Phrasal Verbs – Part 1
List of Important Phrasal Verbs for Competitive Exams
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Act as
do the work of
He acted as a judge in the debate competition. -
Act on or upon
follow
We should always act on or upon the advice of our elders. -
Act upto
act according to
You should act upto your ideals. -
Back away
move away or back because of fear or dislike
The dog backed away as I raised my stick. -
Back down
give up a claim
If you are right, he will have to back down. -
Back off
give up a claim
He has backed off from the position he took last week. -
Back out of
withdraw from promise or undertaking
He promised to help me but later on backed out. -
Back up
support
A good friend will always back you up in difficulty. -
Bear away
to win
Usain Bolt bore away the gold medals in all track events. -
Bear down upon
to attack immediately
He bore down tactfully upon his enemies. -
Bear out
to confirm
My shift supervisor can bear out that I worked till late at night. -
Bear through
to support
Religion can bear us through all miseries of life. -
Bear up
to sustain
The love of his friend bore him up in The midst of his domestic problems. -
Bear upon
to sustain
Your arguments do not bear upon the topic under debate. -
Bear with
to sustain
She can no longer bear with her husband. -
Break away
give up
It is not easy to break away from old customs. -
Break down
become useless
The car broke down on the way. -
Break forth
to burst out
She broke forth into bursts of laughter when the comedian came on the stage. -
Break in
train and discipline
It is not easy to break in a young horse. -
Break into
force one’s way into a building etc.
A thief broke into our house last night. -
Break off
stop speaking
The two countries broke off diplomatic relations. -
Break out
start suddenly
A cholera epidemic broke out after the floods. -
Break through
make a way through
The sun broke through the clouds. -
Break up
come to an end
Their friendship has broken up. -
Break with
to cut off relations
Mr Arjun Singh has broken with Mr. Narasimha Rao for political reasons. -
Bring about
cause to happen
Science has brought about many changes in our lives. -
Bring around or round
convert to one’s views
The President brought us round to his viewpoint. -
Bring back
restore
Your letter brought back many memories. -
Bring down
cause to fall
The new economic pollcy has brought down the prices of electronic goods. -
Bring forth
produce
Trees bring forth fruit in spring. -
Bring home to
to convince
The instructor brought home to us the importance of daily physical exercise. -
Bring out
publish
They are bringing out quality books. -
Bring to bear on
to use force
He brought his stout body to bear on the heavy steel gate to enter in the room. -
Bring up
rear or educate somebody
She has brought up her children very well. -
Call at
make a short visit
Vinod called at my house yesterday. -
Call back
pay another visit
I will call you back tomorrow. -
Call by
visit briefly
I will call you by on my way home. -
Call for
demand or require
Your plan calls for a lot of money. -
Call forth
be the cause off
His rude behaviour called forth loud protests. -
Call in
send for
We have called in the doctor. -
Call into play
to give scope
The recent tragedy called into play all my faculties. -
Call off
stop something
The strike was called off. -
Call out
summon
The army was called out to control the riots. -
Call upon
to order
You are called upon to pay The outstanding amount within a week. -
Carry away
to be influenced
I was carried away by her spontaneous replies during the beauty contest. -
Carry out
to accomplish
Our government is trying to carry out The economic reforms. -
Carry through
to support
His sincerity and patience carried him through all odds and problems of life. -
Come about
happen
How did it come about? -
Come across
meet by chance
I came across an old friend yesterday. -
Come along
make haste
Come along, we are already late. -
Come apart
fall to pieces
The old book came apart as I took it off the shelf. -
Come at
reach or got access to
The truth is always difficult to come at. -
Come away
become detached
The switch board came away from the wall. -
Come between
interfere
Don’t come between a man and his wife. -
Come by
obtain
How did you come by this rare book? -
Come down
fall or collapse
The pieces of crockery set have come down. -
Come forward
offer or present oneself
Who will come forward for this difficult work? -
Come off
take place
Our first semester examination comes off by January end. -
Come to pass
to happen
What is destined must come to pass. -
Come to terms
to settle down
Israel and Palestine have at last come to terms for maintaining peace. -
Come upto
to be equal to
Her achievements have not come upto our expectations. -
Cut across
take a shorter route
They cut across the fields to reach their home. -
Cut back
reduce
They had to cut back production for want of money. -
Cut down
reduce
You should cut down your expenditure. -
Cut in
interrupt
Don’t cut in when I talk. -
Cut off
stop
The striking workers have cut off the gas supply. -
Cut out
remove by cutting
He cut out some details from the article. -
Cut out for
fit
I am not cut out for this kind of job. -
Cut up
cut into pieces
He cut up the cake into four pieces.
