Verb | Meaning | Example |
give something up | quit a habit | I am giving up smoking as of January 1st. |
give up | stop trying | My maths homework was too difficult so I gave up. |
go after someone | follow someone | My brother tried to go after the thief in his car. |
go after something | try to achieve something | I went after my dream and now I am a published writer. |
go against someone | compete, oppose | We are going against the best soccer team in the city tonight. |
go ahead | start, proceed | Please go ahead and eat before the food gets cold. |
go back | return to a place | I have to go back home and get my lunch. |
go out | leave home to go on a social event | We're going out for dinner tonight. |
go out with someone | date | Jesse has been going out with Luke since they met last winter. |
go over something | review | Please go over your answers before you submit your test. |
go over | visit someone nearby | I haven't seen Tina for a long time. I think I'll go over for an hour or two. |
go without something | suffer lack or deprivation | When I was young, we went without winter boots. |
grow apart | stop being friends over time | My best friend and I grew apart after she changed schools. |
grow back | regrow | My roses grew back this summer. |
grow up | become an adult | When Jack grows up he wants to be a fireman. |
grow out of something | get too big for | Elizabeth needs a new pair of shoes because she has grown out of her old ones. |
grow into something | grow big enough to fit | This bike is too big for him now, but he should grow into it by next year. |
hand something down | give something used to someone else | I handed my old comic books down to my little cousin. |
hand something in | submit | I have to hand in my essay by Friday.</TD> |
hand something out | to distribute to a group of people | We will hand out the invitations at the door. |
hand something over | give (usually unwillingly) | The police asked the man to hand over his wallet and his weapons. |
hang in | stay positive (N.Amer., informal) | Hang in there. I'm sure you'll find a job very soon. |
hang on | wait a short time (informal) | Hang on while I grab my coat and shoes! |
hang out | spend time relaxing (informal) | Instead of going to the party we are just going to hang out at my place. |
hang up | end a phone call | He didn't say goodbye before he hung up. |
hold someone/something back | prevent from doing/going | I had to hold my dog back because there was a cat in the park. |
hold something back | hide an emotion | Jamie held back his tears at his grandfather's funeral. |
hold on | wait a short time | Please hold on while I transfer you to the Sales Department. |
hold onto someone/something | hold firmly using your hands or arms | Hold onto your hat because it's very windy outside. |
hold someone/something up | rob | A man in a black mask held the bank up this morning. |
keep on doing something | continue doing | Keep on stirring until the liquid comes to a boil. |
keep something from someone | not tell | We kept our relationship from our parents for two years. |
keep someone/something out | stop from entering | Try to keep the wet dog out of the living room. |
keep something up | continue at the same rate | If you keep those results up you will get into a great college. |
let someone down | fail to support or help, disappoint | I need you to be on time. Don't let me down this time. |
let someone in | allow to enter | Can you let the cat in before you go to school? |
look after someone/something | take care of | I have to look after my sick grandmother. |
look down on someone | think less of, consider inferior | Ever since we stole that chocolate bar your dad has looked down on me. |
look for someone/something | try to find | I'm looking for a red dress for the wedding. |
look forward to something | be excited about the future | I'm looking forward to the Christmas break. |
look into something | investigate | We are going to look into the price of snowboards today. |
look out | be careful, vigilant, and take notice | Look out! That car's going to hit you! |
look out for someone/something | be especially vigilant for | Don't forget to look out for snakes on the hiking trail. |
look something over | check, examine | Can you look over my essay for spelling mistakes? |
look something up | search and find information in a reference book or database | We can look her phone number up on the Internet. |
look up to someone | have a lot of respect for | My little sister has always looked up to me. |
make something up | invent, lie about something | Josie made up a story about about why we were late. |
make up | forgive each other | We were angry last night, but we made up at breakfast. |
make someone up | apply cosmetics to | My sisters made me up for my graduation party. |
mix something up | confuse two or more things | I mixed up the twins' names again! |
pass away | die | His uncle passed away last night after a long illness. |
pass out | faint | It was so hot in the church that an elderly lady passed out. |
pass something out | give the same thing to many people | The professor passed the textbooks out before class. |
pass something up | decline (usually something good) | I passed up the job because I am afraid of change. |
pay someone back | return owed money | Thanks for buying my ticket. I'll pay you back on Friday. |
