2000 Phrasal Verbs: Types, Meanings and Sentences + PDF

Phrasal verbs are a crucial part of the English language and are used extensively in daily conversations. Understanding and using them correctly can significantly improve your fluency and comprehension. In this article, we will explore 2000 phrasal verbs, their types, and meanings, and provide example sentences to help you understand their usage better.

Phrasal verbs are formed by combining a verb with one or more particles, such as adverbs or prepositions. They can be separable, where the particle can be placed between the verb and the object, or inseparable, where the particle must remain attached to the verb. The different types of phrasal verbs include transitive, intransitive, reflexive, and phrasal-prepositional verbs.

Each phrasal verb has its unique meaning, and it is essential to understand it in context to use it correctly. For instance, “bring up” means to raise a topic or a child, while “bring about” means to cause something to happen. In this article, we will provide meanings and example sentences for 2000 commonly used phrasal verbs, including both formal and informal usage.

We have also included a PDF that you can download for offline use, which contains all 2000 phrasal verbs, their meanings, and example sentences. We hope this comprehensive guide will help you to master phrasal verbs and improve your English language skills.

In English traditional grammar, a phrasal verb is the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories. Below is the long list of phrasal verbs with meaning and sentences.

Types of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are a type of multi-word verb in English that consist of a verb and one or more particles (such as adverbs or prepositions). There are several types of phrasal verbs in English, which are:

  1. Intransitive phrasal verbs: These are phrasal verbs that do not take an object. They are usually followed by an adverb or preposition. Examples include:
  • He ran away.
  • She woke up early.
  1. Transitive phrasal verbs: These are phrasal verbs that take an object. The object can be either a noun or a pronoun. Examples include:
  • She turned off the lights.
  • He picked up the phone.
  • They put on their jackets.
  1. Separable phrasal verbs: These are phrasal verbs in which the particle can be separated from the verb and placed after the object. Examples include:
  • She turned the lights off. (The particle “off” can be separated from the verb “turn” and placed after the object “lights”.)
  • He picked the phone up. (The particle “up” can be separated from the verb “pick” and placed after the object “phone”.)
  1. Inseparable phrasal verbs: These are phrasal verbs in which the particle cannot be separated from the verb. Examples include:
  • She put on her jacket. (The particle “on” cannot be separated from the verb “put”.)
  • They looked after their children. (The particle “after” cannot be separated from the verb “look”.)
  1. Phrasal verbs with a literal meaning: These are phrasal verbs in which the meaning of the verb and the particle can be understood literally. Examples include:
  • She looked up the word in the dictionary.
  • He sat down on the chair.
  • They walked along the beach.
  1. Phrasal verbs with an idiomatic meaning: These are phrasal verbs in which the meaning of the verb and the particle cannot be understood from the literal meanings of the words. Examples include:
  • She broke up with her boyfriend. (Meaning: She ended the relationship.)
  • He came up with a new idea. (Meaning: He thought of a new idea.)
  • They ran into each other at the store. (Meaning: They met unexpectedly.)

In conclusion, phrasal verbs are a common part of the English language and can take different forms and meanings. It’s important to understand these different types of phrasal verbs to use them effectively in communication.

List of Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and Sentences

List of Phrasal Verbs with Bear 

Bear away: to win, to carry off as a conqueror,

He bore away the first prize in the essay competition.

 

Bear out: to confirm

Your story bears out my truth.

 

Bear up:

You should bear up the hardships of life bravely.

 

Bear with:

I could not bear this angry mood.

 

Bear upon: pertaining to

History does not bear upon the matter under discussion.

 

Bear on: refer to

The fact does not bear on the matter under discussion.

 

Bear up against: to resist, to endure

He bore up against all his hardships with a smile on his face.

 

Bear down: to crush by force

He bore down Lis enemy with a heavy hand,

 

Bear down upon:  attack of a warship on the ship of an energy

The Pakistani battleship bore down upon the Indian warship and gave it a crushing defeat.

 

Bear to:

I cannot bear to see my son going to school without books.

Phrasal verbs with break

Phrasal Verbs with Blow

Blow up: to explode

Suddenly, the mine blew up.

