg: Her new piano teacher has really brought her on.

The loud music brought on another one of his headaches.

catch on

become popular

understand

Eg: I wonder if the game will ever catch on with young people?

He doesn't take hints very easily, but he'll catch on (to what you're saying) eventually.

clear up

trời trong xanh

to make a place tidy by removing things from it or putting them where they should be:

Eg: I hope it clears up in time for the picnic.

I'm tired of always having to clear up after you (= tidy your things).

come (a)round

If an event that happens regularly comes round, it happens at its usual time:

to visit someone in their home:

Eg: Christmas comes round so quickly!

Do you still dislike your office, or have you come round to thinking it's all right?

Come round tonight and we'll watch a video.

come by sth

to obtain something:

Eg: A good boss is not so easy to come by.

It's unclear how he came by his wealth.

come down with sth

to start to suffer from an illness, especially one that is not serious:

Eg: I think I'm coming down with flu.

come into sth

If someone comes into money, property, or a title, they receive it as a result of the death of a relation:

Eg: She came into a bit of money when her grandfather died.

come off

succeed

Eg: I tried telling a few jokes but they didn't come off (= no one laughed).

come to/round

to become conscious again after an accident or operation:

Has he come to yet?

She hasn't come round from the anaesthetic yet.

dawn on sb

If a fact dawns on you, you understand it after a period of not understanding it:

[ + that ] I was about to pay for the shopping when it suddenly dawned on me that I'd left my wallet at home.

drop in on sb

to come for a visit, esp. without having received an invitation for a specific time:

Drop in whenever you're in the neighborhood.

drown out

prevent another sound from being heard

Eg: The sound of the telephone was drowned out by the vacuum cleaner.

feel up to

to have the energy to do something:

I don't feel up to going out tonight.

get something across

to manage to make someone understand or believe something:

Eg: We tried to get our point across, but he just wouldn't listen.

This is the message that we want to get across to the public.

part with sth

to give something to someone else, especially when you do not want to:

Eg: I was going to give away her old baby clothes, but I couldn't bring myself to part with them.

break something up

to divide into many pieces, or to divide something into many pieces:

Eg: The company has been broken up and sold off.

If an occasion when people meet breaks up or someone breaks it up, it ends

Eg: The meeting broke up at ten to three.

When schools and colleges, or the teachers and students who go to them break up, their classes stop and the holidays start:

Eg: We broke up for the holidays in June

break (sth) off

to separate a part from a larger piece, or to become separate:

Eg: He broke off a piece of chocolate.

to suddenly stop speaking or doing something:

Eg: She broke off in the middle of a sentence.

to end a relationship:

Eg: They've broken off their engagement.

brush someone/something aside (/away)

to refuse to consider something or someone seriously

Eg: She brushed their objections aside, saying "Leave it to me."

bring someone around

to make someone become conscious again after being unconscious:

Eg: I gave him a sniff of smelling salts to bring him around.

take someone back (to something)

remind

Eg: hat piece of music really took me back (to my schooldays).

hand sth in

to give something to someone in a position of authority:

Eg: Have you handed in your history essay yet?

I've decided to hand in my resignation (= tell my employer I am leaving my job).

liken someone/something to someone/something

to say that someone is similar to or has the same qualities as someone else:

Eg: She's been likened to a young Elizabeth Taylor.

get by

to be able to live or deal with a situation with difficulty, usually by having just enough of something you need, such as money:

Eg: When we were students we got by on very little money.

We can get by with four computers at the moment, but we'll need a couple more when the new staff arrive.

get a(round) to sth

to do something that you have intended to do for a long time:

Eg: I still haven't got around to fixing that tap.

get through sth

to succeed in an exam or competition:

Eg: She got through her exams without too much trouble.

to succeed in talking to someone on the phone:

Eg: I tried to call her but couldn't get through.

to use up something:

Eg: She gets through ten bars of chocolate each week.

go down as/in something

to be remembered or recorded in a particular way:

Eg: Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst storms of this century.

He doesn't want to go down in the record books as the guy who walked away from his main responsibility.

go in for sth

to do something regularly, or to enjoy something:

Eg: I've never gone in for spending all day at the beach.

to take part in a competition:

Eg: Are you planning to go in for the 100 metres race?

go off

be no longer fresh

explode, be fired

stop liking

Eg: I went off beefburgers after I got food poisoning from a takeaway.

hold someone/something up

to steal from someone using violence or the threat of violence:

They held the same bank up twice in one week.

