Phrasal Verbs — High-Frequency List for Exams

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Phrasal Verbs — High-Frequency List for Exams

A phrasal verb combines a verb with one or two particles — a preposition, an adverb, or both — to create a meaning that is often completely different from the meaning of the individual words. "Give up" has nothing obviously to do with the physical direction "up," yet it means "to stop trying" or "to quit," and no amount of knowing "give" and "up" separately will hand you that meaning for free. SSC, RRB and banking exams test phrasal verbs constantly, in vocabulary sections, in cloze tests, and in sentence-completion questions, precisely because they cannot be guessed from their parts the way many single-root words can. This chapter lists more than fifty high-frequency phrasal verbs, each with its meaning and a sentence showing it in natural use, organised loosely by theme so that related verbs reinforce each other.

A quick usage note before the lists: many phrasal verbs are separable, meaning a noun or pronoun object can sit between the verb and its particle ("turn the light off" or "turn off the light" are both correct, and "turn it off" is the only correct order with a pronoun). Others are inseparable, meaning the object must always follow the full phrasal verb as a unit ("look after the children," never "look the children after"). This chapter does not mark every single verb for separability, since exam papers rarely test this distinction directly, but it is worth noticing as you read through the examples, since it affects natural sentence construction in descriptive writing sections.

Formal Versus Informal Register: When to Use a Phrasal Verb

One point worth understanding for descriptive writing sections, even though it is rarely tested directly in objective papers, is that phrasal verbs generally belong to a more informal, conversational register than their single-word Latinate equivalents. "Postpone" and "put off" mean essentially the same thing, but "postpone" sounds more formal and is usually preferred in an official letter or a report, while "put off" sounds more natural in everyday speech. Similarly, "investigate" is the formal equivalent of "look into," and "tolerate" is the formal equivalent of "put up with." Competitive exam descriptive papers — essays, letters, precis writing — generally reward a formal register, so while recognising phrasal verbs for objective questions is essential, you should lean towards their single-word equivalents when you are the one doing the writing in a formal context. Objective vocabulary questions, by contrast, test both forms equally and expect you to recognise the connection between them, so building a mental link between each phrasal verb and its more formal single-word synonym is doubly useful: it helps you answer synonym-matching questions, and it improves the register of your own formal writing at the same time.

Phrasal Verbs — Starting, Continuing and Stopping

Give up — to stop trying or to quit: He decided to give up smoking after his doctor's warning.
Carry on — to continue: Please carry on with your work; do not stop on my account.
Go on — to continue, or to happen: The meeting went on for nearly three hours.
Keep on — to continue doing something persistently: She kept on asking the same question until someone answered.
Set off — to begin a journey: We set off for the airport at five in the morning.
Set out — to begin an undertaking with a specific purpose: He set out to prove that the theory was wrong.
Start off — to begin, often in a particular way: The speech started off with a joke to relax the audience.
Break off — to stop suddenly, or to end a relationship: The two companies broke off their partnership after the dispute.
Call off — to cancel: Organisers were forced to call off the event due to heavy rain.
Put off — to postpone: They put off the wedding until next spring.
Wind up — to bring to a close, or to end up in a certain situation: The company decided to wind up its operations in that city.
Finish off — to complete the last part of something: Let us finish off this chapter before we take a break.

Phrasal Verbs — Relationships and Communication

Look after — to take care of: She looks after her grandmother every weekend.
Look up to — to admire or respect: Young players look up to him as a role model.
Look down on — to regard with contempt or as inferior: He should not look down on people just because they are less educated.
Fall out — to quarrel and stop being friendly: The two brothers fell out over a property dispute.
Make up — to reconcile after a quarrel, or to invent a story: They made up after a week of not speaking to each other.
Put up with — to tolerate: I cannot put up with this kind of behaviour any longer.
Stand up for — to defend or support: A good leader must stand up for the rights of every employee.
Turn against — to become hostile towards someone previously supported: The public quickly turned against the minister after the scandal.
Get along with — to have a good relationship with: She gets along with almost everyone in the office.
Bring up — to raise a child, or to mention a topic: They brought up their children with strong moral values.
Talk someone into — to persuade someone to do something: He talked his friend into joining the gym with him.
Point out — to indicate or draw attention to: The teacher pointed out several mistakes in the essay.

