100 Essential English Phrasal Verbs

Level: B1. Phrasal verbs are everywhere in everyday English, and they are the part learners most often avoid. A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle such as up, out or off, and together they often mean something new: give up means stop, find out means discover. This page gives you 100 common ones, grouped by particle so related meanings stay together, each with a plain definition and an example.

By the end of this page you can…

…recognise and use 100 common English phrasal verbs, group them by their particle, and see how the particle changes the meaning of the base verb.

How this list was chosen

Phrasal verbs are made of two or three words, so they do not appear as single units in a word-frequency list — a frequency list counts get, up and out separately, not get up. That means an honest ranked list is impossible here. Instead these are the common, everyday phrasal verbs that English courses teach around A2–B1 level (Cambridge, English Profile), chosen because learners meet them constantly in speech, and grouped by their particle rather than by an invented rank. The example sentences are written for this lesson and kept short.

With “up”

Verb	Meaning	Example
get up	rise from bed	I get up at seven every day.
wake up	stop sleeping	Wake up, it’s already morning.
stand up	rise to your feet	The whole class stood up.
grow up	become an adult	She grew up in a small town.
give up	stop doing something	He gave up smoking last year.
pick up	lift; collect someone	I’ll pick you up at six.
set up	start or arrange	They set up a new company.
look up	search for information	Look the word up online.
make up	invent; become friends again	Don’t make up excuses.
bring up	mention; raise a child	He brought up a good point.
turn up	arrive; raise the volume	She turned up an hour late.
hurry up	be quicker	Hurry up or we’ll miss the bus.
cheer up	become happier	Cheer up, it will get better.
end up	finally be in a situation	We ended up walking home.
fill up	make or become full	Fill up the bottle, please.

With “down”

Verb	Meaning	Example
sit down	take a seat	Please sit down.
lie down	rest on a surface	I need to lie down for a bit.
calm down	become calm	Calm down and take a breath.
break down	stop working (a machine)	The car broke down on the way.
cut down on	reduce	You should cut down on sugar.
write down	put on paper	Write down the address.
turn down	refuse; lower the volume	He turned down the job offer.
slow down	go more slowly	Slow down, you’re driving too fast.

With “on”

Verb	Meaning	Example
put on	dress yourself in	Put on your coat, it’s cold.
turn on	start a device	Turn on the light, please.
get on	board a bus or train; have a good relationship	We get on well together.
go on	continue; happen	Go on, finish the story.
carry on	continue	Carry on with your work.
hold on	wait	Hold on a second.
try on	put on to test the fit	Try on these shoes.
count on	rely on	You can count on me.

With “off”

Verb	Meaning	Example
take off	remove; (a plane) leave the ground	Take off your wet shoes.
turn off	stop a device	Turn off the TV before bed.
get off	leave a bus or train	Get off at the next stop.
put off	postpone	They put off the meeting.
set off	start a journey	We set off early in the morning.
call off	cancel	They called off the trip.
show off	behave to impress people	He likes to show off.
go off	(food) spoil; (an alarm) ring	The milk has gone off.
drop off	take someone there; fall asleep	I’ll drop you off at school.

With “out”

Verb	Meaning	Example
go out	leave to socialise	We went out for dinner.
find out	discover	I found out the truth.
work out	exercise; solve	I work out at the gym; I can’t work it out.
come out	appear; be released	The new film comes out soon.
figure out	understand or solve	I can’t figure out this puzzle.
run out of	have no more of	We ran out of milk.
fill out	complete a form	Fill out this form, please.
check out	leave a hotel; look at	We check out at noon.
hand out	distribute	She handed out the papers.
sort out	organise or fix	I’ll sort out the problem.
carry out	perform a task	They carried out the plan.
eat out	eat at a restaurant	Let’s eat out tonight.
point out	draw attention to	He pointed out my mistake.

With “in” and “back”

Verb	Meaning	Example
fill in	complete a form (BrE)	Fill in the gaps.
check in	register at a hotel or airport	We check in at three.
give in	surrender; stop resisting	Don’t give in so easily.
hand in	submit	Hand in your homework.
drop in	visit without warning	Drop in any time.
take in	understand; absorb	It’s a lot to take in.
come back	return	Come back soon.
go back	return	I went back home.
give back	return something	Give back my pen.
pay back	repay	I’ll pay you back on Friday.
call back	return a phone call	I’ll call you back later.
cut back on	reduce	We need to cut back on spending.

With “away”, “over”, “through” and more

Verb	Meaning	Example
go away	leave	Go away, I’m busy.
throw away	put in the rubbish	Don’t throw away that letter.
give away	give for free	They gave away free samples.
put away	return to its place	Put away your toys.
take over	take control	She took over the company.
get over	recover from	He got over the flu quickly.
go over	review	Let’s go over the plan again.
think over	consider carefully	Think it over and decide.
go through	experience; examine	We went through hard times.
get through	finish; reach by phone	I can’t get through to her.
look around	explore a place	Let’s look around the museum.
turn around	face the other way	Turn around and look.
get around	move about; spread	News gets around fast.
look forward to	await with pleasure	I look forward to the holiday.
go ahead	proceed	Go ahead and start without me.

