shop around (for)

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

Read more...

come down with

come down with something

Definition: to become ill with something

Example: My brother has come down with flu.

Read more...

detract from

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

Read more...

head for

head for something

Definition: to be on the way to something

Example: You're heading for disaster now.

Read more...

measure up (to)

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).

Read more...

habituate to

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

Read more...

insist on/upon

insist on/upon (doing) something

Definition: to demand something, not accepting alternatives

Example: The customer insisted on seeing the manager.

Read more...

look down on

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

Read more...

peter out

peter out

Definition: to decrease gradually

Example: The movement petered out in the 1970s.

Read more...

trade off (against)

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)

Read more...

whittle away

whittle something away

Definition: to reduce something gradually

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

Read more...

dwell on/upon

dwell on/upon something

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

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

Read more...

eat out

eat out

Definition: to eat at a restaurant rather than at home

Example: Let's eat out tonight.

Read more...

fetch up

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

Read more...

edit out (of)

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.

Read more...

bring through

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.

Read more...

piece together

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.

Read more...

rake in

rake something/it in

Definition: to earn something/a lot of money

Examples: If things go on like this, we'll rake in more than we did last month. ○ As a successful businessman, he's really raking it in.

Usage note: informal phrasal verb

Read more...

whistle for

whistle for something

Definition: to hope for something with no chance of getting it

Example: You can whistle for your money now - the firm's gone bankrupt.

Usage note: informal phrasal verb

Read more...

lose out (to)

lose out (to somebody/something)

Definition: to be defeated (by somebody/something)

Example: In this era of fierce competition, many small businesses are losing out (to multinationals).

Usage note: informal phrasal verb

Read more...

put about

put (something) about

Definition: (of a ship) to (cause a ship to) change direction

Example: The captain put the ship about as soon as he saw the approaching ferry.

Usage note: nautical phrasal verb

put something about

Definition: (of news) to circulate something

Example: I've got no idea who put it/the story about that the union was going to be dissolved.

Read more...

get down to

get down to (doing) something

Definition: to begin (to do) something seriously

Examples: It's time to get down to business. ○ I must get down to writing this report.

Usage note: informal phrasal verb

Read more...

figure out

figure somebody/something out

Definition: to understand somebody/something

Examples: He's a difficult man to figure out. ○ I can't figure out why he behaved in that way.

figure something out

Definition: to calculate something

Example: Let's figure out how much we'll have to pay.

Read more...

A-Z Lists of Phrasal Verbs

Categories of Phrasal Verbs

Learn English Online