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~ English-Zone.Com Phrasal Verbs Dictionary ~ |
Phrasal Verb: | * | Meaning: | Example: |
CALL BACK | n | to return a phone call;
to call again |
Could you call back later please? |
CALL OFF | s | to cancel something | Shelly called the wedding off because her boyfriend cheated on her. |
CALL ON | n | to ask a student to speak in class | The teacher called on Lee for the answer. |
CALL ON | n | to visit somebody at their home | Frank called on Sara. They visited for two hours. |
CALL OUT | n | to shout aloud | When the lights went out, I called out for help. |
CALL UP | s | to telephone someone | The secretary will call the client up at 2:00pm. |
CALM DOWN | s | to help someone/oneself become calmer, less upset; stop being emotionally distressed | Steve was so upset that nothing could calm him down. |
CARE FOR | n | to like, want (Note: This is usually negative, but it may be used in questions.) | A) "Would you care for some dessert? We have ice cream, cookies, or cake."
B) "No thank you. I don't care for sweets." |
CARE FOR | n | to take care of; give care to; attend / watch | Emily's grandfather got out of the hospital last week. Her family is caring for him at home. |
CARRY ON | s | to continue | I'm sorry I interrupted you. Please carry on. |
CARRY OUT | s | to complete a task | The secretary carried her boss's orders out exactly. |
CATCH ON | n | to become popular | Orange hats with purple feathers will never catch on! |
CATCH ON | n | to gain understanding or knowledge of something. | My mom had never used email until her company went online, but she caught on very quickly and she sends email to everyone she knows. |
CATCH UP | n | to stop being behind; to get to the same level as others | The new employees are slow workers, but they'll catch up as they learn more. |
CHECK IN | n | to register (usually at a meeting, hotel, airport, or hospital) | Thomas checked in at the front desk. |
CHECK INTO | n | to investigate; find information | Leonardo DiCaprio's agent checked into the rumor about Leo marrying his co-star. The rumor was untrue. |
CHECK OFF | s | to make a mark to indicate that something on a list has been completed | The teacher checked off the student's homework as they handed it in. |
CHECK OUT | n | to follow procedures for leaving (a meeting, hotel, hospital, etc.) | Thomas checked out on Friday. |
CHECK OUT | n | to investigate; find information | Leonardo DiCaprio's agent checked out the rumor about Leo marrying his co-star. The rumor was untrue. |
CHECK OUT | s | to follow procedures for borrowing something (usually for a period of time) | Peter checked that book out of the library. |
CHECK OUT | s | to look at (slang)
to appraise |
Check that girl out; she is beautiful!
I asked the jeweler to check my ring out. It's loose. |
CHEER UP | s | to help someone feel less worried, depressed or sad | Henry was sad about failing his test, so I took him out to dinner to cheer him up. |
CHEW OUT | s | to berate; scold someone severely | My supervisor chewed out my coworker today. |
CHICKEN OUT | n | to lose the courage or confidence to do something--usually at the last minute | Mark was going to ask Lisa for a date when he saw her, but he chickened out. |
CHIP IN | n | to add money to something done by a group | Everyone chipped in and we bought our manager a birthday gift. |
CLAM UP | n | to refuse to talk about something | The robber clammed up when the police questioned him about his partner. |
CLAM UP | n | to suddenly become quiet | My friends clammed up when I walked into the room. Nobody would tell me what they were talking about. |
CLEAN UP | s | to clean something completely | Kids - clean your room up and then we'll leave. |
CLEAR UP | s | to clarify; explain | Her explanation cleared up the misunderstanding. |
CLEAR AWAY | s | to remove | When the dinner dishes were cleared away, they played cards at the table. |
COME ACROSS | n | to find; to discover unexpectedly; find by chance | I came across an old picture in my desk drawer. |
COME DOWN WITH ___ | n | to become ill with ( a sickness ) | Fred came down with the flu yesterday. I hope his children don't come down with it too. |
COME TO | n | to regain consciousness; come awake | A) "Nurse, has the patient come to yet?"
B) "Not yet doctor. He's still in a coma." |
COME TO | n | to total an amount | Let's see... 5 hamburgers and 10 hotdogs comes to $12.00 please. |
COME UP | n | to be mentioned | Did the topic of Susan and Frank's wedding come up at the meeting yesterday? |
COME UP WITH | n | to suddenly think of an idea | The marketing department came up with a brilliant idea. |
COPY DOWN | s | to record in writing | Patty gave Max her phone number and Max copied it down. |
COUNT ON | n | to rely on; depend on; trust that something will happen; trust that someone will do as expected | Are you crazy? You can't count on winning the lottery! Stop using your credit card so much! |
CROSS OUT | s | to draw a line through mistakes; show that something written is wrong or unnecessary by making an X across it | Sara crossed out her spelling mistake, then wrote the correct word.
We can't afford to buy everything on the food list, so I crossed all the unnecessary things out. |
CUT BACK ON | n | to reduce; to lower; to use less of something | The doctor told me to cut back on sugar and fat in my diet. |
CUT DOWN | s | to chop something down | They cut the tree down. |
CUT DOWN ON | n | to reduce; to lower; to use less of something | The doctor told me to cut down on sugar and fat in my diet. |
CUT OFF | s | to stop service | When we didn't pay the bill, the electricity was cut off. |
CUT OFF | s | to sever | The doctor cut off the infected finger. |
CUT OFF | n | to eliminate from contact | He was cut off by the storm. He couldn't get home. |
CUT OUT | s | to remove something | I cut the picture out of the magazine. |
CUT OUT | s | to stop something | She cut out smoking and now her health is better. |
CUT UP | s | to slice | We cut the watermelon up and gave everyone a slice. |