 

Blow away: to be carried away by the wind.

The teacher was blown away by the poems written by his students.

 

Blow out: to extinguish

Blow out the candle when you go to bed.

 

Blow over: to pass by

The storm will soon blow over.

 

Blow-down: to be thrown down by the force to wind

The storm blew down several large trees.

Phrasal verbs with blow

List of Phrasal Verbs with Break

Break-away: to free oneself from restraint.

He held the horse by the bridle but it broke away.

 

Break down:

His health has broken down due to hard work.

 

Break off: to stop suddenly

He broke off in the middle of his speech.

 

Break-in: to tame

He broke in the wild lion in no time.

 

Break into: to enter forcibly

The thieves broke into his house last night.

 

Break forth: to come out suddenly

The sun broke forth from the clouds.

 

Break-through: to enter forcibly.

The robbers broke through the wall of the house.

 

Break up: (i) to come to an end

Their marriage broke up as a result of long separations.

 

Break with: (i) to cease to be friendly with

He broke up with his sincere friend without any reason.

 

Break open: to open with force.

The thief broke open the window of my house last night.

 

Break out: to spread

Cholera has broken out in the city nowadays.

 

Break at: to make a better record.

He broke at his previous record in cricket.

 

Break-in upon: to interrupt by a sudden and unexpected appearance.

The police broke in upon the robbers in a lonely place.

Phrasal verbs with break

Phrasal Verbs with Bring

Bring about: to cause

His lack of hard work brought about his failure.

 

Bring down: to humble down

His failure brought down his sense of honor.

 

Bring forward: put forth

He brought forward a strange proposal.

 

Bring forth:  to produce

This tree will bring forth fruit soon.

 

Bring on: to cause, to begin

Goodbye, good times, and good wine; bring on the boxed stuff and bills.

 

Bring over: to persuade.

I could not bring him over to my point of view.

 

Bring up:  look after during childhood.

I was brought up by my uncle in my childhood.

 

Bring under: to subdue

The mutiny was soon brought under control.

 

Bring round:

To cause to recover several boys fainted in the heat but the doctor soon brought them around.

 

Bring off: to rescue

The merchant brought off the deal.

 

Bring to: taken

The matter was brought to my notice.

 

Bring about: cause to happen

They felt the need to bring about a renewal of society.

 

Bring one to:

The doctor brought the senseless girl with smelling salts.

Phrasal verbs with bring

Phrasal Verbs Call

Call at: to visit someplace.

I called his house but he was not present.

 

Call on: to pay a brief visit to

He called on the principal in the evening.

 

Call upon: to pray

He called upon God in his difficulties.

 

call out: to utter loudly.

He called me out for help.

 

Call up: to recollect

I called up the name of my students to pronounce them with great order difficulty.

 

Call over:

The teacher called over the names of his students in the class.

 

Call off:

The workers called off the strike.

 

Call in: ask to come

Please call the doctor at once.

Phrasal verbs with call

Phrasal Verbs with Carry

Carry away:

He was carried away by the song of Noor Jehan.

 

Carry off:  to kill

Cholera carried off the life of many people.

 

Carry out: to obey

Please carry out my orders as soon as possible.

 

Carry through: to bring success to a full end

His courage will carry him through.

 

Carry on: to continue

Please carry on with your work.

Phrasal verbs with carry

List of Phrasal Verbs with Cast

Cast aside: to reject.

Do not cast aside the love of truth.

 

Cast away: to throw away

The soldier has to cast away their heavy luggage during the battle.

 

Cast down: (i) to humble down (ii) to feel disappointment.

He was much cast down by his failure in business.

 

Cast out: to expel

The Muslims were cast out of Palestine.

 

Cast up: to calculate

Please cast up the account for the sale of this furniture,

 

Cast oneself on: to entrust oneself

I had to cast myself on his cold behavior, because Of my poverty.

 

Cast about for: to look for

He will cast about for a chance to harm you.

Phrasal verbs with cast

Phrasal Verbs with Come

Come down: to be reduced

The prices of cotton have come down.

