Phrasal Verbs (Sentence examples: read into – rush out)

Phrasal verbs combine a verb with a small word (up, out, off) to create new meanings. Below you’ll find each one with a clear definition, a natural example sentence, and notes on separability. Browse, compare, and try them out in your own sentences.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
read into	Ascribe extra meaning that isn’t there	You’re reading too much into her comment.
read out	Read aloud	He read out the names of those who died.
read through/over	Read from start to finish	I read through the passage and spotted a few errors.
read up	Research by reading	Let’s read up on the plumbing before we touch anything.
reason with	Try to persuade using logic	I tried to reason with her for days, but she wouldn’t listen.
reckon in	Include in a calculation	If you reckon in the repair costs, a new one makes more sense.
reckon on	Expect; plan for	We didn’t reckon on hiring extra staff.
reckon with	Have to deal with (a force/problem)	They filed a report—now they’ll have the police to reckon with.
reckon without	Fail to consider	We reckoned without the funding shortfall.
relate to	Understand and empathize with	He struggles to relate to older people.
relate to	Interact well with	He doesn’t relate well to his peers.
rely on/upon	Depend on	The landlocked country relies on its eastern neighbor for trade.
rely on/upon	Trust	You can rely on his judgment.
remark on	Comment about	Guests at the party remarked on her outfit.
remind of	Make someone think of (a person)	That song reminds him of his prison mates.
remind of	Call something to mind	I keep checking my watch to remind me of the time.
report back	Return with information	He reported back that the violence had escalated.
report to	Be accountable to (at work)	We were told to report to the new manager tomorrow.
rest on	Depend on	The firm’s future rests on consumer demand.
rest on	Fix one’s gaze on	His eyes rested on the girl sitting alone.
rest with	Be the responsibility of	The decision to release the hostages rests with the leader.
result from	Be caused by	His death resulted from the doctor’s negligence.
result in	Cause; lead to	The accident resulted in the loss of his left leg.
ring back	Return a phone call	She said she’d ring back—ten hours ago.
ring in	Call one’s workplace	The boss rang in to say he was taking the day off.
ring in	Mark the start of	The city rings in the New Year with fireworks.
ring off	End a phone call	After an hour of talk, we agreed to ring off.
ring out	Sound loudly and clearly	A scream rang out across the street at midnight.
ring up	Record a sale on a till	The new cashier rang up the wrong amount.
ring up	Call by telephone	Someone rang up the fire station to report a blaze.
run across	Meet/find by chance	I ran across my ex this morning.
run after	Chase romantically	He’s always running after girls with long hair.
run after	Chase to catch	He ran after her to return the dropped keys.
run against	Compete against (for office)	He plans to run against his father in the by-election.
run against	Encounter unexpectedly	We ran against a strong current mid-river.
run along	Go away (to children)	Run along now—we need to talk.
run around	Rush about doing many things	You shouldn’t be running around like that at your age.
run away	Leave secretly; flee	He ran away from his domineering wife.
run away with	Win easily	She ran away with two golds this season.
run away with	Flee with someone	It’s the second time he’s run away with a neighbor’s wife.
run down	Knock over with a vehicle	A car ran down a pedestrian during the chase.
run down	Speak disparagingly of	She often runs herself down.
run down	Track and catch	Police finally ran down the trafficking boss.
run down	Reduce resources/scale	They’re running down the ostrich farm after demand fell.
run down	Go through in detail	Let’s run down the list to ensure no one’s missed.
run down	Lose power; stop	The clock’s batteries have run down.
run into	Crash into by accident	He lost control and ran into a bus.
run into	Encounter (difficulty)	We ran into money troubles six months in.
run into	Meet by chance	I ran into an old colleague this morning.
run into	Amount to; reach	His wealth could run into seven figures soon.
run off	Elope	Her husband ran off with her sister.
run off	Flee from someone	He ran off after getting her pregnant.
run off	Print/duplicate quickly	The new machine can run off 50 copies a minute.
run off	Lose weight by exercise	She joined a gym to run off those extra pounds.
run off with	Escape with (esp. stolen)	He ran off with a huge sum from his employer.
run on	Continue too long	The lecture ran on for another hour.
run on	Be powered by	He claims he built a car that runs on seawater.
run out	Be used up	Her patience finally ran out.
run out	Expire	Our operating licence runs out at year’s end.
run out of	Use up a supply	We’ve run out of stamps, so no posting today.
run out of	Become depleted	Funds are running out—we’re skipping the holiday.
run out on	Abandon suddenly	She regrets running out on her parents.
run over	Run a vehicle over	His dog was run over by a taxi.
run over	Review quickly	Let’s run over the figures before the meeting.
run over	Overflow	Someone left the tap on and the sink ran over.
run over	Exceed the time limit	The meeting has run over by nearly an hour.
run through	Rehearse/go over	Let’s run through the solutions again.
run through	Read/examine quickly	She ran through my essay and found typos.
run to	Amount to; total	How did a minor repair run to a hundred dollars?
run up	Accumulate (debt/bill)	We ran up a huge hotel bill.
run up	Make quickly (esp. clothes)	The tailor can run up a dress in hours.
run up against	Face unexpectedly (a difficulty)	The plant’s construction ran up against local opposition.
rush around	Hurry from task to task	We rushed around telling members about the cancellation.
rush into	Do without proper thought	He regrets rushing into that high-risk venture.
rush out	Produce quickly for release	The manufacturer is rushing out novelties for the holidays.