Pharasal Verbs

Los phrasal verbs son verbos compuestos por un verbo y una preposición o un adverbio, que juntos tienen un significado distinto al verbo solo. Por ejemplo:

• "turn off" significa "apagar"
• "run out" significa "agotarse"
• "look up" significa "buscar en una fuente de información"

A veces, un phrasal verb puede tener más de una preposición o adverbio, como "pick up after", que significa "recoger después de".

Los phrasal verbs son comunes en el idioma inglés y pueden ser un desafío para los hablantes de otras lenguas, ya que a menudo no tienen un equivalente directo en otras lenguas. Es importante aprender el significado y el uso de los phrasal verbs para poder hablar y escribir en inglés de manera precisa y natural.

Tabla de Phrasal Verbs en Inglés

Phrasal Verb	Significado	Ejemplo
Account for	Explicar, justificar	The manager had to account for the missing funds.
Add up	Tener sentido, cuadrar	His story doesn't add up.
Add up to	Sumar, ascender a	The expenses add up to a significant amount.
Advise against	Desaconsejar	The doctor advised against heavy exercise.
Aim at	Apuntar a, dirigirse a	The campaign is aimed at young adults.
Allow for	Tener en cuenta, considerar	You should allow for traffic delays when planning your trip.
Appeal to	Atraer a, apelar a	The product appeals to a young audience.
Apply for	Solicitar, postularse para	She applied for a job at the local bank.
Ask around	Preguntar a varias personas	I don’t know, but I’ll ask around and find out.
Ask for	Pedir, solicitar	He asked for a raise during the meeting.
Ask out	Invitar a salir (románticamente)	He asked her out for dinner.
Back down	Retirarse, ceder	She refused to back down in the argument.
Back out	Echarse atrás, retirarse	He backed out of the agreement at the last minute.
Back up	Respaldar	Can you back me up during the meeting?
Bank on	Contar con, confiar en	I’m banking on you to help with this project.
Bargain for	Esperar, prever	We didn’t bargain for such a long wait.
Base on	Basar en, fundamentar	The movie is based on a true story.
Bear with	Tener paciencia con	Please bear with me while I find the information.
Beat up	Golpear, atacar	He was beaten up by a group of thugs.
Become of	Pasar con, suceder	What will become of them if they lose their job?
Beg off	Disculparse, excusarse	He begged off from the meeting due to illness.
Believe in	Creer en	Do you believe in life after death?
Belong to	Pertenecer a	This book belongs to Sarah.
Bend down	Agacharse	She bent down to pick up the coin.
Bet on	Apostar por, contar con	I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you.
Blow away	Impresionar, volar con el viento	The movie completely blew me away.
Blow out	Apagar (una vela), reventar	She blew out the candles on her birthday cake.
Blow over	Pasar, calmarse	The storm will blow over by tomorrow.
Blow up	Explotar, estallar	The bomb blew up in the middle of the city.
Boil down to	Reducirse a, resumirse en	It all boils down to one simple fact: money.
Break away	Separarse, escapar	The prisoner broke away from his captors.
Break down	Averiarse, descomponerse	My car broke down on the way to work.
Break in	Forzar la entrada, interrumpir	Someone broke in and stole the TV.
Break into	Entrar a la fuerza	They broke into the house through the window.
Break off	Romper, interrumpir	They broke off the engagement after a big argument.
Break out	Estallar, comenzar de repente	A fire broke out in the kitchen.
Break through	Abrirse camino, hacer un avance	The company broke through with a new technology.
Break up	Terminar una relación	They broke up after five years together.
Bring about	Provocar, causar	The new law brought about many changes.
Bring along	Traer consigo	You can bring along your friend if you like.
Bring back	Devolver, traer de vuelta	This song brings back so many memories.
Bring down	Derribar, hacer caer	The scandal brought down the government.
Bring forward	Adelantar (una fecha)	The meeting was brought forward to Monday.
Bring in	Introducir, traer	The company brought in a new manager.
Bring on	Causar, provocar	The cold weather brought on his illness.
Bring out	Sacar, resaltar	The perfume brings out the scent of roses.
Bring over	Traer a alguien a tu casa	I’ll bring over the documents tomorrow.
Bring up	Mencionar, criar	She brought up two children on her own.
Brush up on	Repasar, mejorar	I need to brush up on my French before the trip.
Build up	Acumular, fortalecer	You need to build up your strength before the competition.
Burn down	Quemarse completamente	The old house burned down last night.
Burn out	Agotarse, quemarse	After years of working non-stop, he burned out.
Burst out	Estallar en (risa, llanto)	She burst out laughing when she heard the joke.
Call back	Devolver la llamada	I'll call you back in five minutes.
Call for	Requerir, necesitar	The situation calls for immediate action.
Call off	Cancelar	They called off the meeting due to the weather.
Call on	Visitar, pedir a alguien que haga algo	The teacher called on me to answer the question.
Call out	Llamar en voz alta, desafiar	He called out for help when he got lost.
Calm down	Calmarse	She finally calmed down after the argument.
Carry on	Continuar	Despite the difficulties, they carried on with the project.
Carry out	Llevar a cabo	They carried out the plan as agreed.
Catch on	Entender, ponerse de moda	It took a while, but he finally caught on.
Catch up	Ponerse al día	I need to catch up on my work.
Check in	Registrarse	We checked in at the hotel.
Check out	Revisar, pagar y salir	Let's check out that new restaurant.
Cheer up	Animarse, alegrar	She cheered up after hearing the good news.
Chip in	Contribuir, poner dinero	Everyone chipped in to buy her a gift.
Clean up	Limpiar, recoger	Let's clean up the mess after the party.
Clear up	Aclarar, despejar	The weather cleared up after the storm.
Close down	Cerrar (un negocio)	The shop closed down after 50 years of business.
Come across	Encontrar por casualidad	I came across an old letter in the drawer.
Come apart	Desmoronarse, separarse	The old book came apart in my hands.
Come back	Volver	She came back from vacation yesterday.