 

Come from: to descend from

He comes from a noble family.

 

Come Off: To take place

When does your marriage come off?

 

Come by: to acquire

How did you come by this watch?

 

Come round: to recover

It is hoped that he will come round soon.

 

Come out: to become public, to appear.

Several new books have come out this year.

 

Come out of: to get clear of

He came out of all hardships.

 

Come on: to grow or thrive

The plants are coming on very soon.

 

Come over: to come into one’s mind

He came over to me to see her again.

 

Come to arrive: at the result

He did not come up to the expectation of his father.

 

Come up:  to be raised

The question of co-education came up in the meeting.

 

Come up with: to overtake

A man on a cycle can come up with a traveler in Tonga.

 

Come at: to get within reach of, to attain.

I saw the fruit on the tree but it was too high for me to come at.

 

Come upon: Meet with an accident

He came in for a good deal of property after the death of his uncle.

 

Come in: to come near, to begin

The flood is coming in.

When did this fashion of hairstyle come in?

 

Come about: to happy especially in a way that seems impossible to control

How did the solution to the Kashmir problem come about?

 

Phrasal verbs with come

Phrasal Verbs with Cut  

 

Cut down: to kill

Cholera cut down many people in this village last year. Please cut down your

 

Cut off: (i) to destroy (ii) to kill

How many men are cut off in their youth?

 

Cut out: to stop the habit.

You should cut out the habit of smoking.

 

Cut across: taking a short route.

They were in a hurry, so they cut across the fields.

 

Cut out for: to be suitable

He is not cut for that sort of work.

 

Cut in: to interrupt, to enter quickly

He cut me in while I was making a speech.

 

Cut up: to cut to pieces.

The butcher cut up the animal, he has slaughtered.

 

Cut away: to run off and escape

He cut away across the field, on seeing the police.

 

Cut on: to be in hurry.

We cut on in spite of the darkness.

 

Cut through: to experience

He cut through all hardships of life quite bravely.

Phrasal verbs with cut

Phrasal Verbs with Do

Do away: to remove, to destroy

Let us do away with evil customs.

 

Do out: to cheat

He did me out of a large sum of money.

 

Do up: to decorate, to arrange.

She is doing up her hair.

 

Do without:

He cannot without my help.

 

Do into: to suit instead, to serve

Please do this story into verses.

 

Do with: to make use of

What will you do with the bundle of clothes?

 

Phrasal verbs with do

List of Phrasal Verbs with Fall

Fall back: to retire

The enemy fell back before our attack

 

All back upon: to resort to

He fell back upon the money of his father after his death.

 

Fall in with: to meet accidentally.

I fell in with an old friend on my way.

 

Fall out: to quarrel

He fell out with me over a trifle

 

Fall upon: to attack

The thieves fell upon the passenger in the dead of night.

 

Fall away: to become lean

My cow has quickly fallen away in flesh.

 

Fall into: to fall into

I fell into the magic of his conversation.

 

Fall off: to come under

Even sincere friends fall off in adversity.

 

Fall under: to come under.

You do fall under the group of dull students.

 

Fall behind: be unable to keep up with others.

He is always behind when we are going up a hill.

 

Fall to: Apply oneself

The author falls to writing again.

 

Phrasal verbs with Get

Get about:  to go about

He is too weak to get about.

 

Get away: to escape

The thief got away with the watch.

 

Get down: to enter.

The passenger got down the train.

 

Get into: to enter

He got into the room by force.

 

Get on: to advance

How do you get on with your study?

 

Get over: to overcome

He got over his difficulties soon.

 

Get out: to escape, to go outside

The women fell into the well and could not get out.

 

Get out of: escape from

He tried to get out of helping his friend.

 

Get through: to succeed

He got through the examination by dint of hard work.

 

Get up: to rise from the seat

He got up and locked the door.

 

Get forward: to advance

I hope you are getting forward in your studies.

 

Get off: to escape

He got off with a beautiful girl.

 

Get along: to proceed, to advance

He seems to be getting along well in his business.

 

Get back: to return

He has just got back from his long journey.

