Common Phrasal Verbs, 71 to 150

The rest of the top 150.

Line upNo. 71 most common

Arrange in a line(separable)

“The police got them to LINE UP against the wall.”

Take backNo. 72 most common

Make someone nostalgic(separable)

“That song always TAKES me BACK to when I was at university.”

Lay outNo. 73 most common

Spend money(separable)

“They LAID OUT thousands of pounds on their wedding reception.”

Go overNo. 74 most common

Look at something, revise(inseparable)

“We WENT OVER our notes before the exam.”

Hang upNo. 75 most common

End a phone call

“I lost my temper and HUNG UP.”

Go throughNo. 76 most common

Experience(inseparable)

“I WENT THROUGH my notes before the exam.”

Hold onNo. 77 most common

Wait

“Could you HOLD ON for a minute; she'll be free in a moment.”

Pay offNo. 78 most common

Completely repay a debt(separable)

“The mortgage will be PAID OFF in twenty-five years.”

Hold outNo. 79 most common

Resist(separable)

“When the enemy attacked, they HELD OUT for six weeks.”

Break upNo. 80 most common

Break into many pieces(separable)

“The plate BROKE UP when he dropped it on the floor.”

Bring outNo. 81 most common

Release or publish(separable)

“The band are BRINGING OUT a new CD in the autumn.”

Pull backNo. 82 most common

Score a goal or point when losing(separable)

“They were two-nil down until five minutes before the end, when they PULLED BACK a goal.”

Hang onNo. 83 most common

Wait

“Could you HANG ON for a moment till she's free.”

Build upNo. 84 most common

Develop a company(separable)

“She BUILT the business UP from nothing into a market leader in less than a decade.”

Throw outNo. 85 most common

Get rid of(separable)

“I THREW OUT all my old clothes to make some space in my wardrobe.”

Hang outNo. 86 most common

Spend time socially

“He HANGS OUT in the pub The Monarch; he's there most nights.”

Put onNo. 87 most common

Get fat(separable)

“He's PUT ON a lot of weight since he gave up smoking.”

Get downNo. 88 most common

Make someone depressed, unhappy, exhausted, etc.(separable)

“The miserable weather in winter really GETS me DOWN.”

Come overNo. 89 most common

Feel strange(inseparable)

“I CAME OVER all faint and weak because my sugar level was too low. (British)Affect mentally in such a way as to change behaviour (possibly related to 'overcome')”

Move inNo. 90 most common

Start living in a place

“The house was empty for ages, but some new tenants MOVED IN a few weeks ago.”

Start outNo. 91 most common

Begin a journey

“We STARTED OUT early in the morning.”

Call outNo. 92 most common

Expose or accuse someone of wrongdoing or incompetence(separable)

“He CALLED them OUT over awarding contracts to family members.”

Sit upNo. 93 most common

Suddenly take notice or pay attention

“They SAT UP when I told them I was closing the company.”

Turn downNo. 94 most common

Reduce volume, temperature, etc.(separable)

“The room was too hot, so she TURNED the heating DOWN.Reject an offer, invitation, etc.”

Back upNo. 95 most common

Make a copy of computer data(separable)

“You should always BACK UP important files and documents so that you won't lose all your work if something goes wrong with the hardware.”

Put backNo. 96 most common

Rearrange something for a later time(separable)

“The AGM has been PUT BACK until July the seventeenth.”

Send outNo. 97 most common

Send something to a lot of people(separable)

“They SENT OUT a mailshot to all their existing customers.”

Get inNo. 98 most common

Arrange for someone to do a job in your home, workplace, etc(separable)

“The air conditioning has broken down; we'll have to GET a technician IN to fix it.Arrive (train, plane, etc.”

Blow upNo. 99 most common

Explode(separable)

“The bomb BLEW UP without any warning.”

Carry onNo. 100 most common

Continue with something(separable)

“CARRY ON quietly with your work until the substitute teacher arrives.”

Set offNo. 101 most common

Explode a bomb(separable)

“Terrorists SET OFF a car bomb in the city centre last night. Fortunately, no-one was hurt or killed.”

Keep onNo. 102 most common

Continue doing something(inseparable)

“He KEPT ON trying and succeeded in the end.”

Run outNo. 103 most common

Have none left

“He RAN OUT of energy after playing with his children for hours.”

Make outNo. 104 most common

Make a cheque payable to somebody(separable)

“Please MAKE the cheque OUT to RGM Productions Ltd.”

Shut upNo. 105 most common

Stop talking or making noise(separable)

“He told us to SHUT UP and start working.”

Turn offNo. 106 most common

Stop a machine or device(separable)

“I TURNED the TV OFF and went to bed.”

Bring aboutNo. 107 most common

Make something happen(separable)

“The changes to the law were BROUGHT ABOUT by the government because so many people were ignoring the old one.”

Step backNo. 108 most common

Look at something from a different perspective

“We should STEP BACK and try to see how our customers will view the scheme.”

