Phrasal Verbs 201-300
201. | deal in deal … in deal out deal with | To buy and sell a particular product. To bring in a new player in a card game. To distribute something, e.g. deal out cards to players in a card game. To do business with someone, e.g. I’ve been dealing with him for the past several years. To take appropriate measures to solve one’s problem, e.g. I’m on medication to deal with my depression problem. To deal with a particular subject, e.g. The book deals wholly with acupuncture. |
202. | decide on | To select one thing from many, e.g. to decide on a wedding date. |
203. | declare for/against | To state publicly you support or oppose someone or something. |
204. | defer to | To agree or accept someone’s opinion or decision. |
205. | delight in | To take great pleasure in something. |
206. | deliver up | To give or pass over something to someone. |
207. | delve into | To search for more evidence about someone or something. |
208. | depart from | To deviate from the normal or usual course of action. |
209. | depend on/upon | To rely on others for their help and support. |
210. | deprive … of | To prevent someone from having something they want or need. |
211. | derogate from | To reduce the worth or value of something so as to make it seem less impressive. |
212. | descend from descend on/upon descend to | To have developed from something or to be related to someone who existed in the past. To be able to feel or know when something descends on you, e.g. when darkness descends, it begins to get dark. To pass by inheritance. To behave in an unacceptable manner. |
213. | detract from | To underrate the value or importance of something. |
214. | devolve on/upon devolve to | To entrust responsibility, duties, etc. to someone at a lower level. To entrust responsibility, duties, etc. to someone at a lower level. To transfer property to someone when the owner dies. |
215. | die away die back die down die off die out | To become weaker, less loud or strong, e.g. light, sound, or wind. (Plant) to remain alive at the roots but dead above the ground. To becomes less active, strong or loud. To become extinct. To become extinct |
216. | dig in dig into dig … out dig … up | (Soldiers) to protect themselves by making a trench; to begin eating; To mix fertilizer with soil by digging. To make use of what one has, e.g. to dig into one’s energy or strength. To unearth something from the ground. To find something that one has been searching for, e.g. to dig out the photo one has been looking for. To find something in the ground by digging. To discover something after investigating or searching, e.g. to dig upinformation about someone. |
217. | dilate on/upon | To write or speak fully or in detail about something. |
218. | din … into | To firmly instill in someone’s mind by continuous repeating. |
219. | dine on/off dine out dine out on | To eat a particular kind of food, especially expensive food. To eat outside the home, e.g. at the restaurant. To entertain friends and others at meal by telling anecdotes |
220. | dip into | To put one’s hand into a bag, container, etc. in order to take something out. To have to use something that one has such as one’s savings. |
221. | disagree with | (Weather, seafood) to have a bad effect on someone. |
222. | discourse on/upon | To make a long speech about something; |
223. | dish … out | To serve food to people. To distribute something indiscriminately. |
224. | dispense with | To discontinue using something because it is no longer required. |
225. | dispose of | To get rid of something. To deal effectively with a difficult problem or situation. |
226. | dive in | To begin to take part in an activity with enthusiasm. |
227. | divest … of | To remove oneself of whatever clothing one is wearing. To rid oneself of an interest or investment under obligation. To deprive someone of power, rights, etc. |
228. | do away with do by do ... down do for do … for do … in do … out do ... out of do ... over do ... up do with do without | To get rid of something, e.g. Kissing the hand of women should be done awaywith. To kill someone, e.g. Some neighbours believe she did away with her husband while others believe he ran away. To treat or deal with something in a specified way. To criticize someone, especially behind his or her back. To do something to something else, e.g. what is to be done for the leak? To ruin or kill someone. To improve the quality or appearance of someone or something. To kill someone; To make someone feel very tired. To cheat or do a secretly dishonest thing to someone. To decorate or furnish a room or building in a particular way. To attempt again at doing something, e.g. My homework is so full of mistakes that the teacher has no choice but to tell me to do all over. To decorate a wall, room, etc. To injure someone by beating him up. To ransack and steal from a place. To fasten or fix something, especially one’s clothing. To improve an old car, building, etc. by repairing or redecorating it. To make oneself look attractive by dressing and making up. To need or would like to have something, e.g. I could do with a drink. To connect one thing to another, e.g. When questioned by police about a robbery case, he said he had nothing to do with it. To have to manage on one’s own without something or someone, e.g. Her husband has just passed away, so she has to do without. To have to tolerate someone or something, e.g. I can do without all her endless grumbling. |
