200 Important Phrasal Verbs List for Competitive Exams

200 Important Phrasal Verbs List for Competitive Exams

Hello Friends, Today we are sharing with “200 Important Phrasal Verbs List for Competitive Exams”. This is very useful for upcoming exams like SSC CGL T1 & T2, CHSL, CPO, MTS, Stenographer and other competitive exams.

1. Account for: Explain the reason, answer for

Use: I can't account for his unusual behaviour in this matter.

 

2. Ask after: Ask about the welfare, inquire after

Use: I met your brother at the party, he asked after you.

 

3. Ask for: Request for

Use: She asked for a glass of water.

 

4. Back out: Go back on, withdraw from promise

Use: He agreed to help but backed out at the last moment.

 

5. Be in for: About to take place

Use: On account of his bad habits he is in for trouble.

 

6. Bear away: Win

Use: Suhani bore away the first prize in the dance competition.

 

7. Bear on/upon: Relevant, bearing on

Use: Your remarks have no bearing on the main problem.

 

8. Bear out: Support the argument, Corroborate

Use: I am sure my classmates will bear out my statement.

 

9. Bear with: To show patience, co operate

Use: In view of the heavy losses suffered by the company, the shareholders were requested to bear with.

 

10. Blow out: Extinguish

Use: The candle blew out as the gust of wind came in.

 

11. Blow over: Pass off without harm, come to an end

 

Use: Don’t worry, the crisis are likely to blow over.

 

12. Blow up: Explode, start suddenly

Use: The plan of the enemy to blow up the fly over was foiled by the ploice.

 

13. Break down: Emotional collapse, stop functioning

Use: While giving evidence in the court, she broke down

 

14. Break into: Enter by force

Use: The robbers broke into his house last night.

 

15. Break off: Come to an end, unsuccessfully

Use: The talks between India and  China broke off.

 

16. Break out: Spread (war, epidemic, fire, riots)

Use: The fear that AIDS has broken out in India is not unfounded.

 

17. Break through : discover a secret, major achievement

Use: There is no hope of break through in the murder case.

 

18. Break up: Terminate

Use: The college will break up next week for summer vacation.

 

19. Break up with: Qurrael

Use: After long and fruitful friendship the two friends broken up with each other.

 

20. Break open: Open by force

Use: The theif broke open the lock and stole money.

 

21. Bring about: Cause to happen

Use: The administration helped to bring about a peaceful settlement.

 

22. Bring out: Explain the meaning, publish

Use: When asked to explain, she could not bring out the meaning of the poem.

 

23. Bring round: To make one agree, bring to senses

 

Use: I was able to bring my mother round to my views with great difficulty.

 

24. Bring up: Rear, educate

Use: Fathers are beginning to play a bigger role in bringing up their children.

 

25. Call at: Visit a place to meet

Use: I called out the residence of my boss ye4sterday.

 

26. Call for: necessary, require

Use: For the unity of the country discipline among the people is called for.

 

27. Call in/call out: Send for help

Use: The police were called in without delay by the  residents.

 

28. Call off: Suspend  or abandon

Use: We decided to call off the strike.

 

29. Call on: Go and visit a person

Use: It is a tradition for the Prime Minister to call on the President

 

30. Call out: Ask to come for help

Use: The National Guards has been called out.

 

31. Call up: To telephone, recall

Use: Many  of my friends called me up to congratulate me.

 

32. Call upon: Appeal, exhort

Use: He was called upon to prove the correctness of the press reports.

 

33. Carry away by: Lose control

Use: On hearing the news of his success he was carried away by joy.

 

34. Carry on: Continue

Use: Now it is difficult to carry on this business in the teeth of stiff competition

 

35. Carry out: Implement, obey, execute

Use: It is not likely that your father will carry out the threat of disinheriting you.

 

36. Cast away: Throw away as useless

Use: We usually give you servants the old clothes which we cast away

 

37. Cast down: Dejected, down cast

Use: Now a days he is cast down as a result of his failure in the examination.

 

38. Cast off: Release, remove

Use: Organization must cast off old fashioned practices in order to survive.

 

39. Catch up with: Make up for deficiency, overtake

 

Use: He remained ill for many days bu caught up with they pending work very soon.

 

40. Come about: Happen

Use: It is not good that such an unfortunate accident came about

 

41. Come by: Get

Use: How have you come by such a precious diamond?

 

42. Come of: Belong to

Use: Reeta comes of a family of freedom fighters.

 

43. Come off: Take place as arranged, fade, get separated

Use: I was surprised to see that plaster had come off the walls.

 

44. Come over: Get over, overcome

Use: You can come over your problems by honest means.

 

45. Come round: Agree, recover from illness

Use: My father at first refused to let me continue study but he came round in the end.

