The 50 Most Useful English Phrasal Verbs

Talking and communicating

"I brought up the idea at dinner, but nobody really picked up on it. Tom just went on about his weekend for twenty minutes. Eventually I had to cut in and say, 'Can we get back to the point?' He said he'd think it over, but I could tell he'd already tuned out."

Bring up — to introduce a topic into conversation. "She brought up the parking problem at the meeting." More casual than "raise" — you bring things up with friends, you raise issues in formal settings.

Pick up on — to notice something that isn't stated directly. "He didn't pick up on the sarcasm in her voice." Useful for talking about social cues and subtext.

Go on about — to talk about something for too long. "He went on about his holiday for half an hour." Mildly negative — it implies the listener is bored.

Cut in — to interrupt someone who's speaking. "Sorry to cut in, but we're running out of time." More polite than "interrupt" when you apologise first.

Get back to — to return to an earlier topic or task. "Let's get back to what you were saying before." Extremely common in both casual and professional conversation.

Think over — to consider something carefully before deciding. "I need to think it over before I give you an answer." The "over" implies thoroughness — you're turning the idea around in your head.

Tune out — to stop paying attention. "I tried to listen, but I completely tuned out after ten minutes." Honest and informal.

Point out — to draw attention to a fact or detail. "She pointed out that nobody had actually read the report." Works in both polite disagreement and neutral observation.

Want to test yourself on these? Try our communication phrasal verbs practice exercise.

Work and business

"We need to set up a call with the client before Friday. I know you're already dealing with the budget issue, but if we don't follow up soon, they might pull out. Can you lay out the options before tomorrow's meeting?"

Set up — to arrange or organise something. "I'll set up a meeting for next week." One of the most versatile phrasal verbs in professional English — it works for meetings, systems, equipment, accounts.

Take on — to accept responsibility for a task or role. "She took on the project after David left." Implies willingness, sometimes with a sense of added burden.

Deal with — to handle a problem or situation. "Who's dealing with the customer complaints?" Neutral and professional. You'll hear this ten times a day in any office.

Follow up — to take further action after an initial step. "I'll follow up with an email after the call." Essential in business English — it signals reliability.

Pull out — to withdraw from an agreement or plan. "The investor pulled out at the last minute." Can also be literal, but the figurative meaning is more useful at B1–B2.

Lay out — to explain or present something clearly. "Let me lay out the three options we have." Think of it as placing information on a table so everyone can see it.

Carry out — to complete or perform a task. "The team carried out the inspection on Tuesday." Slightly more formal than "do" — common in reports and professional updates.

If you're preparing for a B2-level exam, you'll meet these constantly in reading passages. Practising with B2 reading comprehension tests is one of the best ways to see them in natural context. You can also drill them directly in our work and business phrasal verbs quiz.

Problems, decisions, and figuring things out

"The heating broke down again last night. I tried to work out what was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out. We'll have to call someone to sort it out. I was going to put it off until next month, but it turns out the warranty runs out on Friday."

Break down — to stop working (machines, systems, processes). "The car broke down on the motorway." Also used for negotiations or communication: "Talks broke down after three hours."

Work out — to calculate or find a solution. "I'm trying to work out how much we owe." In British English, this is the go-to phrase for problem-solving. In American English, "figure out" often takes its place.

Figure out — to understand something after thinking about it. "I can't figure out how to use this app." Slightly more informal than "work out," and more common in American English.

Sort out — to resolve or organise something messy. "I need to sort out my visa paperwork." Very British, very useful. Implies something was in disorder and you're fixing it.

Put off — to delay or postpone. "Stop putting off the dentist appointment." Often carries a slight judgement — the delay is usually unjustified.

Turn out — to have an unexpected result. "It turned out she was right all along." Hard to replace with a single word — "transpire" is too formal, "happen" doesn't capture the surprise element.

Run out (of) — to have no more of something. "We've run out of milk." Simple but essential. Also works for time: "We're running out of time."

Practise these in context with our problem-solving phrasal verbs exercise.

Relationships and social life

"I got along with most of my flatmates, but I fell out with Jake over money. We didn't speak for weeks. Eventually a mutual friend helped us make up. Now we hang out most weekends — it's like nothing happened. His sister just broke up with her boyfriend, though, so things at their place are a bit tense."

Get along (with) — to have a good relationship with someone. "Do you get along with your colleagues?" "Get on with" means the same thing in British English.

Fall out (with) — to have an argument that damages a relationship. "They fell out over who should pay the bill." More serious than a disagreement — it implies a real rift.

Make up — to become friends again after an argument. "They made up after a few days." Don't confuse this with "make up" meaning to invent a story — context always tells you which one.

Hang out — to spend time together casually. "We just hung out at her place and watched films." Informal. You hang out with friends, not with your boss.

Break up (with) — to end a romantic relationship. "They broke up after two years." One of the first phrasal verbs most learners encounter, often through song lyrics.

Ask out — to invite someone on a date. "He finally asked her out." Short, specific, and there's no good single-word replacement for it.