 

Get above: higher than

He has got above his misfortune.

 

Get in:

As soon as he saw me, he tried to get in my car.

 

Get around a person: to prevail upon

She knows how to get around her husband.

 

Get at the bottom of: to arrive at the truth

The police are trying to get to the bottom of this murder.

 

Get away with: abscond with

He got away with a large sum of money.

Phrasal verbs with get

List of Phrasal Verb with Give

Give away: to distribute

The principal gave away the prizes to the winner.

 

Give in: yield

The Indian Army gave in before our soldiers.

 

Give out: to announce

It is given out in the newspaper that the Prime Minister has fallen ill.

 

Give up:  to hand over.

He has given up smoking forever.

 

Give over: to hand-over

I gave him over charge of my office.

 

Give into: to submit

He gave in to the wish of his father.

 

Give back: to return

I gave him back his pen.

 

Give off:

Some flowers give off their fragrance at night.

 

Give upon: lookout on

The window gives upon the street.

 

Give to: addicted to, habitual

He is given to drinking.

 

Give under: bend or yield

The wet playground gave under our feet.

Phrasal verbs with give

Phrasal Verbs with Go

Go by: to judge from, to follow.

You cannot always go by appearance.

 

Go down: to go lower in price.

The prices of cotton have gone down.

 

Go off:  to discharge.

The fire has gone off badly.

 

Go on: to continue

Let him go on with his work.

 

Go on with:

In spite of the noise, he went on with his work.

 

Go out: cease to burn.

This lamp went out at once.

 

Go up: to increase

The prices of sugar have gone up.

 

Go ahead: to advance

We went ahead with our studies.

 

Go against: to go contrary

He went against the wish of his father and married a foreign girl.

 

Go back on: to withdraw

It is not proper to go back on your promise.

 

Go in for: to like or choose a thing.

I have decided to go in for a new suit.

 

Go in: to enter

The peon opened the door and we went in.

 

Go into: to enter

He went into the room and arranged the furniture,

 

Go over: to examine

He went over the whole account item by item.

 

Go away:  to depart

Malaria went away in winter.

 

Go aside: to go a little way off

Do not go aside from the path of truth.

 

Go about: to do something in a particular manner

Do you know how to go about painting this house?

 

Phrasal Verbs with Hold

 

Hold back: to conceal

 

You should not hold back anything from your parents.

 

Hold to: keep up

We were held up by the robbers.

 

Hold with: to agree

I do not hold with your views on politics.

 

Holdover:

The judge held over his case till the next hearing.

 

Hold to:

Do you still hold to your plan of taking the examination again?

 

Hold on:  to continue

The rain held on steadily all afternoon.

 

Hold out: to refuse to yield.

The Pakistani Army held out in face of danger.

 

Hold on: to keep at a distance.

We must hold off the enemy’s attack.

 

Hold back: to hesitate

When danger came, all held back.

 

Hold by: having caught hold

He held me by my neck.

Phrasal verbs with hold

Phrasal Verbs with Keep

Keep at: to continue doing

Please! Keep at your work and finish it soon.

 

Keep: to conceal

I shall keep nothing pack from you.

 

Keep down: to hold in subjection

It is very difficult to keep down the mountain tribes.

 

Keep from: to abstain or refrain from

He could not keep from the use of smoking.

 

Keep in with: to remain in good terms

Please try to keep in with your doctor always.

 

Keep on: to continue

I am tired of this work, but I still keep on.

 

Keep under: under control.

The fireman managed to keep the fire under.

 

Keep up: to maintain.

Keep up your courage in face of hardships

 

Keep to: Stick to

You should keep to your moral values strictly.

 

Keep out:

These arm clothes will keep out cold.

 

Keep off:

Please keep off the grass.

 

Keep together:

They agreed to keep together during the evening.

Phrasal verbs with keep

Phrasal Verbs with Lay

Layby: to store for future use.

Layby something for the rainy day.

 

Lay down: to sacrifice

He laid down his life for the sake of his country.

 

Lay out: to invest

I have laid out a large amount of money in his business.

 

Lay-up with: To be confined to bed

He was laid up with a fever for many days.