Come down with	Caer enfermo con	I think I'm coming down with a cold.
Come forward	Presentarse (voluntariamente)	The witness came forward with new evidence.
Come from	Proceder de, venir de	He comes from a small town in Spain.
Come in	Entrar	Please come in and have a seat.
Come out	Salir, hacerse público	The truth eventually came out.
Come over	Pasar por casa	Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?
Come up	Surgir, aparecer	Something urgent has come up, and I need to leave.
Come up with	Inventar, proponer	She came up with a brilliant idea.
Count on	Contar con alguien	You can count on me for support.
Cross out	Tachar	Please cross out the incorrect answers.
Cut back on	Reducir el consumo de algo	I've decided to cut back on caffeine.
Cut down	Reducir, talar	They cut down the old tree in the yard.
Cut down on	Reducir el consumo de algo	I'm trying to cut down on sugar.
Cut off	Interrumpir, cortar	The phone call was cut off unexpectedly.
Cut out	Eliminar, recortar	You should cut out junk food from your diet.
Deal with	Tratar con, lidiar con	It's important to know how to deal with difficult situations.
Die down	Calmarse, apaciguarse	The excitement died down after a few days.
Dig in	Empezar a comer con entusiasmo	The food looks great. Let's dig in!
Do away with	Eliminar, deshacerse de	The company did away with the old policy.
Do over	Repetir, hacer de nuevo	You made a mistake. Please do it over.
Do up	Abrochar, renovar	He did up his coat before going outside.
Do without	Prescindir de	I can't do without my morning coffee.
Drag on	Prolongarse, alargarse	The meeting dragged on for hours.
Draw back	Retroceder, retirarse	She drew back in fear when she saw the spider.
Draw up	Redactar, elaborar	They drew up a contract for the agreement.
Dress up	Vestirse elegantemente, disfrazarse	We love to dress up for Halloween.
Drop by	Pasar por un lugar sin avisar	I thought I'd drop by to say hello.
Drop off	Dejar a alguien, disminuir	I dropped off the package at her house.
Drop out	Abandonar, dejar algo	He dropped out of college after one semester.
Dry up	Secarse, agotarse	The river dried up during the summer.
Dumb down	Simplificar demasiado	The instructions were dumbed down for beginners.
Dwell on	Darle vueltas a algo	Don't dwell on your mistakes; learn from them and move on.
Ease off	Aflojar, disminuir	The rain is starting to ease off.
Eat out	Comer fuera	We usually eat out on Fridays.
Egg on	Incitar, animar	He was egged on by his friends to take the dare.
Embark on	Emprender, comenzar	She embarked on a new career after graduation.
End up	Terminar, acabar	We ended up staying longer than we planned.
Face up to	Enfrentar, afrontar	You need to face up to your responsibilities.
Fall apart	Desmoronarse, caerse a pedazos	The old chair just fell apart.
Fall back on	Recurrir a, contar con	When the business failed, they fell back on their savings.
Fall behind	Quedarse atrás	He fell behind in his work and had to stay late to catch up.
Fall for	Enamorarse, dejarse engañar	He fell for her the moment they met.
Fall off	Disminuir, caer	Sales have fallen off recently.
Fall out	Pelearse, discutir	They fell out over a small misunderstanding.
Fall through	Fracasar, no suceder	Our vacation plans fell through due to the pandemic.
Feel for	Sentir compasión por	I really feel for people who lost their jobs.
Figure out	Resolver, entender	I can't figure out how to fix this.
Fill in	Rellenar, completar	Can you fill in this form, please?
Fill in for	Sustituir, reemplazar	I'll fill in for her while she's on vacation.
Fill out	Rellenar un formulario	Please fill out the application form.
Fill up	Llenar completamente	I need to fill up the car with gas.
Find out	Descubrir, averiguar	I found out that she was lying to me.
Fit in	Encajar, integrarse	He never really fit in with the other kids.
Fix up	Arreglar, reparar	We're planning to fix up the old house.
Follow through	Cumplir, llevar a cabo	You need to follow through with your commitments.
Follow up	Hacer un seguimiento	I need to follow up on that email I sent last week.
Fool around	Hacer tonterías, perder el tiempo	Stop fooling around and get to work.
Freak out	Asustarse, enloquecer	She freaked out when she saw the spider.
Frown upon	Desaprobar	Cheating is frowned upon in our school.
Gear up	Prepararse, equiparse	We're gearing up for the big game.
Get ahead	Progresar, adelantarse	You need to work hard to get ahead in life.
Get along	Llevarse bien	Do you get along with your coworkers?
Get around	Moverse, evitar	It's easy to get around the city by bike.
Get away	Escaparse	We’re hoping to get away for a few days this summer.
Get by	Arreglárselas, sobrevivir	It's not easy to get by on just one salary.
Get down	Bajar, deprimirse	This weather is really getting me down.
Get in	Entrar, llegar	What time did you get in last night?
Get into	Meterse en, interesarse por	She's really getting into photography lately.
Get off	Bajarse de, terminar	We get off the bus at the next stop.
Get on	Subirse, llevarse bien	Get on the train at the central station.
Get on with	Continuar, llevarse bien	Stop talking and get on with your work.
Get out	Salir, escapar	Get out of the car!
Get out of	Escaparse de, evitar	He always gets out of doing the dishes.
Get over	Superar, recuperarse de	It took me weeks to get over that cold.
Get rid of	Deshacerse de	I need to get rid of some old clothes.
Get through	Pasar por, sobrevivir	I finally got through to customer service.
Get to	Llegar a, molestar	What time do we get to the station?
Get together	Reunirse	Let's get together for coffee next week.
Get up	Levantarse	I usually get up at 6 AM.
Give away	Regalar, revelar	She gave away all her old clothes to charity.
Give in	Ceder	He finally gave in and admitted he was wrong.
Give off	Emitir, desprender	The flowers give off a pleasant fragrance.
Give out	Repartir, agotarse	The teacher gave out the exam papers.