229. | dole … out | To distribute something such as money, food, etc. to people. |
230. | doll … up | To dress and make oneself up attractively. |
231. | doss down doss around/about | To sleep somewhere which is not the usual place or one’s bed. To do very little work. |
232. | dote on/upon | To have a very strong affection or liking for and is clearly demonstrated by one’s actions. |
233. | double as double back double up | To have a second use, job, or purpose. To return the way you have come. To share something such as a room. To use the winnings from a bet as stake for another bet. To bend one’s body due to excessive laughing, pain, etc. To play another or different role in a play, etc. |
234. | doze off | To fall asleep unintentionally, e.g. Each time he listens to the same speaker, he dozes off. |
235. | drag down drag ... in drag ... into drag on drag ... out drag ... up | To cause someone to feel upset, lose confidence or enthusiasm. To involve someone in something with which he has nothing to do. To get someone unwillingly involved in something such as a discussion, conversation, etc. (Meeting, etc.) to last longer than is necessary. To prolong a meeting, argument, etc. unnecessarily. To raise unpleasant or embarrassing subject without regard to the feelings of the persons involved. To improperly bring up a child. |
236. | dragoon … into | To force someone into doing something. |
237. | drain … off | To cause liquid in something to run off, leaving it empty or dry. |
238. | draw back draw in draw into draw ... off draw on draw out draw … out draw up | To recoil or to withdraw from doing something. To get dark earlier in the evening and so there are fewer hours of daylight. To get someone involved in something. To cause someone to participate in, especially criminal, activities To extract some liquid from specific holder of liquid. To suck in smoke from a cigarette, cigar, etc. To make use of expertise, savings, resources, etc. for a particular purpose. (Winter, spring, etc.) to come nearer when it is drawing on. (Days) to become longer due to the changing seasons. To induce someone to open up by being more willing to talk. To prolong or extend something such as an event, meeting, etc. (Vehicle) to reach a place and stop there. To prepare an official document such as a list of appointees, etc. To pull one’s legs closer to the body, e.g. knees drawn up to the chest |
239. | dream … away dream on dream ... up | To idle by thinking about something that one would like to happen. To be used to tell someone that what they are hoping for may most likely not happen, e.g. “You think of striking the jackpot? Dream on!” To imagine or mentally invent something, e.g. Who could have dreamed upthose ideas of how the dinosaurs became extinct? |
240. | dredge … up | To bring out something from the distant past. To remove whatever there are from the bottom of a river, harbour, etc. |
241. | dress down dress … down dress up | To wear informal clothes. To express disapproval that something someone has done is very wrong. To put on clothes, e.g. She always dresses up to appear younger than her age. To wear a special costume appropriate for a formal occasion, e.g. At every costume party he attends, he dresses up like Popeye. |
242. | drift apart drift off | (Relationship) to end gradually. To doze off. |
243. | drill … into | To continuously impress something on someone’s mind to produce a lasting effect. |
244. | drink … in drink to … drink up | To enjoy taking in all the sights and sounds. To wish someone success, good luck, good health, etc. before drinking alcohol. To finish up all the rest of a drink. |
245. | drive at drive … away drive off drive … out drive … up | The point that one is attempting to make. To behave in a way that forces someone to leave him/her. To leave in a vehicle. To cause an enemy, animals, etc. that are threatening or attacking you, to flee. To force someone or something to leave. To cause rapid rise in prices, costs, etc. |
246. | drone on | To speak at length in a boring way. |
247. | drop away drop in drop off drop out | To become lower in level or amount. To visit someone without appointment, e.g. Jack dropped in on Jill and almost couldn’t recognize her as she had not had her usual make-up on. To doze off or begin to sleep, e.g. He dropped off while watching television. To move someone or something to another place, e.g. He dropped me off at the Post Office. To become lower in level, interest, amount, etc., e.g. Readership of the magazine has been dropping off since early last year. To abandon an activity, course, etc. before completing it, e.g. dropped out of school. (A term or phrase) to be no longer in use if it drops out of a language. |
248. | drum … into drum … out drum … up | To drive something into someone by constant repetition. To remove or expel someone from, or force someone to leave employment, office, school, etc. To attempt to obtain support by meeting a large number of people. |