 

Lay aside: Put away, to forget

Please lay aside your shyness.

 

Lay in:  to store

He laid in a large quantity of rice in his house.

 

Lay before: to present

He tried to lay the paper before the Governor.

 

Lay on: to apply blow with force.

The policeman caught the thief and laid on

Phrasal verbs with lay

Phrasal Verbs with Live

Live on: continue to live.

The people died but the young ones lived on.

 

Live out:  remain alive through

He will not live out another week.

 

Live through: live after sufferings and sorrows

He has lived through that war and revolution.

 

Live up to: to act up to.

He did not live up to his fame.

 

Live for: to devote one’s life

Some men live for nothing else but to collect money from others.

 

Live by:  live on

I live by hard labor.

 

Live at:

He lives in the USA.

 

Phrasal Verbs with Look

Look

Look after: to take care of

There is none to look after the poor child.

 

Look upon:  to hate

You should not look down upon the poor.

 

Look for:  to search

He looked at his book but did not find it.

 

Look forward to: to expect eagerly

I am looking forward to summer vacation.

 

Look in:  to examine carefully. Please look into this matter seriously.

 

Look over: to examine seriously

The headmaster was looking over some papers.

 

Look to: to depend

Do not look to him for help.

 

Look to: find

Look up this word in the dictionary.

 

Look up to:  to find

He always looks up to his parents.

 

Look upon: to consider

I look upon him as my brother.

 

Look through: to examine the contents

He looked through the documents carefully.

 

Look about: to search what are you looking for?

 

Look back: to consider the past

Phrasal verbs with look

Phrasal Verbs with Make

Make away with: to carry away

The thief made away with my books.

 

Make for: to move towards

The lion made for the jungle.

 

Make out: to understand

I cannot make out the meaning of this lesson.

 

Make towards: to go in the

The swimmer made it towards the net.

 

Make up to:

Many people made up to him only of his

 

Make after: to chase

He threw the ball and made after it.

 

Make up for:

We must make up for the lost title.

 

Make at: to attack

He made at her 10th a knife.

Phrasal verbs with make

Phrasal Verbs with Pass

Pass away: to die

Mr. Karim passed away in the morning.

 

Pass through: to undergo

He has to pass through many hardships.

 

Pass by: to go by, to ignore

I passed by his mistakes and did not take him to tasks

 

Pass on: to proceed

Let us pass on the journey.

 

Pass from: to leave

Let us now pass from this; we have discussed long

Phrasal verbs with pass

Phrasal Verbs with Pull

Pull down: to demolish

This building is old, and it must be pulled down.

 

Pull in: to exert together

We should pull in e teams.

 

Pull away: to free one side

She tried to pull away from the man who was holding hers

 

Pull round: to restore health.

The doctor pulled him round his serious illness.

 

Pull up: to stop.

He pulled up his car at the gate.

 

Pull about: to pull from one side to the other.

He pulled about the gate and entered the house in rain.

 

Pull out: to draw out

Please pull out the pin.

 

Pull together: to work unitedly

All the members of the staff should pull together to improve the result.

Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and sentences

Phrasal Verbs with Put

Put by: store in for future use.

You should put by something against the rainy day.

 

Put down: to crush

The king could not put down the enemy.

 

Put forth: to exert

He put forth to pass the examination.

 

Put on: to wear

Please put on your new clothes.

 

Put out: extinguish

Please put out the lamp.

 

Put up:

He is putting up with us these days.

 

Put up with: to endure

I cannot put up with my insult.

 

Put in: to submit

Please put in your application by tomorrow.

 

Put back: to restore to the original place

Put back this book in the place where you got it.

 

Put away: to preserve

Put your toys away in the cupboard when you have finished playing.

 

Put across:

I am not putting across my meaning very well.

 

Put in for: to lay claim to

I mean to put in for a share of the profits.

 

Put forward: to move forward

He will put forward his son as a candidate at the next election.

Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and sentences

Phrasal Verb with Run

Run to: follow

The police ran after the thief and arrested him.

 

Run against: to collide

The ship ran against the rock.