Give up	Rendirse, dejar de hacer algo	I decided to give up smoking.
Go after	Perseguir	The dog went after the ball.
Go ahead	Adelante, proceder	Go ahead and start without me.
Go along with	Estar de acuerdo con	I’ll go along with your plan.
Go away	Irse, desaparecer	I wish the pain would go away.
Go back	Regresar	I have to go back to the office to pick up something.
Go by	Pasar, guiarse por	Time goes by so quickly.
Go down	Bajar, reducirse	The price of oil is going down.
Go for	Ir por, intentar	I'm going to go for the gold medal.
Go in for	Participar en, disfrutar de	He really goes in for sports.
Go off	Explotar, sonar	The alarm went off at 6 AM.
Go on	Continuar, ocurrir	Please go on with your story.
Go out	Salir, apagarse	We’re going out for dinner tonight.
Go over	Revisar, repasar	Can you go over this report for me?
Go through	Pasar por, revisar	She went through a difficult time last year.
Go up	Subir, ascender	The price of gas is going up again.
Go with	Combinar con, acompañar	Does this shirt go with these pants?
Go without	Prescindir de, privarse de	I can't go without my morning coffee.
Grow apart	Distanciarse	They grew apart after they left school.
Grow back	Volver a crecer	My hair is slowly growing back after the haircut.
Grow into	Convertirse en, acostumbrarse a	She grew into a confident young woman.
Grow out of	Dejar de hacer algo, crecer fuera de	He's grown out of his old clothes.
Grow up	Crecer, madurar	Where did you grow up?
Hand down	Legar, heredar	This necklace was handed down to me by my grandmother.
Hand in	Entregar	I handed in my assignment late.
Hand out	Repartir	The teacher handed out the exam papers.
Hand over	Ceder, entregar	The thief was handed over to the police.
Hang around	Merodear, pasar el rato	We used to hang around the mall after school.
Hang on	Esperar, agarrarse	Hang on a second, I'll be right back.
Hang out	Pasar el rato	Do you want to hang out this weekend?
Hang up	Colgar (el teléfono)	He hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
Have on	Llevar puesto	What are you having on for the party tonight?
Hear from	Tener noticias de	I haven't heard from her in a long time.
Hear of	Oír hablar de	Have you heard of this new band?
Help out	Ayudar	Can you help me out with this project?
Hold back	Retener, contener	She tried to hold back her tears.
Hold on	Esperar, aguantar	Hold on, I'll be with you in a moment.
Hold out	Resistir, durar	The supplies won't hold out much longer.
Hold up	Retrasar, asaltar	The traffic held us up for over an hour.
Iron out	Resolver, planchar	Let's iron out the details before the meeting.
Join in	Participar	We’re going to play a game. Do you want to join in?
Join up	Unirse	He joined up with the team last year.
Keep at	Perseverar, insistir	Keep at it, you're doing great!
Keep away	Mantenerse alejado	Keep away from the edge of the cliff.
Keep back	Retener, mantenerse apartado	The police kept the crowd back.
Keep on	Continuar	She kept on talking despite the interruptions.
Keep out	No entrar, mantenerse fuera	This area is private property. Keep out!
Keep up	Mantenerse, seguir el ritmo	She walks so fast, I can't keep up with her.
Kick off	Empezar, dar inicio	The game kicks off at 3 PM.
Knock down	Derribar	The old building was knocked down to make way for new apartments.
Knock out	Noquear, dejar inconsciente	He was knocked out in the second round of the fight.
Lay off	Despedir (temporalmente)	The company had to lay off several workers.
Leave out	Omitir, excluir	He felt left out because he wasn't invited.
Let down	Decepcionar	She really let me down when she didn’t show up.
Let in	Dejar entrar	Could you let me in? I forgot my keys.
Let off	Dejar ir, perdonar	The judge let him off with a warning.
Let out	Dejar salir, soltar	He let out a sigh of relief.
Light up	Iluminar, encender	Her face lit up when she saw the gift.
Live down	Superar (una vergüenza)	I'll never live down that embarrassing moment.
Live up to	Estar a la altura de	The movie didn't live up to my expectations.
Look after	Cuidar de	She looks after her younger siblings.
Look ahead	Mirar hacia adelante	It's important to look ahead and plan for the future.
Look around	Mirar alrededor	We looked around the house before buying it.
Look back	Recordar, mirar atrás	When I look back, I see how much I've grown.
Look down on	Despreciar, mirar por encima del hombro	She looks down on people who don't share her opinions.
Look for	Buscar	I'm looking for my keys, have you seen them?
Look forward to	Esperar con ansias	I’m looking forward to the concert next week.
Look in on	Echar un vistazo, visitar	I'll look in on you later to see how you're doing.
Look into	Investigar, examinar	The police are looking into the case.
Look out	Tener cuidado	Look out! There's a car coming.
Look out for	Estar pendiente de	She always looks out for her younger brother.
Look over	Revisar, inspeccionar	Could you look over this report before I submit it?
Look through	Revisar rápidamente	I looked through the magazine while waiting for my appointment.
Look up	Buscar (en un libro, internet)	I need to look up that word in the dictionary.
Look up to	Admirar, respetar	I really look up to my older brother.
Make for	Dirigirse a, contribuir a	Let's make for the nearest exit.
Make off	Escaparse	The robbers made off with a large amount of money.
Make out	Distinguir, entender	I couldn't make out what she was saying.
Make over	Transformar, cambiar	The house was made over into a modern office.
Make up	Inventar, reconciliarse	They had a fight but made up the next day.
Make up for	Compensar, hacer las paces por	He made up for being late by buying her flowers.
Mess around	Juguetear, perder el tiempo	Stop messing around and start studying.
Miss out on	Perderse algo	I don't want to miss out on the fun.
Mix up	Confundir, mezclar	I always mix up their names.
Move in	Mudarse a	We're moving into our new house next week.
Move on	Avanzar, seguir adelante	It's time to move on to the next chapter in life.
Move out	Mudarse (de una casa)	They're moving out of their apartment next month.