 

46. Come upon: Come across, get by chance

Use: My friend came upon the evidence just by chance.

 

47. Cope with: Manage

Use: They coped with all their problems cheerfully.

 

48. Cut down: Curtail, reduce

Use: Since you are out of job these days, you must cut down your expenditure.

 

49. Cut off: Discontinue, die, remove

Use: Gas supplies have now been cut off.

 

50. (Be) cut out for: Suitable

Use: He is cut out for  an administrative career.

 

51. Cut out: To take piece form the whole

Use: He cut out a piece of the cake.

 

52. Die down: Gradually disappear

Use: The wind has died down.

 

53. Die out: Become out of use.

Use: He thought that the custom had died out a long time ago.

 

54. Dispose of: Sell off

Use: She has decided to dispose of her old house

 

55. Dispose to: Willing, inclined favourably

Use: My friend is disposed to discussing the problems thoroughly.

 

56. Do away with: Eradicate

Use: We should do away with the social evils.

 

57. Do for: Serve the purpose

Use: This book is do for the SSC Examination.

 

58. Done with: Have no relation

Use: I have done with him because of his dishonesty.

 

59. Do without: Dispense with, to manage without

Use: We cannot do without fan in summer.

 

60. Done for, done in: Be ruined

Use: He appears to be done for since he has lost heavily in gambling

 

61. Draw up: To write, compose

Use: I was busy drawing up plans for the new course.

 

62. Draw on or upon: To get money form

Use: He was able to draw on vast reserves of talent.

 

63. Drop in: To pay a short visit

Use: I thought I’d just drop in and see how you were.

 

64. Drop out: Retire in the midst of doing something

 

Use: She could not qualify for the selection as she dropped out while the race was in progress.

 

65. Fall back: Retreat

Use: The rioters fell back when the police arrived.

 

66. Fall back on: Depend on

Use: You must save money to fall back on it in old age.

 

67. Fall off: Decrease in number, get separated

Use: In the wake of roof tragedy the admissions in the school have fallen off.

 

68. Fall out: Quarrel

Use: The two friends appear to have fallen out over a minor issue.

 

69. Fall in with: Agree with

Use: Instead of Challenging the lie, she fell in with their views.

 

70. Fall through: To remain incomplete, fail

Use: For want of sufficient funds your new project is likely to fall through.

 

71. Follow up: Pursue after the first attempt

Use: The Idea has been followed up by a group of researches.

 

72. Get ahead: Go forward

Use: You can get ahead of your rivals only by hard work.

 

73. Get along: Be friendly

Use: They can’t get along together because of temperamental nature.

 

74. Get awat: Escape

Use: The got away on scooter.

 

75. Get on with: Pull with, get together

Use: Both husband and wife are getting along on well with each other.

 

76. Get over: Recover form illness or shock come over

Use: He is still trying to get over the financial crisis.

 

77. Get through: Pass through, succeed

Use: It is not possible to get through examination without labour.

 

78. Get up: Rise from bed

Use: The woman got up from her chair with the baby in her arms.

 

79. Give in: Surrender, agree

Use: At first she was adamant but at last she gave in to the request of her friend.

 

80. Give out: Announce verbally, emit

Use: It was given out that she had failed.

 

81. Give way: Collapse under pressure, break

Use: The roof of the new house gave away due to poor material.

 

82. Given to: Accustomed to

Use: He is given to smoking

 

83. Go back on: Withdraw, back out

Use: One should not go back on one’s promise

 

84. Go down: Be believed

Use: Your excuse will not go down.

 

85. Go in for: Buy, paradise to enter a contest

Use: I thought of going in for teaching

 

86. Go off: Explode

Use: When he was cleaning his gun it went off and killed him.

 

87. Go on: Continue

Use: There is no need to go on arguing about it.

 

88. Go over: Examine carefully, look over

Use: On going over the balance sheet of the company the auditors have found serious mistakes.

 

89. Go through: Read hurriedly, endure

Use: He din’t lend me the newspaper because he was going through it.

 

90. Go up: Rise, increase

Use: As a result of a sharp rise in prices the price of washing soap has gone up

 

91. Hand out: Distribute

Use: Hand out the books to the students

 

92. Hand over: Give charge or authority

Use: He has not handed over charge to the new manager.

 

93. Hang about: Stay waiting, roam about

Use: The boys hanging about girl’s hostel were rounded up by the police.

 

94. Hold on: Carry on, bear difficulties, persist

Use: Inspite  of financial difficulties he held on and succeeded in the long run.

 

95. Hold out: Resist

Use: When the robbers ran short of ammunition the could no longer hold out.

 

96. Hold over: Postpone

Use: Most of the bill are held over till the next session of the Parliament.

 

97. Hold up: To stop In order to rob, delay

Use: The terrorist held up the motor car and kept the ladies as hostages.