 

Run down: to be enfeebled P.U. 2008

His health has run down.

 

Run into: to be involved

He has run into debt.

 

Run out: to end.

Our stocks of sugar have run out.

 

Run over: to overflow

A child was run over by a car.

 

Run through: to squander away.

He will soon run through his fortune.

 

Run up against: to collide with

My car ran up against a Bike last evening.

 

Run in: arrested

The thief was run in by the police.

 

To run off: to flee

The thief ran off as soon as he saw the police.

 

Run at: to attack

The lion ran at the farmer and tore him to pieces.

 

 Run away: to flee

The soldiers threw down their arms and ran away.

 

Run up: to put up quickly

He has run up a house in the city.

 

Run across: to come by a thing by chance

I ran across an old photograph of mine yesterday.

Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and sentences

Phrasal Verbs with Set

Set about: to begin.

Set about your business as soon as possible.

 

Set a part: to reserve

I have set apart some money for the poor.

 

Set aside: to disregard

Set aside all objections and listened to me.

 

Set down:  to record, write

Please set down your plan as soon as possible.

 

Set in:   to begin.

Rains have set in early this year.

 

Set off: to start

We shall set off to Lahore the next morning.

 

Set on, upon:

The dogs were set on the poor beggar.

 

Set out:

He has set out on his journey to Karachi.

 

Set to: to begin

They set to work and finished it in a day.

 

Get up: to establish

We have set up a factory here.

 

Set forth: to explain

He asked me to set forth my views on co-education.

 

Set up for: to claim

He sets himself for an experienced driver.

Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and sentences

Phrasal Verbs with Stand

Stand for: to represent

He stands for intelligence.

 

Standoff: to remain aloof and honest.

Standoff from the company of drunkards.

 

Stand out: to look prominent

His work stands out from that of others.

 

Stand to: abide by

You should stand to your word and help him.

 

Stand over: to postpone

His meeting was stood overdue to rainfall.

 

Stand up for: to maintain

A gentleman stands up for his noble views.

 

Stand out against: refusal to yield

He stood against all our efforts to persuade him.

 

Stand up:  to rise from the sitting posture

He stood up in the class and answered the teacher.

 

Phrasal Verbs with Take

Take after: to resemble.

She takes after her mother.

 

Take away:  to remove

He has taken away my book.

 

Take for: to regard

He took me for a thief.

 

Take in: to deceive

I was taken in by his friendly manners.

 

Take off: to put off

Please take off your old coat and wear a new one.

 

Take over: assume

I took over the charge of this office yesterday.

 

Take to: addicted to

He has taken to drinking.

 

Take up: to begin a hobby

He took up cricket and became a very good player.

 

Take out: to extract.

The dentist took out two of his teeth.

 

Take from: to subtract

Take four from seven and three remain there.

 

Take back: to withdraw

I take back all I have said.

Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and sentences

Phrasal Verbs with Turn

Turn away: to dismiss

He has turned away three applicants.

 

Turn to reject:

He has turned to reject my proposal.

 

Turn on: to start

Please turn on the radio.

 

Turn out: expel

The teacher turned the boy out of the class.

 

Turn up: to appear

Let us see what turns up next.

 

To beat off: an attack to repeat

Our army beat off attacks in the Sialkot sector.

 

Turn to: attend to

Turn to God for mercy and help.

 

Turn upon: attend to

His whole argument turned upon the advantages of co-education.

 

Turn back: drive back

Can any force turn back the coming storm?

 

Turn over: Turn something so that the other side becomes visible.

Turned over the page and went on reading.

 

Turn aside: to deviate

Never turn aside from the path of truth.

 

Turn in: to enter a house for a short visit

I turned in to enquire about his health.

How Many Phrasal Verbs are in English?

There are 10,000 to 20,000 phrasal verbs in English Language and that’s why it is very difficult to memorize them all. But you can learn some important phrasal verbs.

In this lesson, I have provided you with some of the common phrasal verbs along with meanings and examples.

Download the PDF of this lesson Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and Sentences below.

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Last updated on April 11th, 2023 at 06:00 pm