Eg: He was held up at gunpoint by a gang of masked youths.

delay

Eg: I was held up in a traffic jam.

let sb off

Instead of a prison sentence they were let off with a fine.

Don't let off fireworks near the house.

make out

to write all the necessary information on an official document:

Eg: Which niece should I make the card out to?

Make the cheque out for £20.

sail through (something)

You can't expect to just sail through without doing any work.

see someone through something

to help or support someone during a difficult period in their life:

Eg: My brother lent me $500 to see me through the next few weeks.

to continue doing a job or activity until it is finished, especially when it is difficult:

Eg: The degree would take me three years to complete, but I was determined to see it through.

see to something/someone

to deal with a person or task that needs to be dealt with or is waiting to be dealt with:

"These letters need posting." "I'll see to them later."

set in

When something unpleasant sets in, it begins and seems likely to continue in a serious way:

This rain looks as if it has set in for the rest of the day.

If you get bitten by a dog, you have to make sure the wound is cleaned well, or an infection could set in.

stand a chance

to have a chance of success:

Eg: She stands a good chance of passing her exam if she works hard.

The boat stood little chance against the power of the storm.

I applied for the job, but I never stood a chance against Paul.

hang on

to wait: Hang on a minute - I'll be with you in a moment!

to blame someone for something, especially something they did not do: I wasn't anywhere near the house when the window was broken, so you can't hang that on me!

to listen very carefully to someone's speech: She hung on every word he said.

rooted

having developed from something: The problems were rooted in the area's history.

The high crime rate has its roots in unemployment and poverty.

pull something off

to succeed in doing something difficult or unexpected:

The central bank has pulled off one of the biggest financial rescues of recent years.

put something toward something

to use money to help pay the cost of something:

Grandma told me to put that money toward my college education.

catch up with someone

If something bad that you have done or that has been happening to you catches up with you, it begins to cause problems for you:

His lies will catch up with him one day.

a roaring success

something that is very successful:

The shares, which typically were only available to institutions, have been a roaring success.

sober sb up

to become less drunk, or to make someone become less drunk:

Eg: I went for a walk to try to sober up.

Have some black coffee - that should sober you up!

drop off

to start to sleep

to take someone or something to a particular place, usually by car, as you travel to a different place:

Eg: We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and went sightseeing.

conjure sth up

gợi lên (in one's mind)

Eg: For some people, the word "England" may still conjure up images of pretty gardens and tea parties.

amount to

to become or add up to a particular amount:

->The savings would amount to several thousand dollars per family.

to be the same as something, or to have the same effect as something:

->He gave what amounted to an apology on behalf of his company.

weasel out (of something)

to avoid doing something that you have agreed to do, especially by being dishonest:

Although they had signed the contract they tried to weasel out of the deal later.

draw on/upon sth

to start using a supply of something:

Americans are spending more than they earn, drawing on savings and building up debt to do so.

He has secured a loan for a new building by drawing upon the resources of two existing tenants.

get away with something

to succeed in avoiding punishment for something:

If I thought I could get away with it, I wouldn't pay my taxes at all.

reduce someone to something

to make someone unhappy or cause someone to be in a bad state or situation:

His comments reduced her to tears (= made her cry).

embark on/upon something

to start something new or important:

We're embarking upon a new project later this year.

drum something into someone

to teach something to someone by repeating it many times:

The importance of good manners was drummed into us at an early age.

strike a note

to express and communicate a particular opinion or feeling about something:

strike the right note I find it really difficult to strike the right note when I'm writing job applications.

strike a note of At the end of her speech, she struck a note of warning about the risks involved in the project.

pull yourself together

to become calm and behave normally again after being angry or upset:

Just pull yourself together. There's no point crying about it.

pull together

to work hard as a group in order to achieve something:

We don't have much time but if we all pull together we should get the job done.

usher something in

to be at the start of a new period, especially when important changes or new things happen, or to cause important changes to start happening:

These changes could usher in a period of dramatic economic growth.

His inventions helped usher in the era of skyscrapers.

allude to someone/something

to mention someone or something without talking about him, her, or it directly:

She mentioned some trouble that she'd had at home and I guessed she was alluding to her son.

occur to someone

If a thought or idea occurs to you, it comes into your mind:

The thought did occur to me.

[ + that ] It never even occurred to us that he hadn't been invited.

get to someone

to cause feelings, esp. suffering or disgust, in someone:

The heat was beginning to get to me so I went indoors.