Phrasal Verbs — Work, Study and Problem-Solving

Look into — to investigate: The police promised to look into the matter thoroughly.
Figure out — to understand or solve after thought: I cannot figure out why the machine stopped working.
Work out — to solve a problem, or to exercise: It took the whole team a week to work out a solution.
Sort out — to resolve or organise: Please sort out these files before the audit.
Come up with — to produce an idea or plan: The designer came up with a brilliant new concept overnight.
Deal with — to handle a problem or situation: The manager had to deal with several complaints today.
Take on — to accept a responsibility or challenge: She decided to take on the extra project despite her workload.
Carry out — to perform or execute: The soldiers carried out their orders without question.
Fill in — to complete a form, or to substitute for someone: Please fill in your details on this form.
Hand in — to submit: Students must hand in their assignments by Friday.
Hand over — to give control or possession to another: The outgoing officer handed over charge to his successor.
Take over — to assume control: The new CEO will take over the company next month.
Draw up — to prepare a formal document: The lawyer drew up the contract within two days.
Go through — to examine carefully, or to experience: Please go through the report before the meeting.
Come across — to find unexpectedly: I came across an old letter while cleaning the attic.

Phrasal Verbs — Movement, Travel and Arrival

Get away — to escape or leave: The thief managed to get away before the police arrived.
Get by — to manage with limited resources: They get by on a very modest income.
Get over — to recover from an illness, loss, or difficulty: It took her months to get over the disappointment.
Get through — to complete something successfully, or to reach someone by phone: I finally got through to the customer care number after several tries.
Turn up — to arrive, often unexpectedly: He turned up at the party without an invitation.
Show up — to arrive or appear: Only half the guests showed up for the ceremony.
Drop by — to visit briefly and informally: Feel free to drop by whenever you are in the area.
Set in — to begin and establish itself, usually of weather or a condition: Winter set in early this year.
Come round — to regain consciousness, or to visit: She came round a few minutes after fainting.
Pull through — to survive a difficult situation: The patient was critical, but the doctors expect him to pull through.
Head off — to leave, or to prevent something from happening: We headed off before the traffic got worse.

Phrasal Verbs — Growth, Change and Discovery

Bring about — to cause something to happen: The new policy brought about significant changes in the industry.
Bring out — to launch or reveal: The company plans to bring out a new model next year.
Turn out — to result in a particular way, or to attend: The plan turned out better than expected.
Turn into — to become or transform into: The friendly discussion turned into a heated argument.
Grow up — to develop from childhood into adulthood: He grew up in a small village near the coast.
Grow out of — to become too mature or too big for something: She has grown out of her childhood fears.
Break out — to start suddenly, usually of something unwelcome: A fire broke out in the warehouse last night.
Break down — to stop functioning, or to become emotionally overwhelmed: The car broke down on the highway.
Build up — to increase gradually: Tension had been building up between the two nations for months.
Die out — to become extinct or disappear gradually: Many traditional crafts are dying out due to lack of interest.
Find out — to discover information: She found out the truth only after several years.
Bring down — to reduce, or to cause the fall of a government or leader: The scandal eventually brought down the entire cabinet.

Phrasal Verbs — Everyday and Miscellaneous Use

Run out of — to have no more of something left: We ran out of fuel halfway through the journey.
Take after — to resemble a parent or relative: She takes after her mother in both looks and temperament.
Show off — to display something proudly, often excessively: He loves to show off his new car to the neighbours.
Cut down on — to reduce the amount of something: The doctor advised him to cut down on sugar.
Do without — to manage without something: We had to do without electricity for two days.
Put away — to store something in its proper place: Please put away your toys before dinner.
Throw away — to discard: Do not throw away those old newspapers; we can recycle them.
Give away — to give something for free, or to reveal a secret: He gave away all his savings to charity.
Look forward to — to anticipate something with pleasure: We are looking forward to the summer holidays.
Rely on — to depend on: You can rely on him to keep his word.
Stand out — to be noticeably better or different: Her performance stood out among all the contestants.
Check in — to register at a hotel or airport: We need to check in two hours before the flight.
Check out — to leave a hotel after paying, or to examine something: Please check out of the room by noon.

