200 Important Phrasal Verbs List for Competitive Exams

Hello Friends, Today we are sharing with “200
Important Phrasal Verbs List for Competitive Exams”. This is very useful
for upcoming exams like SSC CGL T1 & T2, CHSL, CPO, MTS, Stenographer and
other competitive exams.

1. Account
for: Explain the reason, answer for

Use: I can’t
account for his unusual behaviour in this matter.

 

2. Ask
after: Ask about the welfare, inquire after

Use: I met
your brother at the party, he asked after you.

 

3. Ask for:
Request for

Use: She
asked for a glass of water.

 

4. Back out:
Go back on, withdraw from promise

Use: He
agreed to help but backed out at the last moment.

 

5. Be in
for: About to take place

Use: On
account of his bad habits he is in for trouble.

 

6. Bear
away: Win

Use: Suhani
bore away the first prize in the dance competition.

 

7. Bear
on/upon: Relevant, bearing on

Use: Your
remarks have no bearing on the main problem.

 

8. Bear out:
Support the argument, Corroborate

Use: I am
sure my classmates will bear out my statement.

 

9. Bear
with: To show patience, co operate

Use: In view
of the heavy losses suffered by the company, the shareholders were requested to
bear with.

 

10. Blow
out: Extinguish

Use: The
candle blew out as the gust of wind came in.

 

11. Blow
over: Pass off without harm, come to an end

 

Use: Don’t
worry, the crisis are likely to blow over.

 

12. Blow up:
Explode, start suddenly

Use: The
plan of the enemy to blow up the fly over was foiled by the ploice.

 

13. Break
down: Emotional collapse, stop functioning

Use: While
giving evidence in the court, she broke down

 

14. Break
into: Enter by force

Use: The
robbers broke into his house last night.

 

15. Break
off: Come to an end, unsuccessfully

Use: The talks
between India and  China broke off.

 

16. Break
out: Spread (war, epidemic, fire, riots)

Use: The
fear that AIDS has broken out in India is not unfounded.

 

17. Break
through : discover a secret, major achievement

Use: There
is no hope of break through in the murder case.

 

18. Break
up: Terminate

Use: The
college will break up next week for summer vacation.

 

19. Break up
with: Qurrael

Use: After
long and fruitful friendship the two friends broken up with each other.

 

20. Break
open: Open by force

Use: The
theif broke open the lock and stole money.

 

21. Bring
about: Cause to happen

Use: The
administration helped to bring about a peaceful settlement.

 

22. Bring
out: Explain the meaning, publish

Use: When
asked to explain, she could not bring out the meaning of the poem.

 

23. Bring
round: To make one agree, bring to senses

 

Use: I was
able to bring my mother round to my views with great difficulty.

 

24. Bring
up: Rear, educate

Use: Fathers
are beginning to play a bigger role in bringing up their children.

 

25. Call at:
Visit a place to meet

Use: I
called out the residence of my boss ye4sterday.

 

26. Call
for: necessary, require

Use: For the
unity of the country discipline among the people is called for.

 

27. Call
in/call out: Send for help

Use: The
police were called in without delay by the 
residents.

 

28. Call
off: Suspend  or abandon

Use: We
decided to call off the strike.

 

29. Call on:
Go and visit a person

Use: It is a
tradition for the Prime Minister to call on the President

 

30. Call
out: Ask to come for help

Use: The
National Guards has been called out.

 

31. Call up:
To telephone, recall

Use:
Many  of my friends called me up to
congratulate me.

 

32. Call
upon: Appeal, exhort

Use: He was
called upon to prove the correctness of the press reports.

 

33. Carry
away by: Lose control

Use: On
hearing the news of his success he was carried away by joy.

 

34. Carry
on: Continue

Use: Now it
is difficult to carry on this business in the teeth of stiff competition

 

35. Carry
out: Implement, obey, execute

Use: It is
not likely that your father will carry out the threat of disinheriting you.

 

36. Cast
away: Throw away as useless

Use: We
usually give you servants the old clothes which we cast away

 

37. Cast
down: Dejected, down cast

Use: Now a
days he is cast down as a result of his failure in the examination.

