Phrasal Verbs List with Meanings: Organized by Particle (2026)
Learn phrasal verbs by particle: UP, OUT, OFF, DOWN, and more. Each particle explained with meaning patterns, verb lists, and example sentences.
Phrasal Verbs List with Meanings: Organized by Particle (2026)
Learn phrasal verbs the smart way: by particle. When you understand what each particle usually means, you can guess the meaning of new phrasal verbs. Designed for B1-B2 learners who want to move beyond memorisation.
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What is a particle?
In phrasal verbs, the particle is the small word after the verb: up, out, off, down, in, on, over. These particles often carry a general meaning. For example, "up" often means increase or complete, while "out" often means exclude or remove. When you learn the pattern, you can understand many phrasal verbs without memorising them one by one.
This guide organises phrasal verbs by particle so you can see the patterns clearly. Each section explains the common meaning of the particle, then lists the most important verbs with definitions and examples.
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Phrasal Verbs with UP
The particle UP usually suggests increase, completion, or improvement. It can also mean moving to a higher position.
Pattern: "verb + up" = increase, finish, or make better
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bring up | Mention a topic; raise a child | She brought up an interesting point during the meeting. |
| give up | Stop trying; quit | Do not give up on learning English. You are making progress. |
| look up | Search for information; visit | I looked up the word in my dictionary app. |
| make up | Invent; reconcile after a fight; form | Children sometimes make up imaginary friends to play with. |
| pick up | Lift; collect; learn quickly | She picked up a few words of Japanese during her trip. |
| set up | Establish; arrange; prepare | They set up a home office during the lockdown. |
| take up | Start a hobby or activity; occupy space/time | I want to take up painting in my free time. |
| turn up | Arrive; increase volume; be found | Only three people turned up to the event. |
| show up | Arrive; appear | He promised to come but never showed up. |
| grow up | Become an adult | She grew up in a small town in Brazil. |
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Phrasal Verbs with OUT
The particle OUT often means exclude, remove, finish, or make visible. It can also mean extending outward.
Pattern: "verb + out" = remove, exclude, discover, or complete
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| carry out | Perform or complete a task | The scientists carried out a series of experiments. |
| find out | Discover information | I need to find out what time the flight lands. |
| point out | Draw attention to something | She pointed out that we were running late. |
| work out | Exercise; find a solution; calculate | We need to work out a plan for the project. |
| figure out | Understand or solve | I cannot figure out how to use this app. |
| check out | Leave a hotel; investigate; look at | Check out our new website when you have a moment. |
| run out | Exhaust the supply of something | We have run out of printer paper again. |
| leave out | Not include; omit | Make sure you do not leave out any important details. |
| sort out | Organise; resolve a problem | Can you sort out the travel arrangements for next week? |
| try out | Test something | I want to try out the new recipe before the party. |
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Phrasal Verbs with OFF
The particle OFF often means remove, separate, depart, or cancel. It can also mean reducing or stopping.
Pattern: "verb + off" = remove, disconnect, depart, or cancel
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| call off | Cancel something planned | They called off the wedding at the last minute. |
| cut off | Remove by cutting; disconnect; interrupt | The speaker was cut off mid-sentence by a technical issue. |
| drop off | Deliver; fall asleep; decrease | I will drop off the documents at your office tomorrow. |
| pay off | Finish paying; yield results | All her hard work paid off when she passed the exam. |
| put off | Postpone; delay; discourage | Do not put off applying for scholarships. |
| show off | Boast; display proudly | He bought a sports car just to show off. |
| set off | Begin a journey; trigger | We set off for the mountains at sunrise. |
| take off | Remove clothing; depart by plane; become successful | Her career really took off after the book launch. |
| turn off | Stop a device; cause someone to lose interest | Please turn off your phone during the film. |
| write off | Cancel a debt; dismiss as unimportant | The bank wrote off the loan as uncollectable. |
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Phrasal Verbs with DOWN
The particle DOWN often means decrease, reduce, stop, or record on paper. It can also indicate moving to a lower position.
Pattern: "verb + down" = reduce, stop, record, or decrease
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| break down | Stop working; lose control; analyse | Let me break down the costs for you. |
| calm down | Become less angry or nervous | Take a deep breath and calm down. |
| close down | Stop operating permanently | The factory closed down after 50 years of operation. |
| let down | Disappoint someone | I promised I would help and I do not want to let them down. |
| turn down | Refuse an offer; reduce volume | She turned down the promotion because of the relocation. |
| write down | Record on paper | Write down your goals and review them daily. |
| cut down | Reduce the amount you use | I am trying to cut down on social media time. |
| slow down | Reduce speed; become less busy | You need to slow down and take care of yourself. |
| shut down | Stop operating | The system shut down unexpectedly. |
| settle down | Start a stable life; become calm | After years abroad, she settled down in Canada. |
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Phrasal Verbs with OVER, IN, and ON
These three particles have distinct patterns. OVER often means across or above. IN suggests entering or including. ON means continuing or relying.
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| get over (OVER) | Recover from illness or disappointment | It took him months to get over the breakup. |
| think over (OVER) | Consider carefully | Let me think over your proposal and call you tomorrow. |
| go over (OVER) | Review or check | Let us go over the main points again. |
| hand in (IN) | Submit work or an assignment | Please hand in your report by Friday afternoon. |
| fill in (IN) | Complete a form; update someone | Can you fill me in on what I missed at the meeting? |
| check in (IN) | Register at a hotel or for a flight | We checked in online to save time at the airport. |
| count on (ON) | Rely or depend on | You can count on me to be there on time. |
| hold on (ON) | Wait; grip tightly | Hold on, I will be with you in a moment. |
| keep on (ON) | Continue doing something | Keep on practising and you will see results. |
| carry on (ON) | Continue despite difficulty | Carry on with your work while I make some calls. |
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Same Verb, Different Particle
One of the trickiest parts of learning phrasal verbs is that the same verb can change meaning completely depending on the particle. Here are three common examples.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| take up | Start a new hobby or activity | I want to take up yoga this year. |
| take off | Remove clothing; depart; become successful | The business really took off after the website redesign. |
| take over | Gain control or responsibility | A larger company took over our small startup. |
| take down | Remove from a high position; write notes | The IT team took down the website for maintenance. |
| take out | Remove; invite someone; borrow from a bank | We took out a loan to buy our first home. |
| take in | Absorb information; provide shelter; reduce size | There was a lot of information to take in during the training. |
Tip: Learn by contrast
When you study a verb like "take", learn all its common particle combinations at once. Notice how the particle changes the meaning. Take up (start) is completely different from take off (remove/succeed). This approach helps you remember the particle patterns instead of memorising random pairs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a phrasal verb and a prepositional verb?
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