Narrow down	Reducir, acotar	We've narrowed down the list to three candidates.
Nod off	Quedarse dormido	He nodded off during the lecture.
Note down	Apuntar, anotar	I noted down her phone number.
Opt for	Optar por	We opted for the cheaper option.
Opt out	Salirse, excluirse	He opted out of the company pension plan.
Own up	Admitir, confesar	She owned up to making the mistake.
Pack up	Empacar, dejar de funcionar	It's time to pack up and go home.
Pass away	Fallecer	His grandmother passed away last year.
Pass off	Hacerse pasar por algo/alguien	He tried to pass off the fake painting as a real one.
Pass out	Desmayarse, repartir	She passed out from the heat.
Pay back	Devolver el dinero	I'll pay you back next week.
Pay off	Pagar, saldar una deuda	We finally paid off our car loan.
Pick on	Meterse con alguien, molestar	The older kids always pick on him at school.
Pick out	Elegir, seleccionar	She picked out a nice dress for the party.
Pick up	Recoger, aprender	I'll pick you up at 8 PM.
Play down	Minimizar, restar importancia	He tried to play down the seriousness of the situation.
Play up	Exagerar, comportarse mal	The kids were playing up during the trip.
Point out	Señalar, destacar	He pointed out the mistake in the report.
Pull down	Derribar, bajar	The old building was pulled down last week.
Pull off	Lograr, sacar adelante	He pulled off a great performance despite the pressure.
Pull out	Retirarse, sacar	The company decided to pull out of the project.
Pull over	Detenerse al costado	The police officer told him to pull over.
Pull through	Recuperarse, salir adelante	She pulled through after a long illness.
Put aside	Dejar a un lado, ahorrar	He put aside some money for his vacation.
Put away	Guardar, ordenar	Please put away your toys.
Put down	Dejar, menospreciar	She put down the book and picked up her phone.
Put forward	Proponer, sugerir	They put forward a plan to improve the park.
Put off	Posponer, desalentar	They decided to put off the meeting until next week.
Put on	Ponerse, fingir	She put on her coat and left.
Put out	Apagar, publicar	The firefighters quickly put out the fire.
Put through	Pasar, conectar (una llamada)	Can you put me through to the manager?
Put up	Aumentar, alojar	They put up the prices again last month.
Put up with	Aguantar, soportar	I can't put up with his behavior any longer.
Quiet down	Callarse, calmarse	The teacher asked the students to quiet down.
Read over	Revisar, leer detenidamente	She read over the contract before signing it.
Read up on	Informarse sobre	I need to read up on the latest research.
Ring back	Devolver la llamada	I'll ring you back later.
Ring up	Llamar por teléfono	I need to ring up the doctor and make an appointment.
Rip off	Estafar, arrancar	That vendor tried to rip me off.
Round off	Redondear, concluir	Let's round off the evening with a nice dessert.
Run across	Encontrarse con, toparse	I ran across an old friend in the park today.
Run after	Perseguir	The dog ran after the cat.
Run away	Huir, escapar	She ran away from home at the age of 16.
Run down	Atropellar, criticar	He was run down by a car while crossing the street.
Run into	Encontrarse con, chocar	I ran into an old classmate at the grocery store.
Run out	Quedarse sin	We ran out of milk this morning.
Run over	Atropellar, repasar	Be careful not to run over any animals on the road.
See off	Despedir, acompañar	We went to the airport to see them off.
See through	Ver a través de, completar	I can see through your lies.
See to	Encargarse de, atender	I'll see to the arrangements for the party.
Sell out	Agotar (productos)	The tickets sold out in less than an hour.
Set aside	Apartar, reservar	Let's set aside some time to discuss this.
Set back	Retrasar, costar	The project was set back by the bad weather.
Set off	Partir, desencadenar	They set off on their journey early in the morning.
Set out	Partir, exponer	She set out to explore the city.
Set up	Establecer, organizar	They're setting up a new business downtown.
Settle down	Establecerse, calmarse	They decided to settle down in a quiet village.
Settle for	Conformarse con	I'll settle for the second option.
Settle in	Adaptarse, instalarse	It took a while to settle in at my new job.
Show off	Presumir, alardear	He's always showing off his new gadgets.
Show up	Aparecer, presentarse	He didn't show up to the meeting.
Shut down	Cerrar, apagar	The factory was shut down due to safety concerns.
Shut off	Apagar, cerrar	Please shut off the lights before you leave.
Shut up	Callarse	He told them to shut up and listen.
Sign in	Registrarse, iniciar sesión	Please sign in at the front desk.
Sign off	Despedirse, finalizar	The news anchor signed off with a smile.
Sign out	Cerrar sesión, dar salida	Don't forget to sign out when you're done.
Sign up	Inscribirse, apuntarse	I signed up for a yoga class.
Sit down	Sentarse	Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.
Sit out	No participar en algo	I'll sit out this dance.
Sit up	Incorporarse, quedarse despierto	She sat up late finishing her assignment.
Sleep in	Dormir hasta tarde	I like to sleep in on weekends.
Sleep over	Quedarse a dormir	Can I sleep over at your place tonight?
Sort out	Resolver, organizar	We need to sort out this mess before we can move on.
Speak out	Hablar en voz alta, expresarse	She spoke out against the injustice.
Speak up	Hablar más fuerte, expresarse	Please speak up, I can't hear you.
Speed up	Acelerar, apresurarse	We need to speed up the process to meet the deadline.
Spell out	Explicar con detalle, deletrear	Can you spell out your name for me?
Stand by	Estar de pie, apoyar	I'll stand by you no matter what.
Stand for	Representar, tolerar	This symbol stands for peace.
Stand out	Destacar, sobresalir	Her bright red hair made her stand out in the crowd.
Stand up	Levantarse, defender	Please stand up when the judge enters.
Stay up	Quedarse despierto	We stayed up late watching movies.
Stick around	Quedarse, permanecer	I'll stick around until the meeting is over.