249. | dry off dry out dry up | To become dry or to make something dry, e.g. He rubbed his head vigorously with a towel to dry off his wet hair. To become or make something, such as washed clothing, very dry after it has been very wet. To succeed in dealing with alcoholism. To deprive a place of water, e.g. The rivers and lakes completely dry up in areas that suffer severe drought. (Supply) to diminish with no addition, e.g. research fund has dried up. To dry plates, dishes, etc. with a cloth. |
250. | duck out of | To avoid doing what you have to do or promised to do.. |
251. | duff … in duff … up | To fight someone and injure them. To beat someone up. |
252. | dump on | To treat or criticize someone badly or harshly. To unload all of one’s problems onto someone else. |
253. | dust … down dust … off | To remove dust from surface of one’s clothes by brushing with hands. To clean something by brushing or wiping it with a cloth. To use something again after a long period of disuse. |
254. | dwell on/upon | To think, speak, or write at length about something. |
255. | ease … away/off ease off /up ease out ease … out ease up | To slacken a rope or sail slowly or gently. To do something with more moderation; (Situation) to get better. (Vehicle) to slowly move forward into the traffic. To deliberately try to make someone leave office. To take it easy after working too fast or too hard. |
256. | eat … away at eat into eat … up | To erode or destroy gradually; to worry someone constantly, e.g. the thought of contracting a serious illness is eating away at her. To reduce something over time such as money, time, etc. To damage or destroy something gradually, e.g. rust is eating into the metal door. To use resources excessively. To finish eating all of something, e.g. Our uncle ate all the donuts up, leaving us none. |
257. | edit … out | To remove harmful, objectionable, or unpleasant material in preparing a recording or broadcast. |
258. | egg … on | To encourage someone to do something foolish or risky. |
259. | eke … out | To make something last longer by using or consuming it sparingly, e.g. to eke out a living/existence. |
260. | emanate from | To emit or come from a source. |
261. | embark in/upon | To begin a new course of action. |
262. | empty out | To discharge the contents from a container, e.g. I empty out a container by holding it upside down and let all the sweets drop out. To discharge itself of someone or people, e.g. As soon as a movie ends, the people head for the exit and soon the cinema empties out. |
263. | encroach on/upon | To intrude on someone’s rights, time, territory, possessions, etc. To advance on more and more land, e.g. housing development encroaching on farmland. |
264. | end in end up | To have a particular result, or finish in a particular way. To come to be in a particular situation or place, e.g. We took a wrong turn and ended up in an unknown place. |
265. | endear … to | To make someone popular or liked. |
266. | endow … with | To naturally have a good feature or quality. To give something to someone. |
267. | endue … with | To endow someone with a good quality or ability |
268. | engage in | To participate or become involved in an activity. |
269. | enlarge on/upon | To speak or write about in greater detail. |
270. | enter into enter on/upon | To begin to be involved in something. To impose an obligation on oneself to do something. To begin something such as job, an activity, etc. |
271. | even out even up | To make equal in number, amount, value, etc. To make a situation or competition more equal. |
272. | eventuate in | To result in. |
273. | expand on/upon | To give more details about something. |
274. | expatiate on/upon | To speak or write in detail about a particular subject. |
275. | explain … away explain oneself | To minimize the significance of something embarrassing by giving an excuse or justification. To excuse or justify one’s behaviour. |
276. | eye … up | To look at someone with sexual interest. |
277. | face … down face up to face … with | To deal with someone in a strong and confident way. To face fact however objectionable it is. To provide someone with evidence of their guilt. |
278. | factor … in | To include something as a relevant element when making a decision or an estimate. |
279. | fade … in/out | To make a picture or sound appear/disappear or be heard/become quieter gradually. |
280. | faff about/around | To perform some useless task. |
281. | fake … out | To deceive someone. |