If someone gets to you, they make you feel upset or angry:

I know he's annoying, but you shouldn't let him get to you.

unbeknownst/ unbeknown to someone

without a particular person knowing:

Unbeknownst to me, he had rented out the apartment while I was away.

apply to someone

relate to

This law only applies to people over the age of eighteen.

That part of the form is for UK citizens - it doesn't apply to you.

attend to someone/something

to help someone or deal with something:

Doctors tried to attend to the worst injured soldiers first.

entangled in/with something/someone

involved with something or someone in a way that makes it difficult to escape:

He went to the shop to buy bread, and got entangled with a carnival parade.

The mayor and the city council are anxious to avoid getting entangled in the controversy.

repose trust/confidence/hope in someone/something

to place your trust or hopes in someone or something:

We repose a lot of hope in this project.

credit someone with something

to say that someone is responsible for something good:

She is credited with making the business a success.

be/get carried away

to become so excited about something that you do not control what you say or do:

There's far too much food - I'm afraid I got a bit carried away.

the jury is out (on sth)

used to say that people have not yet decided whether something is good or bad:

The jury is still out on whether she is the right person to revive the company's fortunes.

distance yourself from something

to become or seem less involved or connected with something:

The leader has recently distanced himself from the extremists in the party.

beyond/within the realms of possibility

impossible/possible:

regimented

extremely controlled:

They lead a very regimented life.

adhere to something

to continue to obey a rule or have a belief:

She adhered to her principles/ideals throughout her life.

They failed to adhere to the terms of the agreement/treaty.

blurt something out

to say something suddenly and without thinking, usually because you are excited or nervous:

He blurted everything out about the baby, though we'd agreed to keep it a secret for a while.

buy someone off

đút lót

They tried to buy the guard at the bank off but he told the police and the gang was arrested.

cordon something off

phong tỏa

They've cordoned off the whole area because of a suspected bomb.

cotton on

to begin to understand a situation or fact:

cotton on to I'd only just cottoned on to the fact that they were having a relationship.

touch something up

to improve something by making small changes or additions:

She touched up her lipstick and brushed her hair.

cast aspersions (on someone/something)

to criticize or make damaging remarks or judgments about someone or something:

His opponents cast aspersions on his patriotism.

bestow

bestowal (n)

to give something as an honour or present:

The George Cross is a decoration that is bestowed upon/on British civilians for acts of great bravery.

nail someone down

to make someone give you exact details or a firm decision about something:

nail someone down to something They nailed him down to a specific time and place.

If you nail down an arrangement or decision, you decide and agree to the details of it:

vouch for something/someone

to support the truth of something or the good character of someone, based on your knowledge or experience:

Our accountant will vouch for the accuracy of the financial report.

I've known him for years and can vouch for his honesty.

come across

to give other people a certain feeling or opinion:

He comes across as a bit of a bore.

branch out

to start to do something different from what you usually do, especially in your job:

branch out into something/doing something This designer has recently branched out into children's wear.

After a couple of years working for other people, she branched out on her own (= started her own business).

beat someone to it

to do something before someone else does it:

lavish something on someone/something

to give someone a lot, or too much, of something such as money, presents, or attention:

The committee lavished praise on the project.

black out

suddenly become unconscious

He had blacked out as his car hit the tree

break up

divide into many pieces/ a meeting or event ends

The company has been broken up and sold off.

bring out the best in someone

to make someone's best qualities more noticeable:

A crisis can bring out the best in people.

That dress brings out the green in your eyes

build up

gradually develop

Many popular writers build up their reputations during the war

buy someone out

to buy a part of a company or building from someone else so that you own all of it:

Allied Chemicals have been trying to buy out their competitor's share in the target company.

buy someone off

give money to others to induce them into doing what you want

catch on

to become popular; to understand

Sports drinks have caught on as consumers have become more health-conscious

chance on/ upon

to happen or do something by chance; risk something

They chanced to be in the restaurant when I arrived.

I chanced on (= found unexpectedly) some old love letters in a drawer.

Ten years after leaving school, we chanced upon (= unexpectedly met) each other in Regent Street.

You'd be a fool to chance your life savings on a single investment.

clock something up

to win or achieve a large number of similar things:

In a couple of months she will clock up a year's employment and will be able to take up the company's pension deal.

The Australians have clocked up three gold medals and two silvers in the swimming events.

club together

If a group of people club together, they share the cost of something between them:

If we club together, we'll be able to get her the complete dinner set.