Stick to	Ceñirse a, adherirse a	Let's stick to the original plan.
Stick with	Mantenerse con, continuar con	I'll stick with my current job for now.
Stock up	Abastecerse, aprovisionarse	We need to stock up on groceries before the storm hits.
Switch off	Apagar, desconectar	Don't forget to switch off the lights when you leave.
Switch on	Encender	He switched on the TV to watch the news.
Take after	Parecerse a (un familiar)	He takes after his father in both looks and personality.
Take apart	Desmontar, desarmar	He took the machine apart to see what was wrong.
Take away	Quitar, llevarse	The waiter took away the empty plates.
Take back	Devolver, retractarse	I take back what I said about him.
Take down	Apuntar, anotar	Did you take down the notes from the meeting?
Take in	Aceptar, asimilar, engañar	She was taken in by the con artist.
Take off	Despegar, quitarse (ropa)	The plane took off on time.
Take on	Asumir, contratar	She took on more responsibility at work.
Take out	Sacar, invitar (a salir)	He took her out for dinner.
Take over	Tomar el control, asumir	He took over the family business after his father retired.
Take up	Empezar (una actividad), ocupar (espacio o tiempo)	She took up yoga to relieve stress.
Talk back	Responder de mala manera	Don’t talk back to your parents.
Talk into	Convencer de hacer algo	He talked her into going to the party.
Talk over	Discutir, hablar sobre	We need to talk over the details before making a decision.
Talk through	Explicar en detalle	Let me talk you through the procedure.
Talk up	Alabar, hablar bien de	He talked up the benefits of the new policy.
Tell off	Regañar, reprender	She told him off for being late.
Think over	Reflexionar, pensar detenidamente	I need some time to think it over before I decide.
Think through	Pensar cuidadosamente	He didn’t think the plan through before acting.
Think up	Inventar, idear	She thought up a clever excuse for being late.
Throw away	Tirar, desechar	Don’t throw away those old magazines.
Throw in	Incluir, añadir	They threw in a free gift with my purchase.
Throw out	Tirar, expulsar	He was thrown out of the bar for being too noisy.
Throw up	Vomitar	She felt sick and threw up her lunch.
Tie down	Atar, limitar	He felt tied down by his responsibilities.
Tie in with	Coincidir, estar relacionado con	The event ties in with the launch of the new product.
Tie up	Atar, amarrar	The boat was tied up at the dock.
Tip off	Avisar, dar un soplo	Someone tipped off the police about the robbery.
Tire out	Agotar, cansar	The long hike tired them out.
Touch down	Aterrizar	The plane touched down at 3 PM.
Touch on	Mencionar, tratar brevemente	The speaker touched on several important issues.
Track down	Rastrear, localizar	The police managed to track down the suspect.
Trade in	Cambiar, dar en parte de pago	I traded in my old car for a new one.
Try on	Probarse (ropa)	She tried on several dresses before choosing one.
Try out	Probar, ensayar	We tried out the new software before buying it.
Turn around	Dar la vuelta, mejorar	The company managed to turn around its fortunes.
Turn away	Rechazar, no dejar entrar	They were turned away at the door because they were late.
Turn back	Volver, regresar	We had to turn back because of the storm.
Turn down	Rechazar, bajar (volumen)	He turned down the job offer.
Turn in	Entregar, irse a la cama	I turned in my assignment yesterday.
Turn into	Convertirse en	The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
Turn off	Apagar, desconectar	Please turn off the lights before you leave.
Turn on	Encender	She turned on the TV to watch the news.
Turn out	Resultar, asistir	It turned out that he was right all along.
Turn over	Dar la vuelta, entregar	She turned over the document to the authorities.
Turn up	Aparecer, subir (volumen)	He finally turned up after being late for an hour.
Use up	Gastar, agotar	We used up all the flour for the cake.
Wait around	Esperar sin hacer nada	I had to wait around for an hour before the bus arrived.
Wait on	Servir, atender	The staff waited on the guests at the event.
Wait up	Esperar despierto	Don’t wait up for me, I’ll be home late.
Wake up	Despertarse	I wake up at 7 AM every day.
Walk away	Alejarse, irse	She walked away from the argument.
Walk out	Salir, abandonar	The workers walked out in protest.
Walk over	Tratar mal, aprovecharse de	Don’t let him walk over you like that.
Walk up	Acercarse	He walked up to the stranger and introduced himself.
Wash away	Lavar, arrastrar	The floodwaters washed away the bridge.
Wash up	Lavarse, fregar	Don’t forget to wash up after dinner.
Watch out	Tener cuidado	Watch out for that car!
Wear away	Desgastarse	The paint has worn away over time.
Wear off	Desaparecer, quitarse	The effects of the medicine will wear off soon.
Wear out	Desgastarse, agotar	His shoes have worn out from all the running.
Wind down	Relajarse, reducir	After a long day, I like to wind down with a good book.
Wind up	Terminar, concluir	The company is winding up its operations in Asia.
Wipe out	Aniquilar, erradicar	The epidemic wiped out entire communities.
Work out	Hacer ejercicio, resolver	I try to work out at least three times a week.
Work through	Superar, resolver	We need to work through these issues before they get worse.
Work up	Desarrollar, provocar	She worked up a good appetite after the run.
Write down	Anotar, apuntar	Write down your ideas so you don’t forget them.
Write off	Cancelar, dar por perdido	The car was written off after the accident.
Write out	Escribir en detalle	Please write out the full names of the participants.
Zip up	Subir la cremallera	Don’t forget to zip up your jacket, it’s cold outside.
Zone out	Desconectarse, dejar de prestar atención	I zoned out during the boring lecture.
Zoom in	Acercar, hacer zoom	Zoom in on the image to see more detail.
Zoom out	Alejar, hacer zoom hacia afuera	Zoom out to see the whole picture.
Abide by	Cumplir con, acatar	We must abide by the rules of the game.
Act on	Actuar según, tomar medidas basadas en	The police acted on the tip and arrested the suspect.
Act out	Representar, actuar	The children acted out the story during the play.
