|
PHRASAL |
MEANING |
EXAMPLES / TRANSLATION |
|
call at |
visit a place for a short time |
I
called at the bank to transfer some money. |
|
call for |
1)
visit a place to collect |
1)
Tom
is calling for me at 8 pm. |
|
2) require, demand |
2) This situation calls for tact and
a deep investigation. |
|
|
call in |
send
for someone to come |
It
was too late to call in an electrician. |
|
call off |
1) cancel something that has been scheduled, not started |
1)
The couple decided to call off the wedding. |
|
2) divert, distract |
2) Please, call off your dog at once !! |
|
|
call on |
1)
ask
someone to do |
1)
The
president called on his people to make some sacrifices. |
|
2) visit |
2) Call on me if you have any problems. |
|
|
call out |
1)
shout, cry, exclaim |
1)
They called my name out. |
|
2) summon troops for action |
2)
The Fire Brigade was called out
twice during the night. |
|
|
call up |
1)
remember, recollect |
1)
The old man is calling up many memories. |
|
2) summon for military service |
2) Here men are called up at 18. |
|
|
3) telephone someone |
3) I called Tom up and told him the news. |
|
|
call upon |
visit someone for a short time |
Yesterday
they called upon the ambassador. |
|
calm down |
become less agitated |
Veronica is really upset. I'll try to calm her down. |
|
care about |
be concerned about |
This
movie star cares about his reputation. |
|
care for |
1)
like, want |
1)
He doesn't care for films about war. |
|
2) look after, take care of |
2) This house looks well cared for. |
|
|
carry on |
1) continue |
1) The
widow carried on as if nothing had happened. |
|
2) continue with |
2) Both brothers carried on with their boring
conversation. |
|
|
carry out |
perform, put in practice |
It
is not easy to carry out this task. |
|
cast up |
calculate, add |
The
accountant will cast up all the figures in this book. |
|
catch on |
1) become popular; be widely accepted |
1)
The fashion of wearing bow ties is catching on. |
|
2) understand (slang) |
2) He saw the old lady and suddenly caught on. |
|
catch up with |
overtake but not pass, |
I
started last but I soon caught up with the others. |
|
cater for |
provide with things desired |
Our
company caters for every kind of food for planes. |
|
|
|
check in |
register one's arrival |
You
must check in at the front desk. |
|
check off |
make a mark on a list to |
She checked off all the things
she had packed up. |
|
check out |
1)
register
one's departure |
1)
Please,
leave the key here when you check out. |
|
2) verify, investigate |
2) Can you check out this information? |
|
|
cheer on |
cheer, encourage |
She promised to be there to cheer us on. |
|
cheer up |
help someone feel less |
Cheer
up! Everything will be all right. |
|
chew out |
scold someone severely |
His father chewed him out when he arrived so late. |
|
chicken out |
lose the courage or confidence |
I was going to ask him for a job, but I chickened out. |
|
chip in |
contribute, donate |
My mother is collecting donations for the cause. I'm sure you want to
chip in. |
|
chop down |
fell; cut down by delivering |
They
finally
chopped down the
old oak
tree. |
|
chop up |
cut
into small pieces |
She
chopped the meat up for the stew. |
|
clam up |
refuse to talk about |
When I try to talk about her divorce, Mary just clams up. |
|
clean down |
brush or wask a wall, car, etc. |
He
spent all day cleaning my car down. |
|
clean out |
make clean and tidy |
The
maid will soon clean out the cupboard. |
|
clean up |
tidy |
This
painters always clean up when they've finished. |
|
clean up after |
tidy for |
She spent half
a day
cleaning up after
the children. |
|
clear
away |
1)
remove or get rid of articles |
1)
He cleared away (off, out) the old records. |
|
2) disperse |
2) "You clear
away (off, out) immediately", shouted the farmer. |
|
|
clear up |
1)
become finer or bright |
1)
When the weather clears up, we'll go to the movies. |
|
2) tidy up |
2) Please, clear up all this mess. |
|
|
3) finish |
3) I have some letters to be cleared up before I leave. |
|
|
4) solve a mystery |
4) The detective finally cleared up the mystery. |
|
|
5) used when introducing |
5) You must clear up Customs when you come from abroad. |