 

98. Jump at: Accept happily

Use: He jumped at the offer of his boss to accept the job abroad.

 

99. Jump to: Arrive suddenly

Use: You should never jump to conclusions.

 

100. Keep from: Refrain from, not to mix with

Use: Always keep from selfish people because they can harm you anytime.

 

101. Keep off: Keep at distance

Use: There was a notice at the site, “keep off the bushes”

 

102. Keep on: Continue

Use: She kept on crying inspite of my assurance of help.

 

103. Keep up: Maintain

Use: Always try t keep up the standard of life even in the face of crises.

 

104. Keep up with: Try to move with, not to fall behind

Use: Young men should keep up with the latest development  in international field.

 

105. Lay by: Save money

Use: The wiser men always lay by money for their old age.

 

106. Laid up with: Confined to bed

Use: She is not going out as she is laid up with the flu.

 

107. Lay down: Establish a rule, sacrifice, surrender

Use: The conditions laid down by the Department of Health were violated by the nursing homes.

 

108. Lay off: To discontinue work, dismiss temporarily

Use: The workers have been laid off for want of raw material.

 

109. Lay out: Plan building

Use: A number of gardens were laid out by the Moghuls.

 

110. Let down: Humiliate, to lower down

Use: We should never let down our friends.

 

111. Let into: Allow to enter

Use: After repeat4ed requests he was let into the classroom.

 

112. Let off: To free from punishment, pardon

Use: She was let off by the Principal with light punishment.

 

113. Let (somebody ) in on: Share a secret

Use: I will not let her in on my plans.

 

114. Let up: Cessation, respite

Use: There is no let up in heat during June.

 

115. Live on: Depend for food

Use: The Lion is carnivorous and lives on flesh.

 

116. Live by: Means/manner

Use: You must learn to live by honest means.

 

117. Live off: Source of Income

Use: They were living off rental income

 

118. Look about: In search of, on the watch

Use: The thirsty crow was looking about water here and there.

 

119. Look after: Take care of

Use: In her old age she has no one to look after her.

 

120. Loot at: See carefully

Use: The boys are looking at the sky.

 

121. Look back on: To think of the past.

Use: People can often look back and reflect on happy childhood memories.

 

122. Look for: Search for a lost thing

Use: She was looking for her lost things.

 

123. Look down upon: Hate

Use: It is folly on your part to look down upon the poor students.

 

124. Look into: Investigate the matter

Use: A committee was setup to look into the matter.

 

125. Look on: To see as a spectator

Use: His parents looked on with a triumphant smile.

 

126. Look over: Examine carefully, go over

Use: The examiner has yet to look over practice note books.

 

127. Look out: Watch out, careful, beware

Use: Look out, there is a snake under the bush.

 

128. Look out for: In search of, on the watch

Use: He is looking out for a decent job

 

129. Look to: Rely upon, be careful

Use: The poor look to financial help from the government.

 

130. Look up: Consult some book for a word, rise

Use: Please look up this word in the dictionary.

 

131. Look upto: Respect

Use: His younger brother looks up to him and obeys his every order.

 

132. Look upon: Consider, regard

Use: We must look upon social evils as nuisance

 

133. Make off with/away with: Run away, destroy

Use: They made off with the cash and fled.

 

134. Make out: Understand the meaning

Use: The police could not make out the coded message they intercepted.

 

135. Make over: Transfer possession, convert

Use: Since she had no legal heir, she made over her house in charity.

 

136. Make up: To end quarrel, compose

Use: You should make an effort to make up a quarrel with your friend.

 

137. Pass away: Die, expire

Use: On the passing away of his father I sent him a message of condolence.

 

138. Pass for: Regarded to be

Use: The TATAs pass for philanthropists in the country.

 

139. Pass off: Take place

Use: The elections are likely to pass off peacefully.

 

140. Pass oneself off: Show off

Use: The hypocrites always pass themselves off as honest persons.

 

141. Pass through: Go through, undergo, endure

Use: He is passing through financial difficulties these days.

 

142. Pass out: Leave after completing education

Use: The cadets will pass out next month after completing their training.

 

143. Pull down: Demolish a structure

Use: Why did they pull the shops down?

 

144. Pull off: Succeed

Use: India pulled off victory in the last stage of the match.

 

145. Pull through: Recover from illness

Use: I think she’ll pull through her serious illness very soon.

 

146. Pull up: Stop, scold

Use: The students were pulled up by the Principal for their misbehaviour with the class teacher.

 

147. Pull with: Live together, get on with

Use: He is pulling well with his wife these days.

 

148. Put down: Crush, keep down

Use: The riots were put down by the police.

 

149. Put off: Postpone, avoid, discourage

Use: The meeting had to be put off because the President couldn’t come.