Act up	Portarse mal, funcionar mal	The kids started acting up when the teacher left the room.
Agree on	Estar de acuerdo en algo	We finally agreed on a date for the meeting.
Agree with	Estar de acuerdo con	I completely agree with your opinion.
Aim at	Apuntar a, dirigirse a	The new policy is aimed at reducing costs.
Allow for	Tener en cuenta, considerar	We must allow for unexpected expenses in our budget.
Answer back	Replicar, contestar de manera insolente	Don’t answer back when I’m talking to you.
Answer for	Responder por, asumir la responsabilidad	You’ll have to answer for your actions.
Ask after	Preguntar por alguien	She asked after you at the party last night.
Ask around	Preguntar a varias personas	I don't know the answer, but I'll ask around and find out.
Ask for	Pedir, solicitar	If you want help, just ask for it.
Ask out	Invitar a salir (románticamente)	He asked her out to dinner and a movie.
Back away	Retroceder, alejarse	The crowd backed away when the fire started.
Back down	Echarse atrás, rendirse	He refused to back down in the argument.
Back out	Echarse atrás, retirarse	She backed out of the agreement at the last minute.
Back up	Respaldar, dar marcha atrás	Please back up your files regularly.
Bail out	Rescatar, sacar de apuros	The government bailed out the failing bank.
Bear down on	Presionar, aplicar fuerza	The police are bearing down on the protesters.
Bear up	Soportar, resistir	She bore up well under the pressure.
Beat up	Golpear, maltratar	The gang beat him up and stole his wallet.
Beef up	Fortalecer, reforzar	We need to beef up security for the event.
Bend down	Inclinarse, agacharse	She bent down to pick up the coin.
Blow away	Volar, impresionar	The strong wind blew away the papers.
Blow off	Dejar pasar, ignorar	He blew off the meeting to go to the beach.
Blow out	Apagar, reventar	The tire blew out on the highway.
Phrasal Verb	Significado	Ejemplo
------------------	-----------------------------------------	------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blow over	Pasar, calmarse	The storm will blow over by tomorrow.
Blow up	Explotar, enfadarse	The balloon blew up when it was overinflated.
Boil down to	Reducirse a, resumirse en	The issue boils down to one simple question.
Boot up	Iniciar (una computadora)	I need to boot up my computer before the meeting.
Break away	Separarse, escaparse	She broke away from the crowd to avoid the paparazzi.
Break down	Averiarse, descomponerse	My car broke down on the way to work.
Break in	Entrar a la fuerza, interrumpir	Someone broke in and stole the TV.
Break into	Entrar a robar	The thief broke into the house last night.
Break off	Romper, poner fin	She broke off the engagement last week.
Break out	Estallar, escapar	A fight broke out in the middle of the street.
Break through	Abrirse camino, hacer un avance	Scientists have broken through in their cancer research.
Break up	Terminar una relación	They broke up after three years together.
Bring about	Provocar, causar	The new law brought about significant changes.
Bring along	Traer consigo	You can bring along your friend if you like.
Bring back	Devolver, traer de vuelta	This photo brings back good memories.
Bring down	Derribar, hacer caer	The scandal brought down the politician.
Bring forward	Adelantar (una fecha)	They decided to bring forward the meeting.
Bring in	Introducir, involucrar	The new CEO was brought in to turn the company around.
Bring on	Causar, provocar	The stress brought on a severe headache.
Bring out	Sacar, destacar	The new perfume really brings out her eyes.
Bring over	Traer a alguien a casa	I’ll bring over the documents tomorrow.
Bring up	Mencionar, criar	She brought up an interesting point during the meeting.
Brush up on	Repasar, mejorar	I need to brush up on my French before my trip.
Buckle down	Ponerse serio, concentrarse	You need to buckle down and finish your homework.
Buckle up	Abrocharse el cinturón	Don’t forget to buckle up before we start driving.
Build on	Basarse en, construir sobre	We need to build on our previous successes.
Build up	Acumular, fortalecer	He built up a successful business from scratch.
Burn down	Quemarse completamente	The old warehouse burned down last night.
Burn out	Agotarse, quemarse	He burned out after working too many hours.
Burst out	Estallar en (risa, llanto)	She burst out laughing at the joke.
Butt in	Interrumpir, meterse	He always butts in when others are talking.
Call back	Devolver la llamada	I’ll call you back after the meeting.
Call for	Requerir, necesitar	This situation calls for immediate action.
Call off	Cancelar	They called off the wedding at the last minute.
Call on	Visitar, pedir a alguien que haga algo	The teacher called on me to answer the question.
Call out	Llamar en voz alta, desafiar	The referee called out the player for a foul.
Call up	Llamar por teléfono, convocar	The army called up all their reserves.
Calm down	Calmarse	She took a deep breath to calm down.
Care for	Cuidar, preocuparse por	She cares for her elderly parents.
Carry away	Dejarse llevar, entusiasmarse	He got carried away by the excitement of the moment.
Carry off	Llevarse, ganar	She carried off the prize for best actress.
Carry on	Continuar	Despite the difficulties, they carried on with the project.
Carry out	Llevar a cabo, cumplir	They carried out the plan successfully.
Carry over	Transferir, llevar adelante	The budget surplus will carry over to next year.
Catch on	Entender, ponerse de moda	It took him a while, but he finally caught on to the joke.
Catch up	Ponerse al día, alcanzar	I need to catch up on my work after the holidays.
Catch up with	Alcanzar, ponerse al día con	I caught up with an old friend over coffee.
Check in	Registrarse	We checked in at the hotel around noon.
Check out	Revisar, pagar y salir	We need to check out by 11 AM.
Cheer up	Animarse, alegrar	She cheered up after hearing the good news.
Chip in	Contribuir, poner dinero	Everyone chipped in to buy her a present.
Clean up	Limpiar, recoger	Let’s clean up the house before our guests arrive.
Clear away	Quitar, despejar	The waiter cleared away the empty dishes.
