Bag out
Meaning: Criticise
Example: I saw her pull a bag out from under the seat.
Bail out
Meaning: rescue from financial difficulties or pay money to secure someone’s release
Example: The government can’t bail out every unprofitable state enterprise.
Bail out of
Meaning: Pay a bond to release someone from jail
Example: Reid was forced to bail out of the crippled aircraft.
Bail out on
Meaning: Stop supporting someone when they are in trouble
Example: Everybody bailed out on him when the scandal broke.
Bail up
Meaning: Talk to someone and delay them
Example: Come on, bail up!
Ball up
Meaning: Confuse or make things complicated
Example: She threw the ball up and caught it again.
Ball up
Meaning: Roll or form into a round shape
Example: The batsman smashed the ball up into the air.
Balls up
Meaning: Spoil, ruin
Example: Trust me to balls up the interview!
Bank on
Meaning: Count or rely on
Example: I wrote to my bank on 6th March.
Bargain down
Meaning: Persuade someone to drop the price of something they’re selling
Example: Don’t bargain down price, bargain up quantity.
Bargain for
Meaning: Expect something to happen (usually negative)
Example: I didn’t bargain for Jake being at the party.
Bargain on
Meaning: Expect something to happen (usually negative)
Example: I didn’t bargain on finding them here as well.
Barge in
Meaning: Enter a place and interrupt
Example: Sorry to barge in, but it’s an emergency.
Barge into
Meaning: Enter a place and interrupt people rudely
Example: Students tried to barge into the secretariat buildings.
Bash about
Meaning: Mistreat physically
Example: If you Bash your monitor about like that, it won’t last long.
Bash in
Meaning: Break, damage or injure by hitting
Example: The burglars bashed the door in to enter the house.
Bash out
Meaning: Write something quickly without much preparation
Example: Their ambitions are to bash out good grub with minimal fuss.
Bash up
Meaning: Break, damage or hurt by hitting
Example: They bashed him up in the fight in the pub last week and he had to go to hospital.
Bawl out
Meaning: Scold, shout at someone
Example: The captain bawled out an order to his soldiers.
Bawl out
Meaning: Sing or shout unpleasantly loudly
Example: The children bawled out the songs.
Beam up
Meaning: Teleport, transport
Example: Beam me up, Scottie.
Beat down
Meaning: Strong sunshine
Example: The sun beat down on our necks and backs.
Beat down
Meaning: Get someone to lower the price of something
Example: I managed to beat him down to fifty Euros.
Beat out
Meaning: Narrowly win in competition
Example: The marathon runner barely beat out his rival at the tape.
Beat up
Meaning: Attack violently
Example: Beat up the eggs before you add the flour.
Beaver away
Meaning: Work hard
Example: She beavered away at her complicated calculations.
Beaver away at
Meaning: Work hard doing something
Example: These young people beaver away at school.
Bed down
Meaning: Sleep somewhere less comfortable than normal
Example: You have my room and I’ll bed down in the living room.
Bed out
Meaning: Move a plant outside
Example: May is the time to bed out the geraniums.
Beef up
Meaning: Make something stronger or more solid
Example: The company has been trying to beef up its image.
Belong to
Meaning: Be a member
Example: They belong to the country club.
Belong to
Meaning: Be connected to a time, place, belief, thing, etc
Example: I’m just a sunflower, waiting for belong to me only sunshine.
Belong with
Meaning: Be in the correct or appropriate location with other items
Example: These papers belong with the others.
Belt out
Meaning: Sing something loudly
Example: The band was belting out all the old favourites.
Belt up
Meaning: Be quiet
Example: Don’t forget, belt up before you drive off.
Belt up
Meaning: Fasten your seatbelt
Example: I told the kids to belt uo before I started the car.
Bend down
Meaning: Lower the top half of your body
Example: She watched Ben bend down and examine the pipes beneath the sink.
Bend over
Meaning: Lower the top part of your body
Example: I had to bend over, parallel to the body, to get the nail file under the nails.
