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 |
|---|---|---|
| eat away | Gradually erode or damage | Termites are eating away at the old warehouse’s beams. |
| eat in | Have a meal at home | Mum’s cooking tonight, so we’re eating in. |
| eat into | Reduce something slowly (money/time) | Rising power bills are eating into my savings. |
| eat out | Dine away from home | It’s your birthday—let’s eat out and celebrate. |
| eat up | Finish all the food | Who ate up the last of the chips? |
| egg on | Urge someone to act (often unwisely) | They didn’t want to fight, but their friends kept egging them on. |
| end in | Conclude with a particular result | Their heated argument ended in a fistfight. |
| end up | Finally be in an unintended place/situation | We took a wrong turn and ended up miles off course. |
| endear to | Make someone liked or cherished | Her warmth and honesty endeared her to everyone at the party. |
| face up to | Accept and deal with | He needs to face up to the fact that he must study harder. |
| face with | Be confronted by something | The researcher was faced with many unknowns. |
| fall about | Laugh uncontrollably | When she started dancing, the kids fell about laughing. |
| fall apart | Break into pieces | The disused wooden bridge is falling apart. |
| fall apart | Suffer emotional collapse | His world fell apart when his wife left. |
| fall away | Slope downward | Beyond the castle, the land falls away to green pastures. |
| fall away | Detach and drop off | The storm made several roof tiles fall away. |
| fall back | Retreat or move backward | Under heavy fire, the soldiers had to fall back. |
| fall back on | Use as a backup | She has savings to fall back on if needed. |
| fall behind | Fail to keep up (esp. payments) | I’ve fallen behind on the car payments. |
| fall down | Drop to the ground | He stumbled and fell down the stairs. |
| fall for | Fall in love with | He always falls for women in uniform. |
| fall for | Be deceived by | I fell for it when she said she was single. |
| fall in | Collapse inward | Poor construction caused the roof to fall in. |
| fall in | Form neat lines (military) | The soldiers fell in before the commander. |
| fall in with | Accept without objection | They seemed ready to fall in with the leader’s plan. |
| fall in with | Become friendly with | On the cruise, they fell in with a lively group. |
| fall into | Drift into a habit | She fell into the habit of talking to herself. |
| fall into | Get drawn into unintentionally | He fell into an argument over queue-jumping. |
| fall into | Deteriorate through neglect | Since the new bike, the old one has fallen into disrepair. |
| fall off | Decline or decrease | Business fell off after the protests. |
| fall off | Come away from the main part | Flakes of paint keep falling off the back wall. |
| fall on | Be assigned as a duty/responsibility | Maintenance now falls on him in the new role. |
| fall on | Attract suspicion | Suspicion fell on the butler. |
| fall on/upon | Attack suddenly | The rebels fell upon a patrol and took hostages. |
| fall out | Quarrel | Sarah fell out with her boyfriend after two months. |
| fall out | Come loose and drop (hair/teeth) | His hair started falling out during the illness. |
| fall over | Trip and hit the ground | Bob slipped on a banana skin and fell over. |
| fall over | Topple onto its side | Their tall sandcastle fell over in the wind. |
| fall through | Fail to happen | The deal fell through, so they’ll renegotiate. |
| fall to | Become someone’s responsibility | It fell to the eldest son to run the family business. |
| fill in | Substitute for someone | We found someone to fill in for Sarah on leave. |
| fill in | Complete by supplying answers | Please fill in the environmental questionnaire. |
| fill out | Complete a form fully | He filled out the application with his parents’ help. |
| fill up | Become full | The stadium filled up as kickoff neared. |
| fit in | Feel accepted as part of a group | The new member learned to fit in quickly. |
| fit out | Equip with necessary items | The building was fitted out with AC units. |
| fit up | Equip for a purpose | We fitted up the attic as a home office. |
| fit up | Frame an innocent person | His friends believe he was fitted up for the crime. |
| fix on | Decide on; choose | They finally fixed on a venue for the fundraiser. |
| fix up | Renovate or redecorate | We need to fix up the spare room for guests. |
| fix up | Arrange a meeting/time | Their friend fixed up a time and place to talk. |
| fix up | Set someone up romantically | His friends fixed him up with a colleague. |
| fix up | Provide or supply something | They’re fixing us up with a budget hotel. |
| follow along | Keep pace; do something simultaneously | I can’t help following along when that song plays. |
| follow around | Trail someone persistently | Stop following me around, please. |
| follow through | Finish an action to completion | Be sure to follow through and include every amendment. |
| follow up | Pursue further; continue action | The investigation was followed up with the leader’s arrest. |
