A1Beginner11 verbs
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| get up | to rise from bed; to stand | I get up at 7am every morning. |
| sit down | to move to a seated position | Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. |
| stand up | to rise to a standing position | Everyone stood up when the teacher entered. |
| turn on | to switch something on (light, device) | Can you turn on the light, please? |
| turn off | to switch something off | Turn off your phone during the film. |
| look at | to direct your eyes towards something | Look at this photo — it's amazing! |
| come in | to enter a place | Come in — the door is open. |
| go out | to leave a place; to socialise | We went out for dinner last night. |
| wake up | to stop sleeping | I woke up early because of the noise. |
| put on | to place clothing on your body | Put on your jacket — it's cold outside. |
| take off | to remove clothing from your body | Take off your shoes at the door. |
A2Elementary15 verbs
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| find out | to discover information | I need to find out what time the train leaves. |
| give up | to stop doing something; to quit | She gave up smoking last year. |
| look for | to try to find someone or something | I'm looking for my keys — have you seen them? |
| pick up | to lift something; to collect someone | Can you pick up the children from school? |
| come back | to return to a place | She came back from London yesterday. |
| go on | to continue; to happen | The party went on until midnight. |
| write down | to record something in writing | Write down the address so you don't forget it. |
| look up | to search for information (in a book/online) | I always look up new words in the dictionary. |
| turn up | to arrive; to increase volume | He turned up an hour late to the meeting. |
| go back | to return to a place or situation | We need to go back to the hotel to get our bags. |
| run out | to use all of something; to have none left | We've run out of milk — can you buy some? |
| try on | to put on clothing to see if it fits | Can I try on these shoes in a size 8? |
| throw away | to discard something in the bin | Don't throw away that receipt — you might need it. |
| set off | to begin a journey | We set off early to avoid the traffic. |
| ask for | to request something | Don't be afraid to ask for help. |
B1Intermediate20 verbs
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| carry on | to continue doing something | Carry on with your work — I'll be back soon. |
| bring up | to mention a topic; to raise a child | He brought up an interesting point in the meeting. |
| set up | to start or arrange something; to establish | She set up her own business at 25. |
| deal with | to handle or manage a problem or situation | How do you deal with stress at work? |
| go through | to experience a difficult situation; to examine | She went through a tough time after the divorce. |
| come up with | to think of an idea or solution | Can you come up with a better idea? |
| give back | to return something to its owner | When are you going to give back my book? |
| make up | to invent; to reconcile after an argument | He made up an excuse for being late. |
| break up | to end a relationship; to separate | They broke up after two years together. |
| hold on | to wait; to grip tightly | Hold on — I'll be with you in a second. |
| let down | to disappoint someone | I don't want to let down my team. |
| show off | to display something proudly (often negatively) | He's always showing off his new car. |
| figure out | to understand or solve something | I can't figure out how this machine works. |
| keep up with | to maintain the same speed or level as someone | It's hard to keep up with the news these days. |
| look forward to | to feel excited about a future event | I'm really looking forward to the holiday. |
| take part in | to participate in something | Over 200 students took part in the competition. |
| point out | to draw attention to a fact or detail | She pointed out that we had missed the deadline. |
| work out | to exercise; to solve; to succeed | I work out at the gym three times a week. |
| find out | to discover a fact | We need to find out the truth about what happened. |
| take care of | to look after someone or something | Can you take care of the dog while I'm away? |
B2Upper-Intermediate20 verbs
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| put off | to postpone; to discourage someone | Don't put off the meeting — it's urgent. |
| take over | to assume control of something | A larger company took over the startup last year. |
| back up | to support; to save a copy of data | Always back up your files before updating. |
| stand out | to be noticeably different or better | Her red dress really stood out in the crowd. |
| break down | to stop working; to become very upset | The car broke down on the motorway. |
| get over | to recover from something (illness, loss) | It took her months to get over the breakup. |
| come across | to find or encounter something by chance | I came across an old photo while tidying up. |
| fall apart | to break into pieces; to fail completely | The coalition government began to fall apart. |
| sort out | to resolve a problem; to organise | I need to sort out the mess in my office. |
| turn down | to reject an offer; to lower volume | She turned down the job because of the salary. |
| give away | to give something for free; to reveal a secret | Don't give away the ending of the film! |
| call off | to cancel an event or activity | The concert was called off due to heavy rain. |
| carry out | to perform or execute a task | The surgery was carried out successfully. |
| pull off | to succeed at something difficult | I can't believe she pulled off that presentation. |
| rule out | to eliminate a possibility | The police have not ruled out foul play. |
| settle down | to become calm; to start a stable life | He finally settled down and bought a house. |
| cut back on | to reduce the amount of something | We need to cut back on spending this quarter. |
| live up to | to meet expectations or a standard | The film didn't live up to the hype. |
| make out | to understand or see with difficulty | I could barely make out his voice on the phone. |
| run out of | to have no more of something | We've run out of time — let's wrap up. |
C1Advanced15 verbs
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| phase out | to gradually stop using or producing something | The government plans to phase out coal by 2035. |
| draw on | to make use of a skill or experience | She drew on years of experience to solve the crisis. |
| account for | to explain or be responsible for something | Can you account for the missing funds? |
| bring about | to cause something to happen | The new policy brought about significant changes. |
| single out | to choose one person or thing from a group | He was singled out for exceptional performance. |
| build on | to use a success as a basis for further progress | We need to build on last year's achievements. |
| write off | to dismiss as a failure; to cancel a debt | The critics wrote off the film, but audiences loved it. |
| set aside | to reserve for a particular purpose; to ignore temporarily | Set aside your differences and work together. |
| narrow down | to reduce the number of options | We've narrowed down the candidates to three. |
| sum up | to give a brief summary | To sum up, the project was a great success. |
| play down | to make something seem less important than it is | The government played down the severity of the crisis. |
| step down | to resign from a position | The CEO stepped down after the scandal. |
| opt out | to choose not to participate in something | You can opt out of marketing emails at any time. |
| pan out | to develop or succeed in a particular way | Things didn't pan out the way we planned. |
| fall back on | to use as a last resort when other options fail | It's good to have savings to fall back on. |
Showing 81 of 81 phrasal verbs