Bend over backwards
Meaning: Do a lot to try to help or please someone
Example: We bend over backwards to be fair to all the children.
Big up
Meaning: Exaggerate the importance
Example: I jab a finger forward and Lucker nods in big up and down sweeps.
Big up
Meaning: Increase the size of muscles by exercise
Example: I want to big up my bro on the mic.
Bin off
Meaning: End a relationship
Example: Computer print-outs so big and heavy they’d wrenched the bin off its lamp-post.
Bitch up
Meaning: Spoil or ruin something
Example: I bitched up the interview.
Black out
Meaning: Lose light
Example: Everything blacked out when the power supply failed.
Blank out
Meaning: Censor text so that words cannot be read
Example: The email addresses were blanked out in the documents shown to the court.
Blank out
Meaning: Have a temporary memory failure
Example: I was trying to blank out previous situations from my mind.
Blare out
Meaning: A loud sound or music
Example: The music was blaring out and I couldn’t get to sleep.
Blast off
Meaning: Leave the ground- spaceship or rocket
Example: The space shuttle had been scheduled to blast off at 04:38.
Blaze away
Meaning: Fire a gun repeatedly
Example: The students kept blazing away about the travel.
Bleed out
Meaning: Cause sufficient blood loss to result in death
Example: They bled out their calves.
Bliss out
Meaning: Be extremely relaxed and happy
Example: I like to go off on my own – to sit back and bliss out in a darkened move theater.
Block in
Meaning: Park a car and obstruct another car
Example: There was a block in the pipe and the water couldn’t flow away.
Block off
Meaning: Obstruct an exit to prevent people from leaving
Example: Call me that again and I’ll knock your block off!
Block out
Meaning: Stop light from entering or leaving
Example: The buildings block out the street lighting.
Block up
Meaning: Fill a space so that nothing can pass
Example: A block up the street I found a parking lot.
Blurt out
Meaning: Say something quickly without thinking, especially if you shouldn’t
Example: He blurted out the bad news before I could stop him.
Board out
Meaning: Arrange for pets to stay somewhere while you’re away
Example: The lifeguard boat offered to tow his board out through the pounding break.
Board up
Meaning: Cover windows or doors with wood, metal, etc.
Example: A Puzzle game, the purpose is to board up all the lights lit!
Bog down
Meaning: Slow make progress
Example: The attack would bog down sooner or later.
Bog in
Meaning: Eat enthusiastically
Example: The boy went to the table to bog in.
Bog into
Meaning: Eat something enthusiastically
Example: They bogged into the lunch.
Bog off!
Meaning: Get lost
Example: Bog off! Get out of our country!
Boil down
Meaning: Simplify, reduce to the essentials
Example: The issues boil down to money and prestige.
Boil down
Meaning: Heat something to reduce its volume
Example: Spinach tends to boil down a lot.
Boil down to
Meaning: Amount to
Example: Most of the crimes may boil down to a question of money.
Boil over
Meaning: When a hot liquid spills out of a container
Example: The situation was then about to boil over.
Boil up
Meaning: Feel a negative emotion strongly
Example: Trouble is boiling up in the university.
Bolster up
Meaning: Give support, reinforce, strengthen
Example: The government borrowed money to bolster up the economy.
Bone up
Meaning: Study hard for a reason
Example: I have to bone up on criminal law for a test next week.
Bone up on
Meaning: Study hard for a goal or reason
Example: I need to bone up on my English.
Book in
Meaning: Make a reservation in advance
Example: The librarian entered a new book in the catalogue.
Book into
Meaning: Make a reservation in advance
Example: The speaker worked his new book into his talk.
Book out
Meaning: Leave a place in a hurry
Example: I got this very interesting book out of the library.
Book up
Meaning: Reserve
Example: The boy folded a book up in paper.
Boot up
Meaning: Start a computer
Example: When you boot up, a menu will appear on the screen.
Border on
Meaning: Be located next to a place
Example: This very careful attitude to money can sometimes border on meanness.
Boss about
Meaning: Use excessive authority to control people
Example: I started to get all this hassle from my boss about increasing productivity.
