List of Phrasal Verbs, definition and uses (A & B)

                              A    

1. Act up : i) misbehave (for people): The children should not act up with elders. 

ii) not work properly (for machines) : As the mobile is acting up I will sell it.

2. Act on : (produce effect) : In general, Acids act on metals.

3. Act upon : (in accordance with) : The soldiers caught the militants by acting upon the secret informations. 

4. Act like : (behave in a way) : We must act like a human being in time of crisis.

5.  Account for : (explain the reason, answer for) I cannot account for his  misbehaviour in this matter.

6.Add up to : (find the total) : The bills add up to a huge amount.

7. Ask after : (ask about the welfare, inquire after): I met your brother at the school and asked after you.

8. Ask for :(request for): I asked her for a glass of water.

                             B       

9. Back out :(go back on, withdraw from promise): He agreed to help but backed out at the last moment.

10. Back off :(abstain from something): Sometimes its smart to back off to avoid mess. 

11. Back up : i) (Move backward; move in reverse) : I have to back up my car to park it in the queue. 

ii)(confirm a story, facts or information): The documents will back up his arguments in the court.  

iii) (make a ‘protection’ copy to use if there are problems): I always keep a back up of the files in the computer. 

12. Bear away:(win) : The students of our school bore away the first prize in the debate competition.

13. Bear down : (to crush by force) : Indian soldiers were successful in bearing down the enemies.

14. Bear out :i) (verify or confirm) : The documents should bear out the arguments to make it strong.

ii) (support the argument, corroborate): I am sure my classmates will bear out my statement.

15. Bear up :(to face hardships bravely) : A true Warrior knows how to bear up and become victorious.

16. Bear on/upon: (relevant):  Our remarks were bearing on/upon the main problem.

17. Bear with: (to show patience, co-operate): In difficult times we expect our families to bear with us. 

18. Beat down : (to crush) :  He knows how to beat down the opposition with strategy. 

19. Beat off : (to repulse, to drive back) : Indian army successfully beat off the enemy forces.

20. Beat up : (to beat): We should not beat up poor animals 

21.Beg off : (decline an invitation; ask to be excused from doing something): I have decided to beg off the meeting.

22. Blow out:( extinguish) :The candle blew out as the gust of wind came in. 

23. Blow over: (pass off without harm, come to an end) : Keep patience! the crisis are likely to blow over soon. 

24.Blow up :(explode, start suddenly): The enemy's plan to blow up the fly-over was foiled by the Army.

25. Bone up on : (review/study thoroughly for a short time) : One should bone up on Maths and English before preparing for competitive exams. 

26. Break down: i) (emotional collapse, stop functioning): We should not break down in hardships.

ii) (separate something into component parts) : We broke down our responsibilities for smooth execution.

27. Break in : (enter by using force) : The burglars broke in his apartment.

ii)(wear something new until it’s/they’re comfortable) : I wish my feet bears in new shoes else it will be hard to walk. 

iii)(train; get someone/something accustomed to a new routine) :We should break in our works quickly as there is not much time left. 

28. Break into: (enter by force):  The robbers broke into his house last night.

29. Break off :(come to an end, unsuccessfully): The talks between India and China broke off. 

30. Break out :(spread war, epidemic, fire, riots): Cholera broke out in nearby villages. 

31. Break through:(discover a secret, major achievement) : There is no hope of a break through in the murder case.

32. Break up :i) (terminate meeting, school, session): The college will break up next week for summer vacation.

ii) (end a personal relationship) : The break up of his engagement made him upset. 

33. Break up with: (quarrel): After long and fruitful friendship the two friends broken up with each other.

34. Break open:(open by force): The thief broke open the lock and stole money.

35. Bring/take back :(return something): Last week I brought/ took back the book that I took from the library. 

36. Bring off : (accomplish something difficult; accomplish something people had considered impossible or unlikely) : Nobody thought that Raju will bring off the course with success.

37. Bring up :i)(mention as a topic of discussion): We planned to bring up the relevant topics for extempore competition. 

ii) (raise; rear) : She was brought up by her grandparents.

38. Bring about :(cause to happen) :The administration helped to bring about a peaceful settlement.

39. Bring out (explain the meaning, publish): I took a lot of preparation to bring out my academic paper in the seminar. 

40. Bring round: (to make one agree, bring to senses) :I was able to bring my mother round to my views with great difficulty.

41. Brush up : (review/study thoroughly for a short time) : I need to brush up my driving skill before the test. 

42. Burn down : (become destroyed/consumed by fire, Note: For upright things trees, buildings, etc. only): The building was burnt down as the fire broke out. 

43. Burn up :i) (become destroyed/consumed by fire, Note : For people and non-upright things only): All the patients burnt up by the sudden fire in the hospital 

ii) (cause someone to become very angry) : His rude talk burned me up!

44. Butt in : (impolitely interrupt a conversation, an action): Better not to butt in serious discussions.

45. Butter up : (praise someone excessively with the hope of getting some benefit) : I guess Mohan really wants to be promoted as he has been buttering his boss up all week.

                         Exercise 

                       Group- A. 

1. His suggestion finally bring ______the solution.

2. She was brought _______ in Bangalore.

3. As the factory machines acted________, the employees were on duty.

4. Our English teacher finally brought _______ the elusive sentence.

5. Despite the critical situation India finally bring _______ the match.

6. The robbers broke ______ the bank.

7.I was trying to break ______ my ill-fitted clothes.

8. Rima ask _______ my brother's health.

9. We expect every one to act ______  human in this situation.

10. As a boxer he knows when to attack and when to back _______. 

                     Group -B 

1. Rima _______(quarrelled) Sima. 

2. Before entering the exam hall Rajam ________  (reviewed/ studied for a short time) his book for a few minutes.

3. He _______ (praised someone for benefit) his teachers to get good marks in project. 

4. The police got _______(major achievement )in the burglary case. 

5. Covid ________ (spread) first in China. 

6. I could not _______ (answer for)his strange behaviour with the colleagues.

7. The vacation expenses   _________ (the total)Rs.10000/-.

8. The way he __________( misbehaved) ________( caused someone to angry) everyone present there.

9. She cut the cake after _______(extinguishing) the candle.

10. A gentleman never ________(withdraw promise) from his words. 

11. To _________( make someone agree) all family members to give consent is a huge task! 

12. His finger prints does not ________ (confirm/ verify) his involvement in the murder. 

13. The mastiffs sometimes __________(repulse) the Cheetahs.

14. I asked my mother in law to ________(cooperate)me as I didn't know cooking. 

15. His comments were never ______(relevant) to the context. 

Group -A ( answer keys)

1. About

2. Up

3. Up

4. Out

5. Off

6. Into

7. In

8. After

9.like

10. Off

Group -B ( answer keys)

1. Broke up with 

2. Brushes up / Boned up on

3. Buttered up 

4. Break through 

5. Broke out

6. Account for

7. Add up to

8. Acted up, burned up

9. Blowing out

10. Back out

11. Bring round 

12. Bear out

13. Beat off

14. Bear with 

15. Bear on / upon