 

38. Cast
off: Release, remove

Use:
Organization must cast off old fashioned practices in order to survive.

 

39. Catch up
with: Make up for deficiency, overtake

 

Use: He
remained ill for many days bu caught up with they pending work very soon.

 

40. Come
about: Happen

Use: It is
not good that such an unfortunate accident came about

 

41. Come by:
Get

Use: How
have you come by such a precious diamond?

 

42. Come of:
Belong to

Use: Reeta
comes of a family of freedom fighters.

 

43. Come
off: Take place as arranged, fade, get separated

Use: I was
surprised to see that plaster had come off the walls.

 

44. Come
over: Get over, overcome

Use: You can
come over your problems by honest means.

 

45. Come
round: Agree, recover from illness

Use: My
father at first refused to let me continue study but he came round in the end.

 

46. Come
upon: Come across, get by chance

Use: My
friend came upon the evidence just by chance.

 

47. Cope
with: Manage

Use: They
coped with all their problems cheerfully.

 

48. Cut
down: Curtail, reduce

Use: Since
you are out of job these days, you must cut down your expenditure.

 

49. Cut off:
Discontinue, die, remove

Use: Gas
supplies have now been cut off.

 

50. (Be) cut
out for: Suitable

Use: He is
cut out for  an administrative career.

 

51. Cut out:
To take piece form the whole

Use: He cut
out a piece of the cake.

 

52. Die
down: Gradually disappear

Use: The
wind has died down.

 

53. Die out:
Become out of use.

Use: He
thought that the custom had died out a long time ago.

 

54. Dispose
of: Sell off

Use: She has
decided to dispose of her old house

 

55. Dispose
to: Willing, inclined favourably

Use: My
friend is disposed to discussing the problems thoroughly.

 

56. Do away
with: Eradicate

Use: We
should do away with the social evils.

 

57. Do for:
Serve the purpose

Use: This
book is do for the SSC Examination.

 

58. Done
with: Have no relation

Use: I have
done with him because of his dishonesty.

 

59. Do
without: Dispense with, to manage without

Use: We
cannot do without fan in summer.

 

60. Done
for, done in: Be ruined

Use: He
appears to be done for since he has lost heavily in gambling

 

61. Draw up:
To write, compose

Use: I was
busy drawing up plans for the new course.

 

62. Draw on
or upon: To get money form

Use: He was
able to draw on vast reserves of talent.

 

63. Drop in:
To pay a short visit

Use: I
thought I’d just drop in and see how you were.

 

64. Drop
out: Retire in the midst of doing something

 

Use: She
could not qualify for the selection as she dropped out while the race was in
progress.

 

65. Fall
back: Retreat

Use: The
rioters fell back when the police arrived.

 

66. Fall
back on: Depend on

Use: You
must save money to fall back on it in old age.

 

67. Fall
off: Decrease in number, get separated

Use: In the
wake of roof tragedy the admissions in the school have fallen off.

 

68. Fall
out: Quarrel

Use: The two
friends appear to have fallen out over a minor issue.

 

69. Fall in
with: Agree with

Use: Instead
of Challenging the lie, she fell in with their views.

 

70. Fall
through: To remain incomplete, fail

Use: For
want of sufficient funds your new project is likely to fall through.

 

71. Follow
up: Pursue after the first attempt

Use: The
Idea has been followed up by a group of researches.

 

72. Get
ahead: Go forward

Use: You can
get ahead of your rivals only by hard work.

 

73. Get
along: Be friendly

Use: They
can’t get along together because of temperamental nature.

 

74. Get
awat: Escape

Use: The got
away on scooter.

 

75. Get on
with: Pull with, get together

Use: Both
husband and wife are getting along on well with each other.

 

76. Get
over: Recover form illness or shock come over

Use: He is
still trying to get over the financial crisis.

 

77. Get
through: Pass through, succeed

Use: It is
not possible to get through examination without labour.