pay for something | be punished for doing something bad | That bully will pay for being mean to my little brother |
pick something out | choose | I picked out three sweaters for you to try on. |
point someone/something out | indicate with your finger | I'll point my boyfriend out when he runs by. |
put something down | put what you are holding on a surface or floor | You can put the groceries down on the kitchen counter. |
put someone down | insult, make someone feel stupid | The students put the substitute teacher down because his pants were too short. |
put something off | postpone | We are putting off our trip until January because of the hurricane. |
put something out | extinguish | The neighbours put the fire out before the firemen arrived. |
put something together | assemble | I have to put the crib together before the baby arrives. |
put up with someone/something | tolerate | I don't think I can put up with three small children in the car. |
put something on | put clothing/accessories on your body | Don't forget to put on your new earrings for the party |
run into someone/something | meet unexpectedly | I ran into an old school-friend at the mall. |
run over someone/something | drive a vehicle over a person or thing | I accidentally ran over your bicycle in the driveway. |
run over/through something | rehearse, review | Let's run over/through these lines one more time before the show. |
run away | leave unexpectedly, escape | The child ran away from home and has been missing for three days. |
run out | have none left | We ran out of shampoo so I had to wash my hair with soap. |
send something back | return (usually by mail) | My letter got sent back to me because I used the wrong stamp. |
set something up | arrange, organize | Our boss set a meeting up with the president of the company. |
set someone up | trick, trap | The police set up the car thief by using a hidden camera. |
shop around | compare prices | I want to shop around a little before I decide on these boots. |
show off | act extra special for people watching (usually boastfully) | He always shows off on his skateboard |
sleep over | stay somewhere for the night (informal) | You should sleep over tonight if the weather is too bad to drive home. |
sort something out | organize, resolve a problem | We need to sort the bills out before the first of the month. |
stick to something | continue doing something, limit yourself to one particular thing | You will lose weight if you stick to the diet. |
switch something off | stop the energy flow, turn off | The light's too bright. Could you switch it off. |
switch something on | start the energy flow, turn on | We heard the news as soon as we switched on the car radio |
take after someone | resemble a family member | I take after my mother. We are both impatient. |
take something apart | purposely break into pieces | He took the car brakes apart and found the problem. |
take something back | return an item | I have to take our new TV back because it doesn't work. |
take off | start to fly | My plane takes off in five minutes. |
take something off | remove something (usually clothing) | Take off your socks and shoes and come in the lake! |
take something out | remove from a place or thing | Can you take the garbage out to the street for me? |
take someone out | pay for someone to go somewhere with you | My grandparents took us out for dinner and a movie. |
tear something up | rip into pieces | I tore up my ex-boyfriend's letters and gave them back to him. |
think back | remember (often to, sometimes on) | When I think back on my youth, I wish I had studied harder. |
think something over | consider | I'll have to think this job offer over before I make my final decision. |
throw something away | dispose of | We threw our old furniture away when we won the lottery. |
turn something down | decrease the volume or strength (heat, light etc) | Please turn the TV down while the guests are here. |
turn something down | refuse | I turned the job down because I don't want to move. |
turn something off | stop the energy flow, switch off</TD> | Your mother wants you to turn the TV off and come for dinner. |
turn something on | start the energy, switch on | It's too dark in here. Let's turn some lights on. |
turn something up | increase the volume or strength (heat, light etc) | Can you turn the music up? This is my favourite song. |
turn up | appear suddenly | Our cat turned up after we put posters up all over the neighbourhood. |
try something on | sample clothing | I'm going to try these jeans on, but I don't think they will fit. |
try something out | test | I am going to try this new brand of detergent out. |
use something up | finish the supply | The kids used all of the toothpaste up so we need to buy some more. |
wake up | stop sleeping | We have to wake up early for work on Monday. |
warm someone/something up | increase the temperature | You can warm your feet up in front of the fireplace |
warm up | prepare body for exercise | I always warm up by doing sit-ups before I go for a run. |
wear off | fade away | Most of my make-up wore off before I got to the party. |
work out | exercise | I work out at the gym three times a week. |
work out | be successful | Our plan worked out fine. |
work something out | make a calculation | We have to work out the total cost before we buy the house. |