Phrasal Verbs (Sentence examples: tear apart – tie up) – List

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
tear apart	Rip something into pieces with force	The storm tore the old banner apart.
tear apart	Divide or cause severe discord	Bitter rumors nearly tore the team apart.
tear apart	Distress deeply	It tore her apart to hear the diagnosis.
tear at	Pull or attack by tugging repeatedly	The puppies tore at the cardboard box.
tear away	Leave unwillingly; remove someone from something absorbing	It’s hard to tear him away from the console once he starts.
tear down	Demolish a structure	The city plans to tear down the derelict warehouse.
tear into	Criticize harshly	After the mistake, the coach tore into the defenders.
tear off	Remove clothing quickly	He tore off his wet shirt and grabbed a towel.
tear up	Rip into small pieces	She read the note once, then tore it up.
tell against	Count as a disadvantage	His lack of match fitness told against him in the trials.
tell apart	Distinguish between similar things or people	I still can’t tell the twins apart.
tell off	Scold bluntly	The librarian told him off for speaking loudly.
tell on	Have a visible negative effect	The long hours are starting to tell on her.
tell on	Inform authorities about someone’s wrongdoing	He swore he’d never tell on his friends.
think back	Recall something from the past	When I think back, I’m amazed we finished on time.
think of	Hold an opinion of someone	She doesn’t think much of her new boss.
think of	Hold an opinion of something	What did you think of the finale?
think of	Invent or come up with an idea	I’ve just thought of a quicker route.
think of	Remember	I know the street, but I can’t think of the number.
think of	Consider others with kindness	He often thinks of others before himself.
think out	Plan carefully and in detail	We need to think out the rollout before Monday.
think over	Consider something before deciding	Let me think it over and reply tomorrow.
think through	Examine step by step to foresee results	She needs time to think through the implications.
think up	Invent or devise	He thought up a clever slogan on the spot.
throw away	Discard as useless	Don’t throw away those jars—we can reuse them.
throw away	Waste an opportunity	He threw away a scholarship by skipping classes.
throw in	Add for no extra cost	The vendor threw in a spare charger with the laptop.
throw in	Contribute casually during a process	She threw in a joke to lighten the meeting.
throw off	Free yourself from something burdensome	He finally threw off his doubts and applied.
throw off	Remove clothing quickly	She came home and threw off her coat.
throw off	Emit or produce in large amounts	The fire threw off enough heat to warm the room.
throw off	Recover from an illness	It took him a week to throw off the flu.
throw off	Evade someone following you	The cyclist threw off the pursuers with a sudden turn.
throw open	Make widely accessible	The museum threw open its doors for a free day.
throw out	Discard what’s unwanted	We finally threw out the broken blender.
throw out	Dismiss a case or idea	The judge threw out the lawsuit.
throw out	Expel someone from a place	They threw out the rowdy spectators.
throw out	Discharge or emit	The factory used to throw out smoke at night.
throw over	Abandon someone or something	He felt crushed when she threw him over.
throw together	Make quickly without much planning	We threw together a pasta dinner in fifteen minutes.
throw together	Be brought into contact by chance	A travel delay threw them together at the gate.
throw up	Vomit	He felt queasy and threw up after the ride.
throw up	Abandon or quit abruptly	She threw up her position mid-campaign.
throw up	Produce or generate unexpectedly	The audit may throw up some surprises.
tie down	Restrict freedom of action	The contract ties us down for two years.
tie in	Match or be consistent with something	His timeline doesn’t tie in with the records.
tie in with	Connect or coordinate things together	The launch will tie in with the spring festival.
tie up	Fasten or secure with ties	She tied up the parcel with string.
tie up	Cause delay or blockage	A minor collision tied up traffic all morning.
tie up	Invest so money isn’t easily available	Most of their savings are tied up in property.
tie up	Bind a person to restrict movement	The intruders tied up the guard.
tie up	Keep someone fully occupied	I’m tied up in meetings till 4.