 

78. Get up:
Rise from bed

Use: The
woman got up from her chair with the baby in her arms.

 

79. Give in:
Surrender, agree

Use: At
first she was adamant but at last she gave in to the request of her friend.

 

80. Give out:
Announce verbally, emit

Use: It was
given out that she had failed.

 

81. Give
way: Collapse under pressure, break

Use: The
roof of the new house gave away due to poor material.

 

82. Given
to: Accustomed to

Use: He is
given to smoking

 

83. Go back
on: Withdraw, back out

Use: One
should not go back on one’s promise

 

84. Go down:
Be believed

Use: Your
excuse will not go down.

 

85. Go in
for: Buy, paradise to enter a contest

Use: I
thought of going in for teaching

 

86. Go off:
Explode

Use: When he
was cleaning his gun it went off and killed him.

 

87. Go on:
Continue

Use: There
is no need to go on arguing about it.

 

88. Go over:
Examine carefully, look over

Use: On
going over the balance sheet of the company the auditors have found serious
mistakes.

 

89. Go
through: Read hurriedly, endure

Use: He
din’t lend me the newspaper because he was going through it.

 

90. Go up:
Rise, increase

Use: As a
result of a sharp rise in prices the price of washing soap has gone up

 

91. Hand
out: Distribute

Use: Hand
out the books to the students

 

92. Hand
over: Give charge or authority

Use: He has
not handed over charge to the new manager.

 

93. Hang
about: Stay waiting, roam about

Use: The
boys hanging about girl’s hostel were rounded up by the police.

 

94. Hold on:
Carry on, bear difficulties, persist

Use:
Inspite  of financial difficulties he
held on and succeeded in the long run.

 

95. Hold
out: Resist

Use: When
the robbers ran short of ammunition the could no longer hold out.

 

96. Hold
over: Postpone

Use: Most of
the bill are held over till the next session of the Parliament.

 

97. Hold up:
To stop In order to rob, delay

Use: The
terrorist held up the motor car and kept the ladies as hostages.

 

98. Jump at:
Accept happily

Use: He
jumped at the offer of his boss to accept the job abroad.

 

99. Jump to:
Arrive suddenly

Use: You
should never jump to conclusions.

 

100. Keep
from: Refrain from, not to mix with

Use: Always
keep from selfish people because they can harm you anytime.

 

101. Keep
off: Keep at distance

Use: There
was a notice at the site, “keep off the bushes”

 

102. Keep
on: Continue

Use: She
kept on crying inspite of my assurance of help.

 

103. Keep
up: Maintain

Use: Always
try t keep up the standard of life even in the face of crises.

 

104. Keep up
with: Try to move with, not to fall behind

Use: Young
men should keep up with the latest development 
in international field.

 

105. Lay by:
Save money

Use: The
wiser men always lay by money for their old age.

 

106. Laid up
with: Confined to bed

Use: She is
not going out as she is laid up with the flu.

 

107. Lay
down: Establish a rule, sacrifice, surrender

Use: The
conditions laid down by the Department of Health were violated by the nursing
homes.

 

108. Lay
off: To discontinue work, dismiss temporarily

Use: The
workers have been laid off for want of raw material.

 

109. Lay
out: Plan building

Use: A
number of gardens were laid out by the Moghuls.

 

110. Let
down: Humiliate, to lower down

Use: We
should never let down our friends.

 

111. Let
into: Allow to enter

Use: After
repeat4ed requests he was let into the classroom.

 

112. Let
off: To free from punishment, pardon

Use: She was
let off by the Principal with light punishment.

 

113. Let
(somebody ) in on: Share a secret

Use: I will
not let her in on my plans.

 

114. Let up:
Cessation, respite

Use: There
is no let up in heat during June.

 

115. Live
on: Depend for food

Use: The
Lion is carnivorous and lives on flesh.

 

116. Live
by: Means/manner

Use: You
must learn to live by honest means.

 

117. Live
off: Source of Income

Use: They
were living off rental income

 

118. Look
about: In search of, on the watch

Use: The thirsty
crow was looking about water here and there.

