Phrasal Verbs
- account for
- (inseparable) to explain
George's wife was angry at him because he could not account for the lipstick on his collar.
- acquaint with
- (separable) to make someone aware of or familiar with someone or something
You should acquaint yourself with cultures from around the world.
- act up
- (intransitive) to behave poorly(human);to reoccur(disease);to malfunction(machine)
I think I'll stand rather than sit because my hemorrhoids are acting up again
- add on
- (separable) to increase or enhance something by joining or uniting something to it
We've decided to add on another bedroom to the house.
- add up
- (intransitive) to result in a certain total
I've calculated that over and over, but it just doesn't add up.
- add up to
- (inseparable) to result in a certain total
The money I lost in the slot machines added up to over three hundred dollars.
- ask for
- (inseparable) to deserve a negative consequence
George is asking for trouble.
- ask in
- (separable) to request someone to come in
At the end of the date, I asked Mary in.
- ask out
- (separable) to request someone to go on a date with you
I asked Mary out again. She refused.
- back away
- (intransitive) to retreat backwards
The crowd backed away as the terrorist blew himself up.
- back down
- (intransitive) to concede in a disagreement
The mugger backed down when he saw that Max was carrying a 9mm handgun.
- back up
- (separable) to go in reverse
When Steve passed the beautiful girl hitchhiking on the freeway, he immediately stopped the car, backed up, and offered her a ride.
- back up
- (separable) to help or support
I will back my friends up no matter what they do.
- back up
- (separable) to make copies of computer files just in case something happens to the original files
Please be sure to back up your files before you go home each day.
- bail out
- (intransitive) to jump out of an airplane (usually when it?s going to crash)
Luckily the pilot bailed out before his plane hit the side of the mountain.
- bail out
- (intransitive) to quit or stop doing something (usually when experiencing difficulties)
The congressional candidate bailed out of the race because there was no hope that he could raise enough money to win.
- bail out
- (separable) to rescue someone from a difficult situation
Max's uncle bailed him out of the financial problems he was having.
- ball up
- (separable) to roll or form something into a round shape
When max does his laundry, instead of folding everything nicely when it?s done, he just balls everything up and throws it in a bag.
- bash in
- (separable) to damage something by hitting it violently
Vandals bashed in the windows of my new Lamborghini.
- beat up
- (separable) to hurt someone by hitting and/or kicking them repeatedly
The bully beat the other kids up for their lunch money.