Phrasal Verbs

• • Definition: be patient
  • Synonyms: be patient with, put up with, endure, suffer, tolerate
  • In context: Please bear with me a moment while I finish this email.

  
• • Definition: End a relationship
  • Synonyms: end, stop, suspend, discontinue, finish, separate
  • In context: She broke off their engagement when she found out he'd been unfaithful.

  
• • Definition: Not allow yourself to do something.
  • Synonyms: defer, postpone, delay, put off, put over, procrastinate
  • In context: I had to hold back from losing my temper with them.

  
• • Definition: To keep it until you think that the time is right to use it.
  • Synonyms: save, maintain, keep, stockpile, retain
  • In context: Investors were storing up a lot of cash in anticipation of disaster.

  
• • Definition: to stop paying attention and not hear or see what is around you for a short period of time.
  • Synonyms: hanging(around or out), chilling out, idling, relaxing
  • In context: When the men start talking about football, I just zone out.

  
• Definition: To complete something successfully.

  Synonyms: finish, complete, successful, conclusion, end

  In context: We need to wrap this up - I'm late to my next meeting.

  
• • Definition: to begin or continue with a plan or activity without waiting, esp. after a delay.
  • Synonyms: continue, move on, move forward, go, go on, push on, go forward, carry on, progress, proceed
  • In context: we now intent to go ahead with the final stage of the project.

  
• Definition: Choose

  Synonyms: separate, collect, divide, set apart, select

  In context: She picked out the foods that she wanted to take and left the rest.

  
• Definition: to harm somebody who is weaker than you are.

  Synonyms: despoil, rob, strip, pillage, destroy

  In context: They prey upon people's fears in order to get them to buy products.

  
• • Definition: to get better
  • Synonyms: lucky, bright, cheerful, fortunate, optimistic, hopeful
  • In context: Our financial situation is looking up.

  
• • Definition: If a book, film, record, etc. come out, it becomes available for people to buy or see.
  • Synonyms: appear, loom, show itself, be/become visible, emerge
  • In context: When does their new album come out?

  
• • Definition: To leave or escape from a place or person
  • Synonyms: break free, run away, escape, flip away, cut and run, steal off, skip, make off
  • In context: She went on vacation in the country in order to get away from the city for a while.

  
• • Definition: Behave stupidly
  • Synonyms: fleeced, tricked, cheated
  • In context: The rude students were jerk around during the lecture.

  
• • Definition: Reduce or exterminate a population by hunting, pollution, development, etc.
  • Synonyms: kill, eliminate, erase, obliterate
  • In context: There used to be a lot of wolves around here, but most of them have been killed off by humans.

  
• • Definition: Begin a romantic relationship.
  • Synonyms: get together, join up, link up, team up, unite, from a couple
  • In context: They paired off shortly after starting university.

  
• • Definition: Distribute
  • Synonyms: flow out, issue
  • In context: The protesters passed out leaflets to the growing crowd.

  
• • Definition: Inter a place quickly, in a disorganized way.
  • Synonyms: arrive, come in, get in, go in, infiltrate, invade, penetrate
  • In context: We all piled in the bus to go to the concert.

  
• • Definition: Make someone ill
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: I was struck down with food poisoning.

  
• • Definition: to find something or someone after looking for it, him, or her in a lot of different places.
  • Synonyms: discover, detect, find out, seek out, dig up
  • In context: It took me ages to track my friends down in the crowd at the football game.

  
• • Definition: Teach someone the specific skills they will need to carry out a job or task (this is a British example).
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: I have been training my new assistant up.

  
• • Definition: To get someone
  • Synonyms: approach, come up, close in, come/get closer
  • In context: A man walked up and asked the time.

  
• • Definition: have a second function or purpose
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: My study doubles as a pare bedroom when we have visitors.

  
• • Definition: isolate or make in accessible
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: The heavy snow has blocked many roads and cut off a number of villages.

  
• • Definition: be accepted as something that it is not
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: You'd be surprised at what passes for good cooking in many restaurants.
• • Definition: Exceed a time limit
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: The meeting run over by twenty minutes.

  
• • Definition: Reach or go as far as
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: This path goes down to the lake.

  
• • Definition: Return something
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: The police officer checked my license and then handed it back.

  
• • Definition: To start doing a job or being responsible for something that another person did or had responsibility for before.
  • Synonyms: replace, move up
  • In context: The parliament was taken over by civil guards.

  
• • Definition: To interrupt what someone is saying by saying something yourself.
  • Synonyms: interrupt, disturb
  • In context: He started to say something, but she cut in.

  
• • Definition: To include something when you are doing a calculation, or when you are trying to understand something.
  • Synonyms: include
  • In context: People are earing more, but when inflation is factored in, they are no better off.
• • Definition: To be able to stop almost immediately, even when moving very quickly.
  • Synonyms:
  • In context: He runs up the field and stops on a dime to catch the ball.