Phrasal Verbs — Business, Money and Formal Contexts

Set up — to establish or start an organisation: They set up a small trading company right after college.
Cut back on — to reduce spending or usage: The government decided to cut back on unnecessary expenditure.
Pay off — to fully repay a debt, or to yield good results: Years of hard work finally paid off when she won the award.
Write off — to cancel a debt as unrecoverable, or to dismiss as a failure: The bank had to write off several bad loans that year.
Lay off — to dismiss employees, usually due to lack of work: The factory laid off nearly two hundred workers last quarter.
Roll out — to launch a new product or scheme officially: The company plans to roll out the new scheme nationwide by March.
Draw on — to make use of a resource or reserve: The report draws on data collected over the past decade.
Account for — to explain, or to constitute a certain proportion: Exports account for nearly a third of the country's revenue.
Fall through — to fail to happen as planned: The merger fell through at the last moment due to a legal dispute.
Back out — to withdraw from an agreement or commitment: The investor backed out of the deal just before signing.
Follow up — to pursue further action after an initial step: Please follow up with the client regarding the pending payment.
Sign up for — to formally register or enrol: She signed up for the online course last week.

This business-oriented set is especially relevant for banking and finance-adjacent exams, where reading comprehension passages regularly describe corporate mergers, government schemes, and financial reporting using exactly this vocabulary. A passage describing a company's quarterly results might use three or four of these phrasal verbs in close succession — "the firm decided to write off bad debts, lay off a section of its workforce, and roll out a cost-cutting plan that would pay off within two years" — so recognising them quickly, without pausing to puzzle over the particle, directly affects your reading speed and comprehension accuracy under timed conditions.

Why Phrasal Verbs Are Tested Heavily — and How to Prepare

Phrasal verbs are difficult precisely because their meaning cannot be derived logically from their parts, which is the opposite situation from root-word decoding covered elsewhere in this book. "Look into" does not mean "to look while inside something" — it means "to investigate." "Come across" does not describe crossing a road — it means "to find something unexpectedly." Because these meanings are essentially arbitrary from a learner's point of view, the only reliable preparation is repeated exposure through reading and active practice, ideally inside full sentences rather than as isolated definitions, exactly as this chapter presents them. Exam questions typically test phrasal verbs in one of three ways: a fill-in-the-blank sentence where you choose the correct particle to complete a given verb, a "choose the closest meaning" question where you match a phrasal verb to a single-word synonym, and an error-correction question where an incorrect particle has been substituted for the correct one.

One useful preparation habit is grouping phrasal verbs that share the same particle and noticing whether that particle carries a consistent shade of meaning across the group. The particle "up" frequently signals completion or increase — "finish up," "build up," "grow up," "wind up" (in the sense of concluding) all involve something reaching a fuller or final state. The particle "out" frequently signals discovery, removal, or extinguishing — "find out," "figure out," "throw out," "die out" all involve something coming into the open or being eliminated. These are loose tendencies rather than strict rules, and they will not help you with every single phrasal verb, but noticing them gives you an additional way to make an educated guess when you encounter an unfamiliar phrasal verb built from a particle you already recognise.