Look after — to take care of someone or something. "Can you look after my cat while I'm away?" Also works for responsibilities: "She looks after the marketing budget."

Test how well you know these with our relationships phrasal verbs practice quiz.

Daily routines and getting around

"I usually wake up around seven, get up a few minutes later, and head out by eight. I drop off my daughter at school, then carry on to the office. If I set off early enough, I can pick her up before five. Some days I end up staying late, though."

Wake up — to stop sleeping. "I woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn't fall back asleep." Surprisingly often confused with "get up."

Get up — to physically leave your bed. "I wake up at seven but don't get up until half past." The distinction matters: you can wake up and lie there for an hour.

Head out — to leave, to start going somewhere. "I'm heading out now — see you later." Casual and natural-sounding.

Drop off — to deliver someone or something to a place. "I'll drop you off at the station." Also means to fall asleep briefly: "I dropped off during the film."

Carry on — to continue. "Carry on without me — I'll catch up." Very common in British English. Works for physical journeys and tasks alike.

Set off — to begin a journey. "We set off at dawn to avoid traffic." Slightly more deliberate than "leave" — it implies a destination and purpose.

Pick up — to collect someone or something. "I'll pick up the kids from school." Also means to learn something informally: "She picked up Spanish while living in Madrid."

End up — to eventually arrive at a situation, often unplanned. "We ended up staying until midnight." This one captures life's unpredictability — plans change, and "end up" is how you describe what actually happened.

Practise using these in our daily routines phrasal verbs exercise.

Learning and improving yourself

"I signed up for an online course last month, thinking I'd breeze through it. I quickly fell behind — I kept giving up on the harder modules instead of keeping up with the weekly tasks. Eventually I went over the first few lessons again, looked up the terms I'd skipped, and things started to click."

Sign up (for) — to register or enrol. "I signed up for a photography class." Works for courses, newsletters, services, events — anything requiring registration.

Fall behind — to fail to keep pace with others or with a schedule. "If you miss two classes, you'll fall behind quickly." The opposite of "keep up."

Keep up (with) — to maintain the same speed or level as something. "I read the news every day to keep up with current events." Also works for people: "She walks so fast I can't keep up."

Give up — to stop trying. "Don't give up — you're closer than you think." Also means to quit a habit: "He gave up smoking last year."

Go over — to review or examine something. "Let's go over the answers together." Perfect for study contexts. If you're preparing for a grammar-focused exam, you might go over B2 use-of-english exercises to see phrasal verbs tested in gap-fill format.

Look up — to search for information. "I had to look up every other word in the article." If you're reading this post, you've probably looked up a few phrasal verbs already today.

Reinforce this group with our learning phrasal verbs practice exercise.

Money, shopping, and paying

"I came across a great jacket online, but the price was steep. I was about to close the tab when they knocked 30% off. I went ahead and bought it — then realised I'd been ripped off on shipping. Now I'll have to cut back on eating out for the rest of the month to make up for it."

Come across — to find something by chance. "I came across an old photo in a drawer." Not limited to shopping, but very natural when you're browsing without a specific goal.

Knock off — to reduce a price. "They knocked £20 off because of a small scratch." Informal, but you'll hear it in shops and markets everywhere.

Go ahead — to proceed with something. "We decided to go ahead with the purchase." Works as permission too: "Go ahead, take the last one."

Rip off — to charge someone too much. "£15 for a sandwich? We got ripped off." The noun form — "a rip-off" — is equally useful: "That hotel was a total rip-off."

Cut back (on) — to reduce spending or consumption. "We're cutting back on takeaways this month." Also works for anything you want to reduce: sugar, screen time, overtime.

Make up for — to compensate for something. "He bought her flowers to make up for forgetting her birthday." Different from "make up" (reconcile) in the relationships group — the "for" changes the meaning entirely.

Save up (for) — to accumulate money over time for a purpose. "I'm saving up for a trip to Japan." The "up" implies gradual progress toward a goal.

Try our money and shopping phrasal verbs quiz to lock these in.

How to make these stick

You've just read 50 phrasal verbs. Tomorrow you'll remember maybe fifteen. That's not a failure of effort — it's how memory works. The gap between "I recognise this" and "I use this without thinking" is where most learners get stuck.

The single best technique I've seen work at this level: record yourself giving a 60-second monologue using five phrasal verbs from one group. Don't script it — just hit record on your phone and talk. Describe your morning using the daily routines group. Complain about a purchase using the money group. Retell a disagreement using the relationships group. It's uncomfortable the first time. By the third attempt, the verbs start coming without the mental translation step. That's the shift you're after.

Beyond that, read as much as you can at your level. Phrasal verbs appear constantly in natural English, and encountering them in different contexts is what builds real recognition. If you're at B1, our B1 reading practice tests are full of them. At B2, the texts get more idiomatic — which is exactly the progression you want.

If you're not sure whether your vocabulary is at B1 or B2 level, our vocabulary level test will tell you — and help you decide which groups to tackle first.