Lay downNo. 109 most common

Establish rules or procedures(separable)

“The rules of the sport were LAID DOWN early in the nineteenth century.”

Bring downNo. 110 most common

Make a government fall(separable)

“The vote of no-confidence BROUGHT the government DOWN.”

Stand outNo. 111 most common

Be extraordinary and different

“She STOOD OUT from the crowd in selection and was offered the job.”

Come alongNo. 112 most common

Accompany

“COME ALONG, we’ll never get there if you don’t keep up with us.”

Play outNo. 113 most common

Progress, often till it finishes(separable)

“Let's see how things PLAY OUT.”

Break outNo. 114 most common

Start (war, conflict)

“They're worried that war will BREAK OUT.”

Go aroundNo. 115 most common

Circulate

“A rumour is GOING AROUND about the Attorney General.”

Walk outNo. 116 most common

Leave work because of a dispute with the management

“The workers WALKED OUT because the felt that safety wasn't being handled correctly.”

Get throughNo. 117 most common

Contact(inseparable)

“I tried calling her mobile phone, but I couldn't GET THROUGH.”

Hold backNo. 118 most common

Not show emotion(separable)

“It was really hard to HOLD BACK the tears.”

Write downNo. 119 most common

Record in writing. To make notes(separable)

“I WROTE her mobile number DOWN on a scrap of paper and I've lost it.”

Fill outNo. 121 most common

Complete a form(separable)

“I FILLED OUT the application form and mailed it.”

Sit backNo. 122 most common

Wait for something to happen without making any effort

“We SAT BACK and waited for them to make the first mistake.”

Rule outNo. 123 most common

Exclude a possibility(separable)

“The police have RULED OUT suicide and are treating it as a case of murder.”

Move upNo. 124 most common

Move to make space(separable)

“They MOVED her UP to senior management.”

Pick outNo. 125 most common

Choose or select(separable)

“She PICKED OUT the ones she wanted to take and left the rest.”

Take downNo. 126 most common

Make notes or write down in full(separable)

“The police TOOK DOWN his answers to their questions.To remove or dismantle.”

Get onNo. 127 most common

Continue doing something(separable)

“The teacher asked the pupils to GET ON with some work quietly as she had to leave the classroom.To enter or board a vehicle.”

Give backNo. 128 most common

Return something you've borrowed(separable)

“I GAVE the money BACK that she'd lent to me.”

Hand overNo. 129 most common

Give(separable)

“The robbers told the clerk to HAND OVER all the money.”

Sum upNo. 130 most common

Summarise(separable)

“At the end of the lecture, she SUMMED UP the main points again.”

Move outNo. 131 most common

Leave a place you live or work in(separable)

“She's tired of living there and is MOVING OUT.”

Come offNo. 132 most common

When something breaks off

“I picked it up and the handle CAME OFF in my hand.”

Pass onNo. 133 most common

Give a message to someone(separable)

“I'll PASS the message ON when she gets here.”

Take inNo. 134 most common

Absorb information(separable)

“The lecture was rather boring and I didn't TAKE IN much of what the lecturer said.”

Sort outNo. 136 most common

Resolve a problem(separable)

“Has the firm SORTED OUT its tax problems yet?”

Follow upNo. 137 most common

Do something to check or improve an earlier action(separable)

“He FOLLOWED UP the meeting with a report.”

Come throughNo. 138 most common

Arrive (messages and information)

“News is COMING THROUGH of a major accident on the M25, where freezing fog has been making driving conditions extremely dangerous.”

Settle downNo. 139 most common

Start living a fixed and routine life

“After years of partying and drinking, she finally got married and SETTLED DOWN.”

Come aroundNo. 140 most common

Recover consciousness

“It took several hours after the operation before he CAME AROUND.”

Fill inNo. 141 most common

Complete a form or document(separable)

“I FILLED IN the application form and posted it off.”

Give outNo. 142 most common

Distribute(separable)

“Somebody was GIVING leaflets OUT in front of the underground station.”

Give inNo. 143 most common

Stop doing something because it's too hard or requires too much energy

“I couldn't finish the crossword puzzle and had to GIVE IN and look at the answers.Submit homework, etc.”

Break offNo. 145 most common

Break a piece from something(separable)

“She BROKE OFF a square of chocolate and gave it to her dog.”

Put offNo. 146 most common

Postpone(separable)

“The concert's been PUT OFF until next month because the singer's got a throat infection.”

Come aboutNo. 147 most common

Happen, occur

“The meeting CAME ABOUT because both sides were sick of fighting.”

Close downNo. 148 most common

Close a shop, branch or business permanently(separable)

“The banks have CLOSED DOWN a lot of branches in villages over the last few years.”

Put inNo. 149 most common

Install(separable)

“They had to PUT IN a whole new central heating system because the house was so cold.”

Set aboutNo. 150 most common

Start doing something(inseparable)

“We SET ABOUT the cleaning and got it done before lunchtime.”

Order: PHaVE List, Garnier and Schmitt (2015), counted from real English.

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