On Tuesday, I went live on our Facebook page to share 25 Phrasal Verbs You Can Use At Work. I shared one phrasal verb for every letter of the alphabet (except for one letter. I didn’t find any phrasal verbs beginning with the letter ‘x’!)
Watch the replay here!
Or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
These are the phrasal verbs shared:
1. abide by
to follow a rule, decision, or instruction
They promised to abide by the rules of the contest.
2. back out
to decide not to do something you agreed to do
I promised to help and I’m not backing out now.
back out of: We’re hoping that no one will back out of the deal.
3. carry over
to continue past a certain point
The meeting carried over into the afternoon because there was so much to talk about.
4. decide on
to choose someone or something from a number of possible choices
Thomas spent a long time looking at apartments around the area, but eventually decided on one near his work.
5. embark on/upon
to start a new project or activity, usually one that will be difficult and will take time
After leaving college, Lucy embarked on an acting career.
6. face up to
to accept an unpleasant truth
Many people find it hard to face up to the fact that they are getting old.
7. gear up
to prepare yourself, or to prepare something for an activity or event
The shops are gearing up for the New Year sales.
8. harp on
to keep talking or complaining about something in a way that makes people bored or annoyed
I was late twice last week and my boss keeps harping on about it.
9. iron out
to deal successfully with a disagreement or problem, especially by removing the last remaining difficulties
They’re meeting in KL to iron out the final details of the contract.
10. jazz up
to make something more lively, exciting, or interesting
The show was getting stale so they jazzed it up with some new scenes.
11. knuckle down
to start working hard, especially when you should have done so earlier
It’s time you knuckled down to some work.
12. level with
(level with someone) to be honest with someone
I levelled with him about what happened that night.
13. make do with
to succeed in dealing with a situation by using what is available/despite not having something
There’s no coffee, so we’ll have to make do with tea.
14. narrow down
to reduce the number of possibilities or choices
We’re working to narrow down the list of possible suspects.
15. occur to
(occur to someone) if a thought or idea occurs to you, you suddenly and unexpectedly start to think about it
The thought of giving up never occurred to me.
Didn’t it occur to you to help me when you saw how much trouble I was in?
16. pair up
to form a pair, or to make two people form a pair
Two students from each class pair up to produce a short play.
17. quit on
to stop working, associating or being friends with someone, especially when they need support
They quit on me just when things got rough.
to stop working or functioning
My phone has quit on me–can I borrow yours?
18. ramble on
to talk or write about something for a long time in a way that is boring, annoying, or confusing
Quit rambling on–I’m tired of listening to you.
19. scale back
to make something smaller than originally planned
They had to scale back the project because of the costs.
20. trade off
to accept something you don’t really want to get something you do want
We had to trade off space for the location when buying the apartment.
21. usher in
to make an activity or process begin
The talks ushered in a new era of international cooperation.
22. venture forth
to leave somewhere safe or comfortable
If the storm has finished, we could venture forth.
23. weigh in on
to enter an argument or discussion to express a strongly felt idea
She weighed in on their immigration policies.
24. yield to
to surrender
I tried hard to resist, but in the end I yielded to temptation and ate it all.
25. zero in on
(zero in on someone/something) to start to give all your attention to a particular person or thing
The newspapers have zeroed in on his private life.
After learning these phrasal verbs, try to apply them in your daily conversations or at work. Keep listening and reading in English to learn even more phrasal verbs!
