|
PHRASAL |
MEANING |
EXAMPLES / TRANSLATION |
|
back away |
move
back slowly |
The
robbers backed away when they saw the fierced dog. |
|
back down |
give up a claim |
The
claimant backed down and was content to take his share. |
|
back down from |
withdraw, avoid |
The new president never
backs down from
a challenge. |
|
back off |
not follow a threat, |
She backed off when I insisted on paying for the damages. |
|
back out |
break
a promise |
Kevin promised me a trip, but
he finally backed
out of his promise. |
|
back out of |
withdraw from |
He
had to back out of the deal owing to his recent misfortunes. |
|
back up |
1) support (a claim or a person), confirm |
1)
All
of us will back you up at the election. |
|
2)
move in reverse, |
2) Could you please back up your car a little? |
|
|
3) make a protection copy |
Before my computer crashed, I could back all my files up. |
|
|
bail out |
1) rescue |
1) If your son runs into
difficulties, who will
bail
him out? |
|
2) provide
money for a |
2) A
rich friend soon came and bailed Joe out. |
|
|
bale out |
1)
escape from an aeroplane |
1)
The pilot baled out when the aircraft fell in flames. |
|
2) remove water from a vessel |
2) We baled out for several hours until the boat was safe. |
|
|
bandy about |
discuss lightly or jokingly |
I
don't like to hear my secrets being bandied about. |
|
bank on |
depend on |
We
all are
banking on good
weather next Monday. |
|
barge in |
intrude (slang) |
We
were at a private meeting when she barged in. |
|
bark out |
say petulantly |
She
barked out the salesman, "Why don't you leave?" |
|
be about to |
be
on the point of |
He
is about to leave for Costa Rica. |
|
be after |
search for, want (slang) |
I
am after the truth of this problem. |
|
be against |
be opposed to |
I'm
against buying everything they offer you. |
|
be away |
be
far from home, from this |
I'm afraid
Sheila
is
away for the weekend. |
|
be back |
have
returned after a long |
Mr.
Barter will be back in half an hour. |
|
be behind with |
be late with |
You
are already behind with your rent. |
|
|
|
be down for |
have
one's name written |
Are
you down for the OM Personal final examinations? |
|
be down in |
have failed in (slang) |
Poor
Mary is down in French and Maths. |
|
be for |
be in favour of |
I'm
for doing nothing till the police arrive. |
|
be in |
be
at home, be here or there |
I
want to see Mr. Delaware. Is he in? |
|
be in for |
be
about to have or experience |
The pilot has just said that we are in for a bumpy flight. |
|
be in with |
be friendly with |
His
father is in with the manager. |
|
be off |
1) go away (colloquial) |
1)
She is off now. Call her later. |
|
2) have gone bad (colloquial) |
2) This milk is off; throw it away. |
|
|
3) be free from duty |
3) He promised to see me when she was off. |
|
|
4) be cancelled (colloquial) |
4) The meeting scheduled for tonight is now off. |
|
|
5) start |
5) The movie is off now! |
|
|
be on |
1)
be on duty (colloquial) |
1)
They are on from 2 pm to 6 pm |
|
2) agree (colloquial) |
2) We are swimming soon. Are you on? |
|
|
be out |
1)
be away from home |
Mrs.
Dennys is out at the moment. |
|
2) be mistaken, be wrong |
2) The accountant was out in his budget. |
|
|
3) be published |
3) Her book is already out. |
|
|
4) be no longer burning |
4) Is the fire out? |
|
|
5) be beyond consideration |
5) I'm so busy that even a short holiday is out. |
|
|
be out for |
be seeking (colloquial) |
Sheila
is out for a good time. |
|
be out of |
1)
be away from |
1)
He is out of Buenos Aires at the present. |
|
2) have finished, have |
2) I am out of sugar and coffee. |
|
|
be over |
be finished |
The
storm is over now. We can go on. |
|
be through with |
have finished with (colloquial) |
I
am through with you for good and all. |
|
be up |
1)
have risen, be out of bed |
1)
She won't be up till 11 am today. |
|
2) be happening |
2) What's up? Why did you scream? |
|
|
3) be finished |
3) Your time is up. You must return now. |
|
|
be up against |
compete
against, be facing, |
Mankind
is always up against Nature. |
|
be up and about |
be
out of bed and active, |
Mr
Rivers is much better now: he is already up and about. |
|
be up to |
1) be doing, be busy with |
1)
Martha is very quiet. Go and see what she is up to. |
|
2) feel able to, be fit for |
2) My doctor said that I was not up to making such a long flight. |
|
|
3) be someone's responsibility |
3) It is up to you to teach your children manners. |
|
|
be well up in |
be well versed in, know thoroughly |
He
is well up in movie business: ask him about this film. |
|
bear away |
win |
Our
team bore away the championship. |
|
bear out |
confirm |
This
report bears out my theory about the murder. |
|
bear up |
support
bad news, |
Try
to bear up even if you feel sick. |
|
bear with |
be patient with |
Please, kindly
bear with the delay. |
|
beat down |
force
someone to lower |
He
asked me $1000 for the tree, but I beat him down to $600. |
|
beat
off |
repel |
The
villagers could beat off (back) several attackes in the past. |
|
beat up |
1)
strike so. severely |
1)
This fellow has beat up several boys at school. |
|
2) mix thoroughly |
2) Beat up the ingredients and then boil everything. |
|
|
beg off |
decline, ask to be excused |
Marly begged off from her engagement to come to the party. |
|
block up |
obstruct
so as to make |
Bank
deposits in Argentina were blocked up in December 2001. |
|
blow out |
extinguish,
put out a flame |
The
wind blew out the candle (or The wind blew the candle out). |
|
blow over |
pass |
All these troubles will soon blow over. |
|
blow up |
1) destroy by explosion, explode |
1)
Suddenly the whole barrel blew up. |
|
2) fill with air, inflate, pump up |
2) Laura's father blew up all the balloons for the party.
