Phrasal Verbs A to Z

When I started to post on Instagram, I made 24 phrasal verb posts, one for each letter of the alphabet except for X and Y! I tried to choose phrasal verbs that are useful or interesting. Here they are! I hope you enjoy them! (You can find me on Instagram @learnenglishwithkatie.) 

ask out
= to invite someone on a date
He really liked her so he asked her out.

brush up
= to improve a skill or knowledge that you already have but perhaps haven't used recently
I'm going to do a course to brush up on my French. I learnt it at school but I can't remember much now.

chicken out
= to decide not to do something because you are scared, often at the last moment
He wanted to do a parachute jump but he chickened out at the last moment.

drop out
= to leave a course before finishing it.
She dropped out of university after a year and got a job instead.

egg on
= to encourage somebody to do something dangerous or stupid.
Two boys were fighting while the other children egged them on.

fess up
= to confess, admit
At first he denied it but eventually he fessed up and told me everything.
(This is modern and very informal.)

grow up
= to become an adult
I grew up near Nottingham.
(Don’t confuse “grow up” with “grow”. “Grow” just means “get bigger”. Plants grow. Hair grows. You can grow your business. Only children grow up.)

hang out
= spend time relaxing
A lot of young people like to hang out with their friends here.

iron out
= remove small problems
They are meeting to iron out the details of the contract.

jump at
= accept eagerly
When she was offered a job in America, she jumped at the chance to work abroad.

kick off
1. = start a football match
The match kicks off at 3 pm.
2. = when trouble starts
The fight kicked off when someone made a racist comment.

look up to
= admire or respect
The boy really looks up to his big brother. He wants to be like him one day.

mouth off
= speak angrily about something
He was mouthing off about his workload when his boss walked into the room!

nod off
= fall asleep
I was so tired that I nodded off in the middle of the film.

own up
= admit or confess
Somebody broke my favourite cup but nobody owned up to it.

pass away
= die
She passed away peacefully in her sleep.
("Pass away" sounds less direct, softer or more polite than "die" in some situations.)

quieten down
= become quieter
The children quietened down when the teacher played some relaxing music.

rip off
= cheat someone by asking for too much money.
Be careful at the airport. Some taxi drivers try to rip off the tourists.

set off / set out
= begin a journey
We need to set off at about 10 o'clock if we want to arrive in time for lunch.

be taken aback
= be surprised
I was taken aback when I passed my exam! I thought I had failed!
(This phrasal verb is usually used in the passive form.)

use up
= finish all of something
We've used up all the milk. I'm going to the shop to get some more.
He had a bath and used up all the hot water!

veg out
= relax, be lazy and do very little
We're really tired so we're just going to veg out on the sofa tonight.

while away
= spend time in a relaxed and pleasant way when you have nothing else to do
She whiled away the hours reading her favourite book.

zonk out
= fall heavily asleep from exhaustion or after drinking alcohol.
She was so tired that she zonked out on the sofa as soon as she sat down.


​If you would like to know how to improve your vocabulary, you will find my "English Vocabulary Challenge" e-book helpful. Get your copy by clicking on the button.
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