Phrasal Verbs

GO:

  • Go into: Enter

  • Go out: Leave

  • Go off: Explode

  • Go for: to choose

HOLD:

  • Hold back: Restrain or control yourself

  • Hold off: Postpone or delay

  • Hold out: Survive

  • Hold down: To maintain something at a lower level

  • hold forth: to talk at great lengths

  • get hold of - to communicate with

PASS

  • Pass on: Give information

  • Pass around: Distribute

  • Pass by: Walk by

  • Pass out: Faint

STAND:

  • stand by you: To support someone or help someone who is in a difficult situation

  • stand with you: To join you in a joint venture or mission

  • stand behind you: To support someone or something (It’s nuanced in a way to the first one)

TURN:

  • Turn out: Result

  • Turn up: Appear, to be present somewhere

  • Turn off: Switch off

  • Turn back: Return

LET:

  • Let out: Released

  • Let up: Stop

  • Let down: disappoint

CALLED:

  • call at: To visit briefly or stop by a place

  • call away: To ask or summon someone to leave a place

  • call back: To return a phone call or to ask someone to return to a place

  • call by: To visit someone briefly

  • call down: To reprimand or scold someone

  • call for: To demand or request something

  • call forth: To evoke or summon something

  • call in: To ask someone to come or participate

  • call in on To visit someone

  • call off: To cancel or terminate something

  • call on: To ask someone to speak or perform

  • call out: To challenge or denounce someone

  • call round: To visit multiple places or people

  • call up: To telephone someone

  • call upon: To ask for help or support

THREW:

  • threw up: Vomited

  • threw out / threw away: Discarded

  • threw off: To free oneself from the grip of another

  • Threw in: to insert into the course of something

  • Throw open: to make it accessible

BEAR:

  • Bear out: to support or confirm

  • Bear with: to be patient or tolerant

  • Bear up: to withstand or endure

  • Bear down: to exert pressure or focus intensely

LIVES:

  • Lives up to meet expectations or fulfil a standard.

  • Lives on: to continue existing or being remembered \ to sustain oneself through

  • Lives with: to coexist or reside together.

  • Lives for: to have a purpose or motivation centered around something.

  • Lives out: to stay in a place or circumstances until the end of one’s life / to follow your passion

  • Lives in: to reside somewhere

RUN:

  • run out: to be short of

  • run into: to encounter

  • run over: collide

  • run after: to chase

TOOK:

  • took up: to start a new activity or hobby

  • took over: to assume control or responsibility

  • took off: to leave or depart quickly

  • took in: to arrest someone or detain someone

BROUGHT:

  • brought up - mention or introduce a topic for discussion

  • brought about - cause something to happen

  • brought in - introducing something new

  • brought on - causing something negative to happen

TOUCH:

  • Touch on - mention or refer to something briefly

  • Touch base with - the idea of making contact with someone to discuss something specific

Miscellaneous Idioms

  • Kill or cure: an idea that will be either killingly successful or a failure

  • in a quandary: to be confused about something

  • in the cards: an event which is likely to occur

  • in the crosshairs: to be targeted for blame and criticism

  • in the red: in a financially unstable condition

  • pull the wool over the eyes of - deceive someone into thinking well of them

  • pull the rug under the feet of - to take away support suddenly or to surprise

  • pull a rabbit out of the hat for - surprising or miraculous

  • throw in the towel - giving up or surrendering in response to an impossible challenge

  • turn the tide - significant change in a situation, resulting in improvement

  • turn the table - reverse one’s position relative to someone

  • Kicked the Bucket - when someone dies, we say, “ He Kicked the bucket a few hours ago “