50 Most Common Phrasal Verbs with Examples

Phrasal verbs are one of the most challenging yet essential parts of the English language. A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or two particles (a preposition or adverb) that creates a meaning different from the original verb. For example, "give up" does not mean to give something in an upward direction — it means to stop trying or to quit. Phrasal verbs are used constantly in everyday spoken and written English, so learning the most common ones is critical for understanding native speakers and sounding natural.

There are thousands of phrasal verbs in English, but you do not need to learn all of them. Mastering the 50 most frequently used phrasal verbs will cover a huge percentage of what you encounter in daily conversations, emails, news articles, and entertainment.

How to Form / Structure

A phrasal verb is made up of a base verb plus one or two particles:

Separable vs. Inseparable

Separable phrasal verbs allow you to put the object between the verb and the particle:

• Turn off the light. OR Turn the light off.
• Pick up your clothes. OR Pick your clothes up.

Rule: When the object is a pronoun (it, them, him, her), you must separate: Turn it off. (not "Turn off it.")

Inseparable phrasal verbs must keep the verb and particle together:

• She looks after her grandmother. (not "She looks her grandmother after.")
• I ran into my old friend. (not "I ran my old friend into.")

When to Use

Phrasal verbs are used in virtually every English conversation. They replace more formal single-word verbs and are preferred in informal and semi-formal contexts. For example:

• find out (informal) vs. discover (formal)
• put off (informal) vs. postpone (formal)
• give up (informal) vs. abandon/quit (formal)

Here are the 50 most common phrasal verbs organized by base verb, with meanings and examples:

LOOK

1. Look after — take care of: Can you look after my cat while I am away?
2. Look for — search for: I am looking for my keys. Have you seen them?
3. Look forward to — anticipate with pleasure: I look forward to meeting you.
4. Look into — investigate: The police are looking into the matter.
5. Look up — search for information: I looked up the word in the dictionary.

GET

6. Get up — rise from bed: I get up at 7:00 every morning.
7. Get along (with) — have a good relationship: She gets along well with her colleagues.
8. Get over — recover from: It took him weeks to get over the flu.
9. Get rid of — eliminate: I need to get rid of these old clothes.
10. Get back — return: What time did you get back from vacation?

TURN

11. Turn on — start a device: Turn on the TV. The game is starting.
12. Turn off — stop a device: Please turn off your phone during the movie.
13. Turn up — arrive / increase volume: He turned up late to the meeting. / Turn up the music!
14. Turn down — refuse / decrease volume: She turned down the job offer. / Turn down the volume, please.
15. Turn out — result, end up: The party turned out to be really fun.

COME

16. Come across — find by chance: I came across an interesting article online.
17. Come back — return: When are you coming back home?
18. Come up with — think of an idea: She came up with a brilliant solution.
19. Come up — arise, be mentioned: Something important came up at work.

PUT

20. Put on — wear / apply: Put on your jacket. It is cold outside.
21. Put off — postpone: They put off the meeting until next week.
22. Put up with — tolerate: I cannot put up with this noise any longer.
23. Put away — store in the proper place: Put away your toys before dinner.

TAKE

24. Take off — remove (clothes) / leave the ground (plane): Take off your shoes. / The plane took off on time.
25. Take care of — look after: She takes care of her elderly parents.
26. Take up — start a hobby or activity: He took up painting last year.
27. Take out — remove from inside: She took out her wallet and paid.

GIVE

28. Give up — stop trying / quit a habit: Do not give up! You can do it. / He gave up smoking.
29. Give back — return something: Can you give back the book I lent you?
30. Give away — donate / reveal: She gave away her old furniture. / Do not give away the ending!

BREAK

31. Break down — stop functioning / lose emotional control: My car broke down on the highway. / She broke down in tears.
32. Break up — end a relationship: They broke up after five years together.
33. Break into — enter by force: Someone broke into our house last night.

PICK / BRING / CARRY / HOLD / SET / FIGURE / WORK / RUN / GO / FIND / CALL / CHECK / FILL

34. Pick up — collect / lift: I will pick you up at the airport. / Pick up that book from the floor.
35. Bring up — mention a topic / raise children: She brought up an interesting point. / He was brought up by his grandparents.
36. Carry on — continue: Carry on with your work. I did not mean to interrupt.
37. Hold on — wait: Hold on a moment. I will be right with you.
38. Set up — establish / arrange: They set up a new business together.
39. Figure out — solve / understand: I cannot figure out how to use this app.
40. Work out — exercise / solve / succeed: She works out three times a week. / Things will work out in the end.
41. Run out of — use all of something: We ran out of milk. Can you buy some?
42. Run into — meet by chance: I ran into an old classmate at the store.
43. Go on — continue / happen: Please go on. I am listening. / What is going on?
44. Go over — review: Let us go over the plan one more time.
45. Find out — discover: I just found out that she is moving to Paris.
46. Call off — cancel: They called off the wedding.
47. Check in — register at a hotel or airport: We checked in at the hotel at 3 p.m.
48. Check out — leave a hotel / look at: We need to check out by noon. / Check out this video!
49. Fill in — complete a form: Please fill in this application form.
50. Fill up — make completely full: He filled up the car with gas.

Common Mistakes

Practice Examples

Complete each sentence with the correct phrasal verb:

1. Can you _____ the music? I cannot hear it. — turn up
2. She _____ her father. They have the same personality. — takes after
3. I need to _____ this problem before the deadline. — figure out
4. Please _____ your shoes before entering the house. — take off
5. He _____ a new hobby: playing chess. — took up
6. The concert was _____ because of the rain. — called off

Quick Reference

• A phrasal verb = verb + particle(s), with a meaning different from the individual words.
• Separable: the object can go between verb and particle. Pronoun objects must go between them.
• Inseparable: the verb and particle stay together regardless of the object.
• Phrasal verbs are more common in informal English; formal writing often uses single-word equivalents.
• Learn phrasal verbs in context rather than memorizing lists. Notice them in conversations, TV shows, podcasts, and articles.
• Many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings (e.g., "turn down" = refuse or reduce volume), so always check the context.

The best way to learn phrasal verbs is through consistent exposure and practice. Keep a personal notebook of new phrasal verbs you encounter, write example sentences for each one, and review them regularly. Over time, they will become a natural part of your vocabulary.

Related Grammar Guides

• Gerunds vs Infinitives: When to Use -ing or To + Verb
• Prepositions of Place: In, On, At — Complete Guide
• Prepositions of Time: In, On, At — When to Use Each
• 30 Most Common English Grammar Mistakes & How to Fix Them