Phrasal Verbs — Emotion, Behaviour and Social Situations

Calm down — to become less angry or upset: Take a deep breath and calm down before you respond.
Cheer up — to become or make someone happier: A short walk usually cheers me up on a bad day.
Break up — to end a romantic relationship, or to disperse a gathering: The couple broke up after three years together.
Freak out — to become extremely upset or panicked: She freaked out when she saw the spider on the wall.
Get over — see the earlier entry under movement and travel; also used for emotional recovery: He still hasn't gotten over the loss of his job.
Own up to — to admit responsibility for something wrong: Eventually, he owned up to breaking the window.
Let down — to disappoint: I felt let down when the plan fell apart at the last minute.
Speak up — to talk more loudly, or to express an opinion boldly: If you disagree, you should speak up during the meeting.
Shut up — an informal, somewhat rude way of telling someone to stop talking: He told the noisy audience to shut up during the performance.
Act up — to behave badly or malfunction: The old printer has been acting up all week.
Wear off — for an effect or feeling to gradually disappear: The excitement of the new job soon wore off.
Live up to — to meet expectations: The sequel failed to live up to the original film's success.

A Worked Example: Same Verb, Different Particles, Different Meanings

To see just how much the particle changes everything, compare these phrasal verbs built on the single base verb "take": "take on" means to accept a responsibility; "take after" means to resemble a relative; "take over" means to assume control; "take in" can mean to understand fully, or to deceive someone, or to shelter someone; and "take off" means to remove clothing, or for an aircraft to leave the ground, or for a venture to suddenly become successful. Five completely different meanings, none of them predictable from "take" alone, each one entirely dependent on the particle attached to it. This is exactly why phrasal verbs must be learned and revised as complete units — verb plus particle together — rather than assuming that knowing the base verb gives you any real head start on guessing the combined meaning.

Quick Test Yourself

Choose the meaning of "give up" in: "He gave up smoking last year." (a) to increase (b) to stop trying or quit (c) to celebrate (d) to postpone
Answer: (b) to stop trying or quit
Choose the meaning of "look into" in: "The committee will look into the complaint." (a) to stare at (b) to investigate (c) to ignore (d) to approve
Answer: (b) to investigate
Fill in the blank: The two friends ______ over a small misunderstanding. (a) fell out (b) fell down (c) fell in (d) fell off
Answer: (a) fell out
Choose the meaning of "come across" in: "I came across an old photograph in the drawer." (a) to cross a road (b) to find unexpectedly (c) to argue (d) to remember clearly
Answer: (b) to find unexpectedly
Fill in the blank: Please ______ this form before submitting it. (a) fill in (b) fill up (c) fill down (d) fill off
Answer: (a) fill in
Choose the meaning of "take after" in: "She takes after her father." (a) to follow someone physically (b) to resemble (c) to obey (d) to replace
Answer: (b) to resemble
Choose the meaning of "put off" in: "They put off the meeting until next week." (a) to cancel permanently (b) to postpone (c) to attend early (d) to shorten
Answer: (b) to postpone
Fill in the blank: The fire ______ in the warehouse around midnight. (a) broke out (b) broke down (c) broke off (d) broke up
Answer: (a) broke out
Choose the meaning of "run out of" in: "We ran out of milk this morning." (a) to escape (b) to have none left (c) to hurry outside (d) to exercise
Answer: (b) to have none left
Choose the meaning of "wind up" in: "The company decided to wind up its Mumbai office." (a) to expand rapidly (b) to bring to a close (c) to relocate temporarily (d) to celebrate an anniversary
Answer: (b) to bring to a close
Choose the meaning of "write off" in: "The bank had to write off several bad loans." (a) to record carefully (b) to cancel as unrecoverable (c) to transfer to another branch (d) to publicise widely
Answer: (b) to cancel as unrecoverable
Choose the meaning of "own up to" in: "He finally owned up to breaking the vase." (a) to purchase (b) to admit responsibility for (c) to deny (d) to repair
Answer: (b) to admit responsibility for
Fill in the blank: The negotiations ______ through at the last minute, leaving both sides frustrated. (a) fell (b) broke (c) came (d) went
Answer: (a) fell (as in "fell through")

Notice that several of these questions test not just recognition of a phrasal verb's meaning but the ability to select the one correct particle from a set of plausible alternatives — exactly the skill that a real exam fill-in-the-blank question demands. Revisit any phrasal verb you got wrong, read its example sentence again, and try constructing one or two original sentences of your own using it. Active production, not just passive recognition, is what makes a phrasal verb stick firmly enough to recall instantly under exam pressure.

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