Three-part and other everyday verbs

Verb	Meaning	Example
look after	take care of	I look after my neighbour’s dog.
look for	search for	I’m looking for my keys.
look into	investigate	We’ll look into the problem.
put up with	tolerate	I can’t put up with the noise.
get on with	continue; have good relations	Get on with your work.
come up with	produce an idea	She came up with a clever plan.
get rid of	remove or dispose of	Get rid of the old boxes.
catch up with	reach the same level or news	Let’s catch up with each other soon.
keep up with	stay level with	I can’t keep up with the class.
run into	meet by chance	I ran into an old friend.
dress up	wear smart or fancy clothes	We dressed up for the wedding.
pick out	choose	Pick out a shirt you like.
bring back	return; cause to remember	That song brings back memories.
break up	end a relationship; separate	They broke up last month.
split up	separate	The group split up after the show.
move in	start living somewhere	We moved in last week.
move out	leave a home	He moved out of his flat.
switch on	turn on	Switch on the fan.
switch off	turn off	Switch off the lights, please.
wrap up	finish; dress warmly	Let’s wrap up the meeting.

Example sentences

Play each line and say it aloud. These use common phrasal verbs in natural, everyday patterns.

I get up at seven and wake up my children.

'get up' = rise from bed; 'wake up' = make someone stop sleeping.
She gave up coffee but can't give up tea.

'give up' = stop doing or having something.
Can you look up the train times for me?

'look up' = search for information.
I'll pick you up at the station at six.

'pick up' = collect someone in a car.
The car broke down on the motorway.

'break down' = stop working (a machine).
Please turn off the TV and sit down.

'turn off' = stop a device; 'sit down' = take a seat.
We set off early and ended up in the wrong town.

'set off' = start a journey; 'end up' = finally be somewhere.
I found out that the shop had closed down.

'find out' = discover; 'close down' pattern = stop operating.
We ran out of milk, so I went out to buy some.

'run out of' = have no more; 'go out' = leave the house.
Could you fill in this form and hand it in at the desk?

'fill in' = complete a form; 'hand in' = submit.
He took off his coat and put on his slippers.

'take off' = remove; 'put on' = dress yourself in.
They called off the match because of the rain.

'call off' = cancel.
I'll pay you back as soon as I get paid.

'pay back' = repay money.
She looks after her grandmother every weekend.

'look after' = take care of (inseparable).
I can't put up with this noise any longer.

'put up with' = tolerate (three-part, inseparable).
We came up with a plan to sort out the mess.

'come up with' = produce an idea; 'sort out' = fix.
Don't throw away the receipt; we might need it.

'throw away' = put in the rubbish.
It took me a while to get over the flu.

'get over' = recover from.
I ran into an old friend while looking around the market.

'run into' = meet by chance; 'look around' = explore.
I'm really looking forward to the holiday.

'look forward to' = await with pleasure (three-part).

Cheat-sheet card: common English phrasal verbs grouped by their particle, up, out, off and on.

Quick recap before you practise.

Common mistakes

❌ I gave up to smoke. → ✅ I gave up smoking. — after give up use the -ing form, not to.
❌ Turn off it. → ✅ Turn it off. — with a pronoun object, the pronoun goes between the verb and the particle.
❌ I look forward to see you. → ✅ I look forward to seeing you. — to here is a preposition, so use -ing.
❌ Look her after. → ✅ Look after her. — look after is inseparable; nothing splits it.
❌ We ran out milk. → ✅ We ran out of milk. — run out needs of before the thing.

Usage notes

Separable vs inseparable: many phrasal verbs let a noun object move (turn the light off / turn off the light), but a pronoun must sit in the middle (turn it off). Some verbs, like look after, never split.
Three-part verbs (look forward to, put up with, get on with) are always inseparable; the object follows the whole group.
Register: phrasal verbs are everyday and often informal. In formal writing you can often choose a one-word verb (find out → discover, put off → postpone).
One verb, many meanings: make up can mean invent, reconcile, or apply cosmetics — the context tells you which.
For the grammar of where the object goes, use the two lessons linked at the bottom.

Practice

Phrasal verbs practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each phrasal verb to its meaning.

give up Match for give up
find out Match for find out
look after Match for look after
put off Match for put off

Show answer

give up → stop doing something
find out → discover
look after → take care of
put off → postpone

Learning the meaning of the whole unit is the key to phrasal verbs.

2 Complete: I can't ____ up with this noise. (one word)

Hint: the verb in 'tolerate'

Show answer

put — 'put up with' means tolerate; the missing word is 'put'.

3 Add the missing particle: We ran out ____ milk. (one word)

Hint: run out needs this before the thing

Show answer

of — 'run out of' needs 'of' before the noun: ran out of milk.

4 Which is correct with a pronoun object? Turn off it. Turn it off. Off turn it. Turn off's it.

Show answer

Turn it off. — A pronoun goes between the verb and the particle: turn it off.

5 'The car broke down' means the car… was cheap stopped working turned left was washed

Show answer

stopped working — 'break down' = stop working (a machine or vehicle).

6 Put the words in order.

Show answer

I look forward to seeing you — After 'look forward to' use the -ing form: looking forward to seeing you.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Particle	Common sense it adds	Example
up	finishing / increasing	eat up, turn up, fill up
out	finishing a supply / discovering	run out, find out
on	continuing	carry on, go on
off	stopping / leaving	turn off, set off
back	returning	give back, pay back
Pronoun rule	object goes in the middle	turn it off (not turn off it)

Previous set: English Complaint & Problem Phrases
Grammar behind these: Phrasal Verbs: Separable and Inseparable · Phrasal Verbs (Advanced)
More sets: English Vocabulary
New here? Start with Start Learning English Here

100 Essential English Phrasal Verbs

By the end of this page you can…

How this list was chosen

With “up”

With “down”

With “on”

With “off”

With “out”

With “in” and “back”

With “away”, “over”, “through” and more

Three-part and other everyday verbs

Example sentences

Common mistakes

Usage notes

Practice

Phrasal verbs practice

Quiz

Phrasal verbs quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

All English vocabulary topics

Vocabulary