Phrasal Verbs
Business English: 25 Phrasal Verbs
1. Deal with
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To handle, work on
Example: Our new department head will deal with the training of new staff members.
2. Take over
Type: Separable, intransitive
Meaning: To get control or responsibility for something
Example: Tom will take over the sales department and become its new manager.
3. Look into
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To investigate, learn more about
Example: We are now looking into new software to use in our training.
4. Look up to
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To respect
Example: Many of our co-workers look up to Paul, and he is well-liked by his students as well.
5. Look for
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To search
Example: They are looking for a candidate who can speak both Chinese and Portuguese.
6. Look through
Type: Inseparable, transitive
Meaning: To search many things
Example: They had to look through all of last month’s receipts to find the one they wanted.
7. Catch on
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To finally understand, to understand something that other people already understand
Example: Jim learns quickly, therefore he caught on after trying only two times.
8. Get ahead
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To move up in position, improve your career
Example: My boss told me that if I wanted to get ahead, I would need to work a little harder.
9. Drop in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To make an unexpected visit
Example: I am always nervous when our CEO drops in.
10. Drop off (1)
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: A sharp decrease
Example: At the end of summer there was a drop off in sales of bottled water.
11. Drop off (2)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To deliver
Example: The new receptionist dropped our plans off on her way home.
12. Fill in (1)
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To write or type an item on a form
Example: You can’t go on to page 2 until you fill in every answer on page 1.
13. Fill in (2)
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To do a job or hold a position temporarily
Example: When the president is away, the vice president will fill in.
14. Bring up
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To say or introduce a topic or issue
Example: Whenever we have a meeting, our manager brings up the fact that we are improving every month.
15. Break down
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To explain something or divide something into parts
Example: The new security system seemed confusing until Mary broke it down into five easy steps.
16. Hold up
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To cause a delay
Example: The bad weather is holding progress up on the new bridge.
17. Turn down
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To reject / quit
Example: Larry turned down a job at another company so that he could continue his work here.
18. Think through
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To consider carefully and thoroughly
Example: The marketing team did not think it through carefully before giving the product such a silly name.
19. Spell out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To say something in a simple way
Example: Don misunderstood the question so we had to spell it out for him.
20. Point out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To indicate or show something
Example: Everyone at the meeting was surprised when she pointed outthe accounting department’s mistake.
21. Cut down
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To reduce, make something less
Example: We will be cutting down the electricity bill by installing solar panels.
22. Cut out
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To completely remove or erase
Example: Last year we cut out spending on TV commercials in order to increase spending on radio commercials.
23. Call off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To cancel
Example: The department meeting was called off this week so please use your time wisely.
24. Chip in
Type: Inseparable, intransitive
Meaning: To give some help
Example: If everyone chips in, we will be able to finish the job by lunch time.
25. Put off
Type: Separable, transitive
Meaning: To postpone, delay
Example: The construction on the new building was put off because of all the rain this summer.