 

150. Put on: Wear, pretend

Use: It is difficult to put on the appearance of innocence for a long time.

 

151. Put out: Extinguish

Use: The fire was put out suddenly.

 

152. Put up: Stays, question

Use: He is putting up at a hostel these days.

 

153. Put up with: Tolerate patiently

Use: For an honorable person it is difficult to put up with the haughty behavior of the Directors.

 

154. Round up: Arrest

Use: The police rounded up anti-social elements last night.

 

155. Run after: Pursue, hanker after

Use: We should not run after money.

 

156. Run down: Criticize, poor health

Use: As a result of long illness she has run down a lot.

 

157. Run into: Come across, meet by chance

Use: While walking along the roadside I ran into my childhood friend.

 

158. Run out: Come to an end

Use: When the rations ran out, the head office was informed.

 

159. Run over: Crush under

Use: He was run over by speeding car.

 

160. Run through: Waste money

Use: It is a pity that he has run through his fortune over gambling and drinking.

 

161. See off: To escort a guest for his departure.

Use: His friends were present so at the station to see him off.

 

162. See through: Discover something hidden, motive

Use: Man has grown so clever that it is difficult to see through this tricks.

 

163. Send for: Summon

Use: She sent for a doctor w3hen her husband fell ill.

 

164. Set about: Start doing

Use: As soon as she reached home, she set about calling up her friends.

 

165. Set aside: Allocate, strike down, turn down.

Use: The High Court set aside the verdict of the lower court in this sensitive matter.

 

166. Set in: Begin

Use: As soon as the summer set in, the reptiles come out of hibernation.

 

167. Set off: To start a series of events, process, improve

Use: Cosmetics set off the natural grace.

 

168. Set up: Establish

Use: The factory was set up by his uncle.

 

169. Set forth: Start on a journey, explain

Use: The party will set forth its view on globalization at a public rally.

 

170. Set out: Start on a journey, set forth

Use: No sooner was the hunter informed of lion’s presence in the forest than he set out.

 

171. Sit back: Relax

Use: He believes that he has the right to sit back while others should work hard.

 

172. Sit up: Stay out of bed, stay up

Use: She sat up till her son returned.

 

173. Stand by: Support, help

Use: Although he promised to stand by me in difficulties, he did not live up to it.

 

174. Stand for: Represent

Use: T.E.C stands for Technical Education Certificate.

 

175. Stand out: To be conspicuous

Use: She stand out from the crowd because of her amiable manners.

 

176. Stand up for: Defend

Use: It is your duty to stand up always for the poor.

 

177. Strike off: Remove from the list

Use: His name has been struck off the admission list.

 

178. Take after: Resemble

Use: She always reminds me of her mother since she takes after her mother.

 

179. Take down: Write

Use: She was busy in talking down the dictation which the teacher was giving.

 

180. Take off: Remove, leave the ground, improve.

Use: It is difficult for Indian economy to take off in the absence of heavy investment.

 

181. Take over: Take up responsibility

Use: The agency tried to take over another company

 

182. Taken to : Form a habit

Use: He tookto wearing black leather jackets.

 

183. Take up: Start a hobby or study, occupy

Use: He has taken up modelling as a career.

 

184. Tell upon: Affect adversely

Use: I have warned him that heavy work will tell upon his health.

 

185. Taken in: Be deceived

Use: For all your intelligence you are likely to be taken in by impostors.

 

186. Take for: Suppose to be, identify

Use: I took you for a noble person.

 

187. Taken aback: Be surprised

Use: I was taken aback to hear of thee news of his failure.

 

188. Talk over: Discuss a matter

Use: I agreed to go home and talk over the matter.

 

189. Turn down: Reject, strike down

Use: I turned down the request of my friend to go to Simla.

 

190. Turn off: Stop, switch off

Use: Please make it a point to turn off water tap before you go out.

 

191. Turn on: Switch on, start

Use: She turned on the shower to take bath.

 

192. Turn over: Change, capsize, upset

Use: The boat turned over and ten persons were drowned.

 

193. Turn out: Prove, reveal, expel

Use: Nothing ever turned out right for me in life.

 

194. Turn up: Arrive, take place

Use: Who can say what will turn up next?

 

195. Watch out: Look out, careful

Use: If you do not watch out, he might harm you.

 

196. Wipe away: Cleanse, remove

Use: The marks of blood were wiped away by the accused.

 

197. Wipe out: Destroy completely

Use: We must try to wipe out poverty from the country.

 

198. Wind up: Bring to an end

Use: We were forced to wind up the business on account of heavy loss.

 

199. Work out: Solve the problem

Use: He is very intelligent and can work out any difficult problem.

 

200. Work up: Incite, instigate

Use: The politicians should not try to work up communal frenzy.

 

201. Work upon: Influence

Use: The leader tried to work upon the mob.

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