 

119. Look
after: Take care of

Use: In her
old age she has no one to look after her.

 

120. Loot
at: See carefully

Use: The
boys are looking at the sky.

 

121. Look
back on: To think of the past.

Use: People
can often look back and reflect on happy childhood memories.

 

122. Look
for: Search for a lost thing

Use: She was
looking for her lost things.

 

123. Look
down upon: Hate

Use: It is
folly on your part to look down upon the poor students.

 

124. Look
into: Investigate the matter

Use: A
committee was setup to look into the matter.

 

125. Look
on: To see as a spectator

Use: His
parents looked on with a triumphant smile.

 

126. Look
over: Examine carefully, go over

Use: The
examiner has yet to look over practice note books.

 

127. Look
out: Watch out, careful, beware

Use: Look
out, there is a snake under the bush.

 

128. Look
out for: In search of, on the watch

Use: He is
looking out for a decent job

 

129. Look
to: Rely upon, be careful

Use: The
poor look to financial help from the government.

 

130. Look
up: Consult some book for a word, rise

Use: Please
look up this word in the dictionary.

 

131. Look
upto: Respect

Use: His
younger brother looks up to him and obeys his every order.

 

132. Look
upon: Consider, regard

Use: We must
look upon social evils as nuisance

 

133. Make
off with/away with: Run away, destroy

Use: They
made off with the cash and fled.

 

134. Make
out: Understand the meaning

Use: The
police could not make out the coded message they intercepted.

 

135. Make
over: Transfer possession, convert

Use: Since
she had no legal heir, she made over her house in charity.

 

136. Make
up: To end quarrel, compose

Use: You
should make an effort to make up a quarrel with your friend.

 

137. Pass
away: Die, expire

Use: On the
passing away of his father I sent him a message of condolence.

 

138. Pass
for: Regarded to be

Use: The
TATAs pass for philanthropists in the country.

 

139. Pass
off: Take place

Use: The
elections are likely to pass off peacefully.

 

140. Pass
oneself off: Show off

Use: The
hypocrites always pass themselves off as honest persons.

 

141. Pass
through: Go through, undergo, endure

Use: He is
passing through financial difficulties these days.

 

142. Pass
out: Leave after completing education

Use: The
cadets will pass out next month after completing their training.

 

143. Pull
down: Demolish a structure

Use: Why did
they pull the shops down?

 

144. Pull
off: Succeed

Use: India
pulled off victory in the last stage of the match.

 

145. Pull
through: Recover from illness

Use: I think
she’ll pull through her serious illness very soon.

 

146. Pull
up: Stop, scold

Use: The
students were pulled up by the Principal for their misbehaviour with the class
teacher.

 

147. Pull
with: Live together, get on with

Use: He is
pulling well with his wife these days.

 

148. Put
down: Crush, keep down

Use: The
riots were put down by the police.

 

149. Put
off: Postpone, avoid, discourage

Use: The
meeting had to be put off because the President couldn’t come.

 

150. Put on:
Wear, pretend

Use: It is
difficult to put on the appearance of innocence for a long time.

 

151. Put
out: Extinguish

Use: The
fire was put out suddenly.

 

152. Put up:
Stays, question

Use: He is
putting up at a hostel these days.

 

153. Put up
with: Tolerate patiently

Use: For an
honorable person it is difficult to put up with the haughty behavior of the
Directors.

 

154. Round
up: Arrest

Use: The
police rounded up anti-social elements last night.

 

155. Run
after: Pursue, hanker after

Use: We
should not run after money.

 

156. Run
down: Criticize, poor health

Use: As a
result of long illness she has run down a lot.

 

157. Run
into: Come across, meet by chance

Use: While
walking along the roadside I ran into my childhood friend.

 

158. Run
out: Come to an end

Use: When
the rations ran out, the head office was informed.

 

159. Run
over: Crush under

Use: He was
run over by speeding car.

 

160. Run
through: Waste money

Use: It is a
pity that he has run through his fortune over gambling and drinking.