Boss around
Meaning: Use excessive authority to control people
Example: I’m the boss around here, and don’t you forget it!
Botch up
Meaning: Ruin or spoil something
Example: The builders really botched up our patio.
Bottle away
Meaning: Store up
Example: More agile, and much stronger than I, Kip got the bottle away from me after the briefest tussle.
Bottle out
Meaning: Lack courage to do something
Example: The baby sitter washes the bottle out properly every day.
Bottle up
Meaning: Not express your feelings
Example: They will expect you to bottle up your inner uncertainty, whatever it is about.
Bottom out
Meaning: Pass the lowest point and start rising
Example: The bad news knocked the bottom out of market prices.
Bounce into
Meaning: Force someone
Example: They have Bounced the government into calling an early election.
Bounce back
Meaning: Recover
Example: The personal savings rate has already started to bounce back, and is sure to rise further this year.
Bounce off
Meaning: Test ideas
Example: Sound waves bounce off objects in their path.
Bow down to
Meaning: Show respect
Example: Never bow down to any idols.
Bow out
Meaning: Leave, quit
Example: Jack had to bow out as a contender.
Bow to
Meaning: Accept something, usually unwillingly
Example: The government had to bow to public pressure.
Bowl out
Meaning: Hit someone’s wicket in cricket with the ball
Example: The gaunt young inmate fished his bowl out from under his cot.
Bowl over
Meaning: Surprise someone greatly
Example: The mummy wore bead necklaces and had a gold bowl over her face.
Box in
Meaning: Prevent something from moving, especially vehicles
Example: There is a safety deposit box in every room of the hotel.
Box up
Meaning: Pack things in boxes to move them
Example: Tip the box up and empty it.
Brace up
Meaning: Feel more confident or optimistic about something
Example: Interest rates were raised to brace up the sagging dollar.
Branch out
Meaning: Move into a different area of business, etc.
Example: The bookshop has decided to branch out into selling various records and tapes.
Breed out
Meaning: Remove a character trait by controlling reproduction
Example: When I am breed out, infuse me with the light of the Holy spirit.
Breeze along
Meaning: Move easily and quickly
Example: The film Breezes along for the first hour, then becomes rather dull and slow.
Breeze in
Meaning: Enter a place quickly
Example: When he saw us, the master just breezed in and smiled.
Breeze into
Meaning: Enter a place quickly
Example: Moreover, blue and white sofa cover, pillowslip table cloth blow a fresh breeze into your room.
Breeze through
Meaning: Pass easily, succeed
Example: He breezed through the exam.
Brick in
Meaning: Close or fill a space with bricks
Example: The fireplace had been bricked in some years before.
Brick up
Meaning: Close or fill a space with bricks
Example: He murdered his wife, and bricked up her body in the kitchen.
Brighten up
Meaning: Improve (weather)
Example: Fresh flowers will brighten up any room in the house.
Brim over
Meaning: Be too full and overflow
Example: The cup is brimming over with wine.
Brim with
Meaning: Be full of something
Example: The flowerbeds brim with a mixture of lilies and roses.
Brush off
Meaning: Ignore, pay little attention
Example: Don’t worry about the mud – it’ll brush off easily when it’s dry.
Brush up
Meaning: Improve a skill quickly
Example: I need to brush up my computer skills.
Bubble over
Meaning: Become very excited
Example: The pupils were bubbling over with excitement.
Bubble under
Meaning: Be likely to be popular or successful in the near future
Example: The band’s single is Bubbling under and may hit the charts soon.
Bubble with
Meaning: Form a support group with people when contact is restricted
Example: Solar advocates bubble with the possibilities.
Buck up
Meaning: Smarten up, improve
Example: Buck up! We’ll be late.
Bucket down
Meaning: Rain heavily
Example: As soon as we were inside, the rain began to bucket down.
Buckle down
Meaning: Start working hard, apply yourself
Example: He tried to buckle down to some work/study.
Buckle under
Meaning: Accept something under pressure, against your will
Example: The steel frames began to buckle under the strain.