Clear off	Marcharse, despejar	He cleared off as soon as he saw the police.
Clear out	Vaciar, desalojar	We need to clear out the attic this weekend.
Clear up	Aclarar, despejar	The sky cleared up after the storm.
Close down	Cerrar (definitivamente)	The factory closed down due to lack of demand.
Close in on	Acercarse a, rodear	The police closed in on the suspect.
Close up	Cerrar temporalmente	The shop closes up at 8 PM every day.
Come about	Ocurrir, suceder	How did this situation come about?
Come across	Encontrar por casualidad, dar la impresión	I came across an old friend at the mall.
Come along	Acompañar, progresar	Would you like to come along to the movies?
Come apart	Desmoronarse, deshacerse	The old book came apart in my hands.
Come around	Recobrar el sentido, dejarse convencer	He'll come around to our way of thinking eventually.
Come back	Volver	She came back from vacation with a tan.
Come by	Conseguir, pasar por	Good jobs are hard to come by these days.
Come down	Bajar, venirse abajo	The price of gas has come down recently.
Come down with	Caer enfermo	I think I’m coming down with a cold.
Come forward	Presentarse, ofrecerse	The witness came forward with new information.
Come in	Entrar, llegar	Come in and have a seat.
Come into	Heredar	He came into a large inheritance when his grandfather passed away.
Come off	Resultar, desprenderse	The paint is coming off the walls.
Come on	Aparecer, empezar	A cold is coming on, I can feel it.
Come out	Salir, hacerse público	The truth eventually came out.
Come over	Visitar, pasar por	Why don’t you come over for dinner?
Come through	Superar, cumplir	She came through the surgery just fine.
Come up	Surgir, aparecer	Something urgent has come up.
Come up against	Enfrentarse a	We’ve come up against a lot of problems with this project.
Come up with	Inventar, proponer	She came up with a great idea.
Count on	Contar con, confiar en	You can always count on me for help.
Count out	Excluir, no contar con	If you’re going bungee jumping, count me out.
Count up	Contar, sumar	Let's count up the total cost of the trip.
Crack down	Reprimir, tomar medidas drásticas	The government is cracking down on illegal immigration.
Crack up	Reírse mucho, romperse	He cracked up at the comedian's jokes.
Cross off	Tachar de una lista	I crossed off the last item on my to-do list.
Cross out	Tachar	She crossed out the incorrect word and wrote the correct one.
Cut back	Reducir, recortar	We need to cut back on expenses this month.
Cut down	Reducir, talar	The tree was cut down to make room for the new building.
Cut in	Interrumpir, meterse	She cut in while I was speaking.
Cut off	Cortar, interrumpir	The phone call was cut off.
Cut out	Recortar, eliminar	You should cut out junk food from your diet.
Cut through	Atajar, atravesar	We can cut through the park to get there faster.
Cut up	Cortar en pedazos	He cut up the vegetables for the salad.
Deal with	Tratar con, lidiar	We need to deal with this issue immediately.
Die away	Desvanecerse, apagarse	The sound of the train died away in the distance.
Die down	Calmarse, apagarse	The wind began to die down as the storm passed.
Die out	Extinguirse, desaparecer	Many species are in danger of dying out.
Dig in	Empezar a comer, cavar	Everyone dug in as soon as the food was served.
Dig into	Investigar a fondo, excavar	The journalist dug into the politician’s past.
Dig up	Desenterrar, sacar a la luz	They dug up some old family photos.
Dish out	Servir, repartir, criticar	She loves to dish out advice to everyone.
Dive in	Zambullirse, lanzarse	As soon as the pool was ready, the kids dove in.
Do away with	Eliminar, deshacerse de	We should do away with outdated practices.
Do up	Abrochar, renovar	She did up her coat before going outside.
Do without	Prescindir de, arreglárselas sin	We had to do without electricity for two days.
Draw back	Retroceder, apartarse	The sight of the snake made her draw back in fear.
Draw on	Aprovechar, usar	She drew on her experience to make the right decision.
Draw out	Sacar, prolongar	The meeting was drawn out unnecessarily.
Draw up	Redactar, elaborar	They drew up a contract for the new employee.
Act up	Funcionar mal, portarse mal	The printer is acting up again.
Angle for	Buscar obtener algo indirectamente	He’s angling for a promotion by working late every day.
Argue down	Vencer en una discusión	She argued him down on the price.
Back out of	Retirarse, incumplir	He backed out of the deal at the last minute.
Bawl out	Regañar, reprender	The coach bawled out the players for their poor performance.
Bear on	Afectar, influir en	This information may bear on the case.
Bear up	Resistir, soportar	She’s bearing up well under the pressure.
Beat down	Forzar a bajar el precio	He managed to beat down the price of the car.
Beef up	Reforzar, fortalecer	They beefed up security after the robbery.
Belie with	Contradecir con	His kind words belie with his harsh actions.
Belong with	Encajar, corresponder	Those books belong with the others on the shelf.
Black out	Perder el conocimiento	She blacked out after standing up too quickly.
Blank out	Olvidar, borrar de la mente	He blanked out during the test.
Blaze away	Disparar sin cesar	The soldiers blazed away at the enemy.
Block off	Bloquear, cerrar el paso	The street was blocked off due to construction.
Blow in	Llegar de repente	He just blew in from New York without warning.
Bog down	Enredarse, quedarse atascado	We got bogged down in the details of the project.
Bone up on	Estudiar intensamente	I need to bone up on my Spanish before the trip.
Border on	Rayar en, estar cerca de	His actions border on the absurd.
Bottom out	Tocar fondo	The stock market finally bottomed out after weeks of decline.
Box up	Encerrar, empaquetar	She boxed up all her old clothes to donate.
Branch out	Expandir, diversificar	The company is branching out into new markets.
Break in on	Interrumpir, colarse en	He broke in on their conversation with urgent news.
Breeze through	Pasar por algo fácilmente	She breezed through the exam without any trouble.
Brighten up	Mejorar, alegrar	The weather brightened up in the afternoon.