 

161. See
off: To escort a guest for his departure.

Use: His
friends were present so at the station to see him off.

 

162. See
through: Discover something hidden, motive

Use: Man has
grown so clever that it is difficult to see through this tricks.

 

163. Send
for: Summon

Use: She
sent for a doctor w3hen her husband fell ill.

 

164. Set
about: Start doing

Use: As soon
as she reached home, she set about calling up her friends.

 

165. Set
aside: Allocate, strike down, turn down.

Use: The
High Court set aside the verdict of the lower court in this sensitive matter.

 

166. Set in:
Begin

Use: As soon
as the summer set in, the reptiles come out of hibernation.

 

167. Set
off: To start a series of events, process, improve

Use:
Cosmetics set off the natural grace.

 

168. Set up:
Establish

Use: The
factory was set up by his uncle.

 

169. Set
forth: Start on a journey, explain

Use: The
party will set forth its view on globalization at a public rally.

 

170. Set
out: Start on a journey, set forth

Use: No
sooner was the hunter informed of lion’s presence in the forest than he set
out.

 

171. Sit
back: Relax

Use: He
believes that he has the right to sit back while others should work hard.

 

172. Sit up:
Stay out of bed, stay up

Use: She sat
up till her son returned.

 

173. Stand
by: Support, help

Use:
Although he promised to stand by me in difficulties, he did not live up to it.

 

174. Stand
for: Represent

Use: T.E.C
stands for Technical Education Certificate.

 

175. Stand
out: To be conspicuous

Use: She
stand out from the crowd because of her amiable manners.

 

176. Stand
up for: Defend

Use: It is
your duty to stand up always for the poor.

 

177. Strike
off: Remove from the list

Use: His name
has been struck off the admission list.

 

178. Take
after: Resemble

Use: She
always reminds me of her mother since she takes after her mother.

 

179. Take
down: Write

Use: She was
busy in talking down the dictation which the teacher was giving.

 

180. Take
off: Remove, leave the ground, improve.

Use: It is
difficult for Indian economy to take off in the absence of heavy investment.

 

181. Take
over: Take up responsibility

Use: The
agency tried to take over another company

 

182. Taken
to : Form a habit

Use: He
tookto wearing black leather jackets.

 

183. Take
up: Start a hobby or study, occupy

Use: He has
taken up modelling as a career.

 

184. Tell
upon: Affect adversely

Use: I have
warned him that heavy work will tell upon his health.

 

185. Taken in:
Be deceived

Use: For all
your intelligence you are likely to be taken in by impostors.

 

186. Take
for: Suppose to be, identify

Use: I took
you for a noble person.

 

187. Taken
aback: Be surprised

Use: I was
taken aback to hear of thee news of his failure.

 

188. Talk
over: Discuss a matter

Use: I
agreed to go home and talk over the matter.

 

189. Turn
down: Reject, strike down

Use: I
turned down the request of my friend to go to Simla.

 

190. Turn
off: Stop, switch off

Use: Please
make it a point to turn off water tap before you go out.

 

191. Turn
on: Switch on, start

Use: She
turned on the shower to take bath.

 

192. Turn
over: Change, capsize, upset

Use: The
boat turned over and ten persons were drowned.

 

193. Turn out:
Prove, reveal, expel

Use: Nothing
ever turned out right for me in life.

 

194. Turn
up: Arrive, take place

Use: Who can
say what will turn up next?

 

195. Watch
out: Look out, careful

Use: If you
do not watch out, he might harm you.

 

196. Wipe
away: Cleanse, remove

Use: The
marks of blood were wiped away by the accused.

 

197. Wipe
out: Destroy completely

Use: We must
try to wipe out poverty from the country.

 

198. Wind
up: Bring to an end

Use: We were
forced to wind up the business on account of heavy loss.

 

199. Work
out: Solve the problem

Use: He is
very intelligent and can work out any difficult problem.

 

200. Work
up: Incite, instigate

Use: The
politicians should not try to work up communal frenzy.

 

201. Work
upon: Influence

Use: The
leader tried to work upon the mob.

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