|
|
clock in |
register
one's arrival in a clock |
The
workmen here clock in from 6 am to 6.30 am. |
|
clock
off |
register one's departure in a clock (in factories) |
Our
workmen clock off (out) at 3 pm. |
|
close down |
shut permanently |
Trade
here is so bad that many shops close down. |
|
close
in |
come
nearer, approach from |
As
the mist was closing in (on) we decided to stay there. |
|
close up |
1)
close completely, block |
1)
The old road has been closed up. |
|
2) come nearer to one another |
2) Please children, close up a bit for another boy on this seat. |
|
|
cloud
over |
become overcast |
Although it
clouded over
(up) in
the afternoon, the rain stayed away and we could play in the garden. |
|
come about |
happen |
It
came about that we both left Spain on the same plane. |
|
come across |
1) meet accidentally |
1)
I met across several old friends at the meeting. |
|
2) find
unexpectedly, |
2) I will tell you if I come across the book you are looking for. |
|
|
come along |
1)
progress |
1)
How is your new novel coming along? |
|
2) hurry |
2) Come along now, or we'll be late. |
|
|
come away |
1)
leave |
1)
Come away now. It's time to go home. |
|
2) become detached |
2) The knob of the CD player came away in my hands. |
|
|
come back |
return |
I
shall be waiting for you when you come back. |
|
come down |
descend |
Mrs.
Blair will come down in five minutes. |
|
come down to |
can be reduced to |
Your choices
come down
just to
these two alternatives. |
|
come down with |
become ill with |
My wife
came down with
the flu. |
|
come
in |
1)
enter |
1)
Come into my garden and I shall show you my new roses. |
|
2) become fashionable |
2) Short skirts have come in this year. |
|
|
come off |
1)
be detached |
1)
The minute hand of my watch has come off. |
|
2) be successful |
2) Your plan has come off after all. |
|
|
3) take place |
3) When is the wedding coming off? Next month? |
|
|
4) be taken off,
|
4) This play is coming off next week. |
|
|
|
come out |
1)
be revealed |
1)
The whole truth finally came out. |
|
2) be published |
2) Her new book will come out next week. |
|
|
3) disappear |
3) Tomato stains do not usually come out. |
|
|
4) result |
4) Everything has come out as we wanted. |
|
|
come over |
come
to one's house, |
Come
over and have tea with us. |
|
come round |
1)
recover consciousness |
1)
The cyclist came round after two hours. |
|
2) come to my house |
2) I could come round tonight if you are not busy. |
|
|
3) finally accept |
3) Lina refused to study abroad but she came round in the end. |
|
|
come to |
1) regain consciousness |
1)
After he fainted he came to himself very quickly. |
|
2) total |
Your purchase comes to $60. Will you pay
with a credit card? |
|
|
come up |
1)
ascend, rise to the surface |
1)
Come up and take a look at the bedroom. |
|
2) be mentioned, arise |
2) The question of my salary came up at the
meeting. |
|
|
3) approach |
3) The stranger came up and asked me the time. |
|
|
come up against |
meet an obstacle |
They have come up against many difficulties
lately. |
|
come upon |
discover |
We
finally
came upon a small lake
near the Andes. |
|
come up to |
1) be equal to |
1)
His work does not come up to Mary's. |
|
2) come close enough to talk, |
2) The policeman came up to me
and said, "You can't park here. Please, park over there". |
|
|
come up with |
produce |
OM Personal comes up with
many alternatives
to the Spanish speakers who need to learn English. |
|
confide in |
share a secret |
The two friends
have always
confided in
each other. |
|
cook up |
concoct (slang) |
How
did you mnage to cook up such a fantastic excuse? |
|
cool down |
become cool or calm |
They
could cool down the angry parent after some minutes. |
|
cope with |
deal with problems |
He
could cope with that difficult situation. |
|
cordon off |
block |
The police cordoned off this area. |
|
count in |
include
(usually separated) |
You
can count me in for the picnic. |
|
count on |
rely on,
depend on |
You
can count on me; I won't fail you. |
|
count out |
exclude
(usually separated) |
Please,
count me out for the birthday present. |
|
count up |
add up figures |
Count
these figures up once more. |