Brush off	Ignorar, despreciar	She brushed off his criticisms.
Bubble over	Rebalsar de emoción	The children were bubbling over with excitement.
Buck up	Animar, ponerse las pilas	Buck up! Things will get better soon.
Bump off	Asesinar, eliminar	The mob boss ordered him to be bumped off.
Bundle up	Abrigarse, envolver	Make sure to bundle up; it’s cold outside.
Butt out	No entrometerse, no meterse	This is none of your business, so butt out.
Button up	Abotonar, cerrar	Button up your coat; it’s windy outside.
Call around	Llamar a varias personas	I’ll call around to see if anyone has seen my cat.
Carry over	Transferir, prolongar	The balance will carry over to the next month.
Catch out	Descubrir a alguien haciendo algo malo	The teacher caught him out cheating on the exam.
Chalk up	Atribuir, anotar	She chalked up her success to hard work.
Change over	Cambiar, hacer la transición	They changed over to a new system last year.
Chat up	Coquetear, hablar con alguien para ligar	He tried to chat up the girl at the bar.
Clam up	Callarse, cerrar la boca	When asked about the incident, he clammed up.
Clamp down on	Reprimir, tomar medidas drásticas	The government is clamping down on illegal activities.
Clean out	Limpiar, vaciar	I need to clean out the garage this weekend.
Clean up on	Ganar mucho dinero con	He cleaned up on the stock market last year.
Close in	Acercarse, rodear	The police are closing in on the suspect.
Cloud over	Nublarse	The sky clouded over just before the storm hit.
Clown around	Hacer tonterías, payasear	Stop clowning around and do your work.
Cobble together	Juntar rápidamente	They cobbled together a solution at the last minute.
Conk out	Quedarse dormido, averiarse	I conked out on the couch after the long day.
Crack up	Reírse mucho, romperse	She cracked up at the comedian’s jokes.
Crop up	Surgir inesperadamente	Some problems cropped up at the last minute.
Dash off	Salir corriendo, hacer rápidamente	I have to dash off to catch my train.
Deal out	Repartir	The dealer dealt out the cards to the players.
Decide on	Decidirse por	We decided on the blue paint for the living room.
Dish up	Servir, presentar	She dished up a delicious meal for dinner.
Do in	Matar, agotar	That long hike really did me in.
Double up	Doblarse de dolor o risa	He doubled up with laughter at the joke.
Drag out	Prolongar, alargar innecesariamente	The meeting was dragged out for hours.
Draw down	Reducir, agotar	The company plans to draw down its inventory.
Draw on	Utilizar, recurrir	She drew on her savings to pay the bills.
Dredge up	Sacar a relucir, recordar algo desagradable	Why do you always dredge up old arguments?
Dress down	Regañar, vestir informalmente	The boss dressed him down for missing the deadline.
Drink in	Absorber, disfrutar	We sat by the beach, drinking in the beautiful view.
Drown out	Ahogar un sonido, hacer inaudible	The loud music drowned out their conversation.
Ease into	Entrar lentamente, adaptarse	She eased into her new job after a few weeks.
Edge out	Desplazar, superar por poco	She edged out her competitor to win the race.
Egg on	Incitar, animar a alguien a hacer algo	His friends egged him on to jump off the cliff.
Face off	Enfrentarse, enfrentarse a	The two teams will face off in the final match.
Fawn over	Adular, halagar	The students fawned over the popular teacher.
Fiddle around	Juguetear, hacer tiempo	Stop fiddling around and start your work.
Fight off	Rechazar, combatir	He fought off a cold with lots of rest and vitamin C.
Fizzle out	Desvanecerse, fracasar lentamente	The project started with a bang but fizzled out after a few months.
Flare up	Brotar, estallar (problema, enfermedad)	Her arthritis flares up in cold weather.
Flip out	Perder el control, enfadarse	He flipped out when he heard the news.
Fob off	Engañar, dar excusas	Don’t let him fob you off with excuses.
Foul up	Arruinar, echar a perder	He fouled up the presentation by forgetting his notes.
Freak out	Asustarse, enloquecer	She freaked out when she saw the spider.
Fritter away	Malgastar, desperdiciar	He frittered away his inheritance on luxuries.
Fuss over	Preocuparse demasiado por algo	She fusses over her plants every day.
Get around to	Encontrar tiempo para algo	I finally got around to reading that book.
Get by on	Arreglárselas, sobrevivir	We can get by on one salary for now.
Get off with	Salir sin castigo, ligarse a alguien	He got off with just a warning.
Get on to	Empezar a tratar, contactar	We need to get on to the next item on the agenda.
Get up to	Hacer travesuras, dedicarse a algo	What did you get up to last weekend?
Give over	Entregar, ceder	He gave over his responsibilities to his successor.
Gloss over	Pasar por alto, disimular	The report glossed over the main issues.
Gobble up	Devorar, consumir rápidamente	The kids gobbled up the cookies in minutes.
Goof around	Hacer tonterías, perder el tiempo	They spent the afternoon goofing around instead of working.
Grass on	Chivarse, delatar	He got caught because someone grassed on him.
Grit your teeth	Apretar los dientes, soportar con fuerza	You just have to grit your teeth and get through it.
Hanker after	Anhelar, desear	She’s always hankering after a life of luxury.
Harp on	Insistir en, machacar	He always harps on about the same old issues.
Hush up	Silenciar, encubrir	They tried to hush up the scandal.
Iron out	Resolver, planchar	We need to iron out the details of the contract.
Jaw away	Hablar mucho, cotorrear	The two old friends spent hours jawing away.
Jot down	Apuntar rápidamente	I’ll jot down your phone number.
Juice up	Potenciar, mejorar	The graphics were juiced up for the new version of the game.
Keel over	Caerse, desplomarse	He keeled over in the heat and had to be helped inside.
Key in on	Enfocarse en, concentrarse en	We need to key in on our target audience.
Knuckle down	Ponerse en serio, trabajar duro	It’s time to knuckle down and finish this project.