Buckle up
Meaning: Fasten a seatbelt
Example: Please buckle up now; we’re about to land.
Budge up
Meaning: Move to make space for someone
Example: Budge up a bit! I’d like to sit down too.
Buff up
Meaning: Clear, clean or make something shine
Example: Buff up the paintwork with a soft cloth.
Buff up on
Meaning: Improve your knowledge quickly
Example: I Buffed up on my grammar before the test.
Bug off!
Meaning: Go away
Example: Bug off! You’re annoying me.
Bug out
Meaning: Open your eyes wide in surprise
Example: A sewer system make your eyes bug out.
Build around
Meaning: Develop something on the basis of something else
Example: The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.
Build in
Meaning: Incorporate something from the beginning
Example: The new town wants to build in that area.
Build into
Meaning: Incorporate something from the beginning
Example: The relevant cost to quickly build into economics is the cost of prevention.
Build on
Meaning: Use something good to achieve more
Example: We must build on our reputation to expand the business.
Build up
Meaning: Develop a company
Example: The students in middle schools should build up a solid foundation in English.
Bulk out
Meaning: Make something bigger or thicker
Example: Use pads of acid-free tissue paper to bulk out shoes.
Bulk up
Meaning: Gain weight, develop bigger muscles
Example: Use extra vegetables to bulk up the omelette.
Bump into
Meaning: Meet by chance
Example: They would bump into one another and laugh softly.
Bump off
Meaning: Kill
Example: They planned to bump off the mobster.
Bump up
Meaning: Increase
Example: They bump up their prices in the summer months.
Bundle off
Meaning: Send someone somewhere
Example: The boy carries the bundle off the rock, the two men accompany him.
Bundle out
Meaning: Expel
Example: Bundle out of this, please hand over hand, and double quick.
Bundle up
Meaning: Put on warm clothing
Example: Bundle up the newspapers and take them to the skip.
Bunk off
Meaning: Not go to school when you should
Example: A lot of people bunk off early on Friday.
Buoy up
Meaning: Make someone feel more positive
Example: The party is buoyed up by the latest opinion poll results.
Burn down
Meaning: Burn completely
Example: Basically, we tried to burn down the woods.
Burn off
Meaning: Remove by burning or similar process
Example: Burn off the old paint before repainting the door.
Burn out
Meaning: Lose enthusiasm and energy to continue in a demanding job
Example: Blow out the candles before they burn out.
Burn up
Meaning: Destroy completely by fire
Example: The plane circled the airport to burn up excess fuel.
Burst into
Meaning: Catch fire very quickly
Example: The audience burst into wild applause.
Bust up
Meaning: End a relationship, usually angrily or after arguing
Example: The couple bust up after an argument.
Butt in
Meaning: Interrupt
Example: These individuals tend to butt in for the attention they will get.
Butt out
Meaning: Not be involved in other people’s business
Example: The kid is your friend and they should butt out.
Butter up
Meaning: Praise or flatter someone excessively
Example: The bank has to butter up investors because it is in a fiercely competitive market.
Button up
Meaning: Conclude an agreement
Example: The shirt does not button up very easily.
Buy in
Meaning: Force a CD or record into the charts by buying lots of copies
Example: It’s usually cheaper to buy in bulk.
Buy into
Meaning: Accept an idea
Example: They are looking to buy into another insurance company.
Buy off
Meaning: Pay someone to stop them causing trouble
Example: The gambler bought off the police and thus was able to operate freely.
Buy out
Meaning: Buy somebody’s share in a company
Example: The bank had to pay to buy out most of the 200 former partners.
Buy up
Meaning: Buy all of something
Example: A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.
Buzz around
Meaning: Move quickly around a place
Example: Hundreds of flies buzz around us, and the workman keeps swatting them.
Buzz off
Meaning: Leave somewhere
Example: Buzz off, I’m busy!
Buzz off!
Meaning: Go away
Example: Buzz off, I’m trying to work!
Read More…
100 Most Common Phrasal Verbs List With Meaning
