Phrasal Verbs List

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Phrasal Verbs Starting with the Letter C

CALL OFF: (separable) to cancel
Mary decided to call off her wedding with max.
CALL UP: (separable) to telephone
Mary called the priest up to tell him the wedding was off.
CALM DOWN: (separable) to stop being emotionally distressed
Max was so upset that nothing could calm him down.
CARRY ON: (intransitive) to continue
Max was not sure if he could carry on any longer.
CATCH ON: (intransitive) to become popular
Max is hoping that being short, fat, and bald will catch on.
CHECK IN: (separable) to register(usually at a hotel, airport, or hospital)
The terrorist sweated nervously as he checked his baggage in.
CHEER ON: (separable) to support or encourage with shouts of praise
The crowd at the marathon cheered the runners on.
CHEER UP: (intransitive) to become happier or less miserable
Max cheered up at the end of the night.
CHEER UP: (separable) to make someone become happier or less miserable
We tried very hard to cheer Mary up, but nothing we did worked.
CHICKEN OUT: (intransitive) not to do something because of fear
Max wanted to ask Mary out on a date, but he chickened out.
CLEAN UP: (separable) to clean completely
When living with others it is important to clean up after yourself.
COLOR IN: (separable) to fill with color (usually an outline)
Max happily colored in the pictures in his textbook.
COME ABOUT: (intransitive) to happen
How did that come about?
COME ACROSS: (inseparable) to find by chance
As Max was cleaning up his room he came across Mary's phone number.
COME ALONG: (intransitive) to appear
Max was quite happy until Mary came along.
COME ALONG: (intransitive) to accompany someone who takes the lead
Ralph asked me to come along on the trip, but I decided not to.
COME ALONG: (intransitive) to progress
Things are coming along well at work these days.
COME AROUND: (intransitive) to change one?s opinion or position
After our long debate, Max finally came around to my point of view.
COME BACK: (intransitive) to reply, retort
When Max criticized Mary, Mary came back with some very sharp criticism of Max.
COME BACK: (intransitive) to even the score (sports)
France came back to beat England after being down 1-0 all game.
COME BACK: (intransitive) to recall
I think I remember that story. It?s all coming back to me now.
COME BACK: (intransitive) to be restored
I was sick and weak, but now I feel better and my strength is coming back.
COME BACK: (intransitive) to return to a place one has been before; to return to a previous activity
Max left our office, but quickly came back after discovering he had left his keys here.
COME BY: (inseparable) to obtain (accidentally)
I?m not sure how I came by this hat, but I?ve had it for years.
COME BY: (intransitive) to visit informally
I was in the neighborhood so I thought I would come by to see how you were doing.
COME DOWN: (intransitive) to become sick
Max came down with the flu.
COME DOWN: (intransitive) to reduce to the essential element
In politics everything really just comes down to the economy.
COME DOWN: (intransitive) to precipitate, fall from clouds
Snow has been coming down for about 2 hours now.
COME DOWN: (intransitive) to descend, fall, go down
It?s been hot all day. Finally the temperature is starting to come down a bit.
COME DOWN: (intransitive) to criticize
Max came down on Mary for not washing the dishes after dinner.
COME IN: (intransitive) to arrive, get in
News came in that next year?s car models have just come in.
COME IN: (intransitive) to place in a race or contest
Frank came in second in the Boston Marathon.
COME IN: (intransitive) to be received (signal)
No matter how much Max adjusted the antenna, the radio station just didn?t come in very well.
COME INTO: (inseparable) to acquire
Mary came into a lot of money when her grandfather passed away.
COME OFF: (intransitive) to appear
George doesn?t come off as being very intelligent.
COME OFF: (intransitive) to fare, happen in a particular manner
The meeting came off as well as could be expected.
COME OFF: (inseparable) to have recently completed or recovered from
After coming off a nasty hip injury, Andre went on to win the US Open.
COME ON: (inseparable) to advance progressively
Our soccer game ended as darkness came on.
COME ON: (intransitive) to project a particular personal image
Mary comes on as a very serious person, but is actually quite fun.
COME ON: (intransitive) to start running, become available
I wish the electricity would come on again. It?s dark in here
COME OUT: (intransitive) to become known, to come into public view, to debut
The news of the candidates past sexual misconduct came out just before the election.
COME OUT: (intransitive) to turn out, result
Everything came out fine in the end
COME OUT: (intransitive) to declare one?s position publicly
The senator came out against gay marriage.
COME OUT: (intransitive) to reveal that oneself as homosexual
After years of trying to act straight, Max finally came out.
COME OVER: (intransitive) to change sides
Mary has finally come over to our way of seeing things.
COME OVER: (intransitive) to visit casually
Max and Mary are coming over to watch football tonight.
COME THROUGH: (intransitive) to do what is expected or required
I really needed to get tickets to the show and Max, my buddy, came through for me and got me a pair.
COME THROUGH: (intransitive) to be communicated
Mary?s displeasure with Max really came through when she hit him upside the head.
COME UP: (intransitive) to be mentioned
In Max's conversation with Mary, the topic of their wedding never came up.
COME UP: (intransitive) to approach, draw near
Mary came up and introduced herself.
COME UP WITH: (inseparable) think of
Max came up with a brilliant idea.
COME UPON: (inseparable) to meet or discover by accident
Max came upon a twenty dollar bill while walking down the street.
COPY DOWN: (separable) to record in writing
Max told Mary about the idea. She copied it down and sold it to the highest bidder.
CRANK UP: (separable) to increase the power or volume
Every time that song comes on the radio, I crank it up.
CROSS OUT: (separable) to draw a line through something
I didn?t have an eraser, so I had to cross out my mistakes instead.
CUT DOWN: (inseparable) to reduce
Max decided to cut down his alcohol consumption.