A Phrasal Verb A Day: February 2008

shop around (for something)

Definition: to search (for something) until one finds the best value for money

Example: You'd better shop around (for the best deal).

Usage note: informal phrasal verb

come down with something

Definition: to become ill with something

Example: My brother has come down with flu.

detract from something

Definition: to reduce or diminish something

Example: Bad reviews of the movie detracted from my eagerness to see it.

Usage note: formal phrasal verb

head for something

Definition: to be on the way to something

Example: You're heading for disaster now.

measure up (to somebody/something)

Definition: to reach the required standard (when compared with somebody/something)

Example: To be honest, your essay doesn't measure up (to what I expected).

habituate somebody/oneself to something

Definition: to make somebody/oneself used to something

Example: You are expected to habituate yourself to the cold climate.

Usage note: formal phrasal verb

insist on/upon (doing) something

Definition: to demand something, not accepting alternatives

Example: The customer insisted on seeing the manager.

look down on somebody/something

Definition: to regard somebody/something as being inferior

Example: Her father looks down on the working class.

Usage note: opposite of look up to

peter out

Definition: to decrease gradually

Example: The movement petered out in the 1970s.

trade something off (against something)

Definition: to exchange something (for something)

Example: Is it really necessary to trade your reputation off against the money?

Usage note: trade-off (noun)

whittle something away

Definition: to reduce something gradually

Example: My earnings have been whittled away by increased expenses.

dwell on/upon something

Definition: to think, speak or write a lot about something

Example: It's better not to dwell on your disadvantages.

eat out

Definition: to eat at a restaurant rather than at home

Example: Let's eat out tonight.

fetch up

Definition: to arrive in a place, often by chance

Example: It was strange that they all fetched up in the same place.

Usage note: British English, informal phrasal verb

edit something out (of something)

Definition: to remove something (from something) during editing

Examples: Whole paragraphs were edited out of the script. ○ They edited several scenes out.

bring somebody/something through (something)

Definition: to help somebody/something to survive (something)

Examples: The doctors were able to bring the injured driver through. ○ We must make a concerted effort to bring the firm through this crisis.

piece something together

Definitions: 1. to join parts to form a whole/to form a whole by joining parts 2. to join pieces of information to compose a story/to compose a story by joining pieces of information

Examples: 1. These bits of paper have to be pieced together to make a picture/A picture has to be pieced together from these bits of paper. 2. The police are still trying to piece together the clues/piece together a full account of what really happened.