|
|
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3) become angry |
3) He blew up when his seceretary told him about the mistake.
|
|
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4) arise |
4) A storm suddenly blew up in the Caribbean.
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boil away |
1)
continue boiling |
1)
The water has been boiling away for the last ten minutes. |
|
2) boil until all liquid has evaporated |
2) The milk has all boiled away. |
|
|
boil down to |
can be reduced to |
All his ideas
boil down to
imaginary thoughts. |
|
|
|
boil over |
boil
and flow over the sides |
The
milk boiled over and there was a horrible smell of burning. |
|
bone up on |
review, study thoroughly |
If you are going to Paris try to bone up on your French. |
|
border on |
be near, be next to |
Their excitement
bordered on
dangerous
hysteria. |
|
bounce back |
recover |
Helen's husband bounced back
from his
defeat. |
|
bow out of |
withdraw |
They finally bowed out of the car race. |
|
branch out |
begin or develop a new business |
Our
company branched out and has two agencies in Brazil. |
|
break down |
1)
smash, demolish |
1)
The thieves broke down the front door. |
|
2) stop functioning, |
2) The engine has broken down. |
|
|
3) collapse through ill-health |
3) When
she heard the news, she broke down and wept. |
|
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4) analyse |
4) Could you break down these information into age-groups? |
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|
break in |
1)
enter by force |
1)
Two thieves broke in and stole the car. |
|
2) interrupt someone |
2) I was telling Paul about Venice when she broke in. |
|
|
3)
tame, train for use. |
3) It took many men to break in that wild horse. |
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break off |
1)
separate by breaking |
1)
He took the chocolate and broke off a piece. |
|
2) stop, disrupt |
2) Before the war some countries broke off diplomatic relations. |
|
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break out |
1)
escape by using force |
1)
Several prisoners managed to break out of prison. |
|
2)
suddenly begin wars, |
2) War broke out in 1939. |
|
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3) appear suddenly |
3) The sun finally broke out and the rain stopped. |
|
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4) utter, exclaim |
4) Suddenly he broke out into terrible curses. |
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break up |
1)
break into pieces |
1)
The old ship was broken up by the waves. |
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2) stop, finish |
2) Classes broke up and students went back home. |
|
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3) depart, disperse
|
3)
The police managed to break the angry crowd up. |
|
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4) break a relationship |
4) Mary and James broke up their engagement. |
|
|
breathe in |
inhale |
We went out to the garden and breathed in the fresh
air. |
|
breathe out |
exhale |
Jane
breathed out a sigh of
relief when she saw her son was in. |
|
bring about |
cause to happen |
What
has brought about all this disaster? |
|
bring around |
1)
persuade someone to |
1)
Finally I brought him around to my point of view. |
|
2) restore to consciousness |
2) This medicine will soon bring her around. |
|
|
3) bring to your house |
3) I'll bring your book around tonight. |
|
bring back |
1) recall (usually not
|
1) He
always brings back his trip to Paris. |
|
2) return |
2) She
brought back her
four library books. |
|
bring down |
lower, reduce |
Finally
the artist brought his price down. |
|
bring forward |
1)
introduce, propose |
1)
Who brought this matter forward? |
|
2) carry figures to |
2) You must bring forward last month's total on to page 25. |
|
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bring in |
1)
introduce |
1)
The foreigners brought in many customs. |
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2) produce as profit, yield |
2) The sale has brought in an interesting sum. |
|
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3) earn |
3) His business brings in a lot of money every month. |
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4) pronounce a verdict |
4) The jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. |
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bring off |