282. | fall about fall apart fall away fall back fall back on fall behind fall down fall for fall in fall in behind fall into fall in with fall off fall on/upon fall out fall over fall through fall to | To have a good laugh about something. To break into pieces; (System) to stop working or become ineffective; To suddenly develop a lot of, especially personal, problems. (Machine, car, etc.) to be in very bad condition. (Noise, feeling, scenery, etc.) to recede as you move through it. To separate from the main part. (Soldiers) to retreat. To make sudden backward movement caused by fright, pain, surprise, etc. To have a source of help in a difficult situation when needed. To slacken so that others move ahead or finish, e.g. In long distance running competitions, runners try to keep pace with the leader, but increasingly they fall behind due to a variety of reasons. To become less successful than someone else, e.g. Industrial disputes have caused production to fall behind schedule. To fail to keep up with schedule for payments, e.g. I fell behind with the payments on the car and it was repossessed, and now I move around on a bicycle. To drop onto the ground, e.g. All the onlookers were shocked to see a monkey fall down from a tree. (Plan, system, etc.) to fail to work or to become ineffective. To feel strongly attracted to someone or something. To be deceived by someone, e.g. The seller claims it is a magic stone that can cure all illnesses, yet there are people who fall for it. To drop within, e.g. part of the ceiling falls into the sitting room. (Soldiers) to form neat lines behind each other. To form a line behind someone. To belong to a part, section, etc. To move down somewhere, e.g. fall into the drain; To develop a particular feeling, e.g. fall into despair or holiday mood. To meet by chance and become involved with someone. To agree or accept someone’s suggestions, decisions, etc. To drop to the ground from a higher place, e.g. He fell off his horse and landed in a ditch. To become detached or disconnected from the main body. (Demand, prices, quality, amount) to drop or become less. To launch a sudden or unexpected attack on someone. To delegate a duty or responsibility to someone. To have one’s gaze directed towards someone or something. (Hair, tooth, etc,) to drop out, e.g. Did your tooth fall out or you pull it out? To have a misunderstanding, disagreement or quarrel with someone, e.g. Jack fell out with his best friend as both have fallen in love with the same girl. (Soldiers) to leave one’s place in a military formation. (Someone) to fall onto the ground or (something) to fall from an upright position onto its side. To not end or complete a plan, meeting, project, etc. successfully, e.g. The commercial venture fell through after one party decided to withdraw. To drop through something, e.g. A meteorite fell through the roof of a cottage and landed on the floor in the living room. To be entrusted with a duty or responsibility. (Property) to revert to the ownership of someone. |
283. | fan out | To walk forwards while spreading over a wide area. |
284. | farm … out | To subcontract work to others instead of doing it yourself. |
285. | fart around/about | To waste time not doing very much or on trivial things. |
286. | fasten … off fasten on/upon fasten onto | To secure the end of a thread with stitches or a knot. To quickly single out an idea, etc. as the best one and concentrate firmly on it. To follow and stay with someone. |
287. | father … on | To assign paternity of a child to someone, or the source or originator of something to someone. |
288. | fatten … up | To become fat or fatter, or make someone or an animal fat or fatter. |
289. | favour … with | To give someone something such as a smile, salute, reply, etc. |
290. | fawn on/over | To give an excessive display of exaggerated flattery or affection to someone. |
291. | feed off/on | To eat a particular food, or obtain regular nourishment from a substance; to make a feeling stronger, e.g. jealousy feeds on insecurity. |
292. | feel for feel … out feel … up feel up to | To have a sympathetic feeling towards someone. To ask someone’s opinions or feelings. To fondle someone for one’s own sexual stimulation. To have the strength and confidence to do something, e.g. I would like to go canoeing too, but I don’t feel up to doing it. |
293. | fence … in/off | To enclose an area with a fence. To make someone feel restricted. |
294. | fend … off | To defend oneself from an attack or attacker. To avoid answering difficult questions directly, e.g. to fend off reporters’ provocative questions. |
295. | ferret … out | To search out a desired piece of information. |
296. | fess up | To confess to committing a minor wrong. |
297. | fetch up | To arrive at a place unintentionally, especially because of having fallen asleep in a public vehicle. To vomit. |
298. | fiddle around fiddle with | To waste time doing unimportant things. To keep playing around with something. To play around with somebody else’s thing in an annoying way. |
299. | fight back fight ... off fight ... out | To struggle violently against an attacker, e.g. They chose to fight back until reinforcements arrive.. To wage a campaign against something such as unfair discrimination. To hide one’s feelings, e.g. to fight back tears. To defend oneself against an attack by someone or something To engage in violence until the dispute is resolved. |
300. | figure on figure … out | To expect or plan for something, e.g. I didn’t figure on such massive traffic jam; I would have stayed at home. To ponder over something until a solution is found or one has gained an understanding of it, e.g. He can’t figure it out why his wife is behaving strangely. |
Phrasal Verbs | |
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