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 |
|---|---|---|
| take aback | Shock or surprise unexpectedly | I was taken aback by his blunt answer. |
| take after | Resemble in looks or character | Jenny really takes after her mother. |
| take against | Develop a dislike for | She’s taken against him for no clear reason. |
| take apart | Dismantle into pieces | He took the shelves apart for moving. |
| take back | Withdraw a remark; apologize | Okay, I take that back—I was out of line. |
| take back | Cause to remember the past | That song took me back to our school days. |
| take back | Return an unsatisfactory purchase | The blender was faulty, so I took it back. |
| take back | Accept someone’s return | He begged her to take him back. |
| take down | Write something; record | Please take down these points. |
| take down | Remove from a higher position | We should take the old fan down. |
| take for | Mistake something/someone as | Don’t take my silence for agreement. |
| take for | Regard or consider as | They must have taken me for an idiot. |
| take in | Deceive; be deceived | Jill was taken in by the company’s claims. |
| take in | Give someone shelter | The home took in another elderly resident. |
| take in | Understand; absorb | It was hard to take in everything he said. |
| take in | Include as part of a total | Remember to take in the tip when you budget. |
| take in | Make clothing smaller | She’s going to take the trousers in at the waist. |
| take in | Bring into custody | He was taken in for questioning. |
| take in | View; enjoy seeing | We sat by the window to take in the view. |
| take off | Become airborne | We were late and the plane took off without us. |
| take off | Remove (clothing, etc.) | He took off his goggles and dived in. |
| take off | Succeed suddenly | The business didn’t take off until year three. |
| take off | Have time away from work | He took a month off for his wedding. |
| take off | Leave quickly without notice | Everyone was searching, but she’d already taken off. |
| take off | Withdraw from sale/production | The product was taken off the line. |
| take off | Deduct from a total | Take ten dollars off and I’ll pay the rest. |
| take on | Acquire (a quality/appearance) | With fresh paint, the house took on a new look. |
| take on | Hire; employ | The firm took on extra staff for expansion. |
| take on | Accept responsibility | His promotion means taking on new duties. |
| take on | Compete or fight | He’ll take on the reigning champion tonight. |
| take out | Treat someone to an outing | He often takes his family out for dinner. |
| take out | Kill or destroy (target) | A sniper took out the gunman. |
| take out | Remove; extract | He had his tonsils taken out as a child. |
| take out | Obtain (a legal/official document) | She took out an injunction against the paper. |
| take out on | Vent anger on someone | Don’t take it out on the kids—it wasn’t their fault. |
| take over | Assume control | When you take over driving, go easy on the horn. |
| take round | Show someone around | The guide took us round the complex. |
| take through | Explain step by step | The manager took the new hires through the process. |
| take to | Adopt a habit | After the breakup, Jim took to heavy drinking. |
| take to | Develop a talent for | He took to the guitar early on. |
| take to | Grow to like | She quickly took to her mother-in-law’s cooking. |
| take to | Seek safety or refuge | As fighting flared, refugees took to the border. |
| take up | Start a hobby or interest | Since retiring, I’ve taken up stargazing. |
| take up | Begin a sport | She’s got time now to take up cycling. |
| take up | Accept a challenge | If I don’t take up the challenge, they’ll say I chickened out. |
| take up | Assume a post or position | He’ll take up his role as CEO next month. |
| take up | Occupy space/time/attention | Those stacks of books are taking up the whole table. |
| take up | Pursue further; continue | They plan to take up the matter with the boss. |
| take up with | Become friendly with | He’s taken up with the neighbor’s kids. |
| take upon | Assume responsibility oneself | Mark took it upon himself to paint the house. |
| talk around/round | Persuade to accept a view | Someone needs to talk her around on this. |
| talk at | Speak without listening for a reply | We tried to explain, but she just talked at us. |
| talk back | Reply rudely to authority | The kid never hesitates to talk back to her mum. |
| talk down | Dismiss or belittle | Mike kept talking down her achievements. |
| talk down to | Address condescendingly | Don’t talk down to them—they’re smarter than you think. |
| talk into | Persuade someone to do something | He talked me into joining, despite my doubts. |
| talk out | Discuss fully to resolve | It seemed a misunderstanding, so we asked them to talk it out. |
| talk out of | Persuade not to do something | She talked him out of moving overseas. |
| talk over | Discuss thoroughly before acting | Let’s talk it over before we buy. |
| talk over | Persuade through discussion | The manager talked the two players over to his side. |
| talk round/around | Speak indirectly; avoid the point | He talked around the issue without saying how to fix it. |
| talk through | Go over in detail | We need to talk this through—there are a few catches. |
| talk up | Promote enthusiastically | We should talk up the new product’s benefits. |
