find out, "discover" (S). He was stealing money from the government, and the FBI found him out.
finish up, "finish completely" (S). I'm going to finish my homework up and go to bed.
fix up:
a. "decorate; renovate" (S). We're fixing the house up; it's costing a lot.b. "make something okay" (S). There's no problem now; I've fixed it up with the police.
flip over, "turn over" (S). Don't you think it's time to flip the pancakes over?
focus in (on), "draw a sharp focus on individual things or people" Class, today we're going to focus in on
the problems of each student.
focus on, "concentrate on." Most of the quizzes in this book focus on a particular subject.
fool around, "behave in an active but relaxed manner." I like to take it easy on Sundays; I just fool around
with my family and friends.
foul up, "create disorder" (S). We wanted to swim, but the bad weather fouled our plans up.
freeze over, "freeze completely as in lakes, rivers, and bays." Hudson Bay freezes over every winter;
however, the Hudson River freezes over only once in a great while.
freeze up, "become cold and reserved." When I asked her how old she was, she suddenly froze up.
get along:a. "manage." With inflation and high prices, it's difficult to get along these days.b. "have a good relationship." My cat and dog get along, which is unusual.c. "be on one's way." I have to be getting along; I've got a lot of errands to run.
get away with, "commit a bad act without being punished." He's gotten away with many crimes. A lot of
people get away with murder these days.
get by:a. "manage." Despite the high cost of living, we're getting by.b. "pass." Please let me get by; I'm in a big hurry.
get even with, "have revenge." I'll get even with you for getting me into trouble.
get into, "enter." How do you get into the Iranian Army?
get in the way, "obstruct." Children, please don't get in the way; you're always under my feet.
get in touch with, "contact; call." Get in touch with me when you're in town next.
get off, "leave a conveyance, dismount a horse, etc." We got off the train at Victoria Station. Do you get off a
horse on the left or right side?
get on:a. "enter a conveyance, mount a horse, etc." Have you ever tried to get on a camel?b. "progress." Everyone is getting on very well at school.c. "have a good relationship; get along." How are you and your Mom getting on these days?
get on one's nerves, "make one nervous." That loud music is getting on my nerves.
get out (of), "leave." What time are you going to get out (of school) today? Get out of this classroom and
never speak to me again.
get over, "recover from; recuperate." He's getting over his bad cold now.
get over with, "finish" (S). Do the job now; get it over with. Don't put it off.
get rid of, "eliminate or exterminate." What's the best way to get rid of pimples? It's difficult to get rid of a
foreign accent.
get through, "finish." What time are you going to get through at work today?
get together (with), "gather; unite." I'd like to get together (with you) soon.
get up:a. "stand up." Everyone got up when the director entered the room.b. "arise; cause to arise" (S). My roommate gets me up at six o'clock every morning. What time do you
usually get up?
give away, "give without charging money" (S). I gave away all my money yesterday.
give back, "return" (S). That's my pen. Would you please give it back.
give in (to), "yield." If you wait for him to accept your offer, he'll eventually give in (to you). Children, don't
give in (to temptation) and eat too much candy.
give out, "distribute; assign" (S). Has the teacher given the homework assignment out yet?
give up: a. "abandon; reject" (S). The ship was sinking fast, so they gave it up. He knew cigarettes weren't
good for him, so he gave them up.b. "surrender" (S). After more than a hundred days of heavy fighting, the rebels finally gave themselves up.
go on (with), "continue." Go on (with your story); I'm fascinated.
go out: a. "temporarily leave." Why did the teacher go out during the examination?b. "stop burning." The lights went out as soon as the earthquake occurred.
go out of business, "stop doing business forever." His company went out of business.
go out (with), "go on a date." They went out for two weeks before they decided to get married.
go with:a. "harmonize." How beautifully your sweater goes with your skirt!b. "be romantically involved." Mary goes with John; they're both very much in love.
goof off, "fool around; waste time." We usually just goof off during our lunch time.
goof up, "disrupt; foul up" (S). I was going to make a good deal, but I goofed it up.
gossip about, What on earth are you two gossiping about?
grind up, "grind completely" (S). I'm going to grind all this meat up for a meat loaf.
grow into, "become large enough for." We buy our son's clothes too large for him, and he gradually grows
into them.
grow out of, "become too large for." Andy has become very tall; he's grown out of all his clothes.
grow up, "become an adult." Our children are quickly growing up.
hand back, "return by hand" (S). He gave me the bill, and I handed it back without looking at it.
hand down, "bequeath" (S). My grandfather gave this watch to my father, and my father handed it down to
me.
hand in, "submit" (S). When you hand your homework in, don't forget to put your name on it.
hand out, "distribute; give out" (S). Professor Modiz is handing the final grades out tomorrow.
hang around, "congregate; fool around." "Don't hang around discothEques," my father told me.
hang out:a. "hang around." College students hang out at the coffee shop on the corner.b. "hang (articles of clothing) outside" (S). I hung the wet clothes out to dry.
hang up:a. "place (article of clothing) on a hook or a hanger" (S). Hang your jacket up in the closet, please.b. "replace a telephone receiver; end a telephone call" (S). Did you hang the receiver up when you finished
your call?
hang up on, "end a telephone conversation abruptly." While I was talking to him on the phone, he got angry
and hung up on me.
have on, "be wearing" (S). What a fabulous gown the Countess has on! And she has a bracelet on her wrist
that must have cost a fortune.
help out, "assist" (S). Would you please help me out on this project.
hold on:a. "wait." Would you please hold on; Mr. Beata is talking to a parent on the other line.b. "grasp." Hold on to my hand, Claudia, while we're crossing the street.
hold up:a. "rob with a gun" (S). Someone held me up last night. She got all my money.b. "delay" (S). Bad weather held our departure up.c. "last; endure." Do American cars hold up as well as Japanese cars?
hold your horses, "slow down." Children, you're walking too fast; hold your horses.
horse around, "fool around; joke around." The two boys were just horsing around when they suddenly
started fighting; the teacher had to break them up.
hush up, "be quiet" (S). Christine started crying when the teacher told her to hush up. The children were
making a lot of noise, but their father went upstairs and hushed them up. (See shut up.)
iron out, "solve (usually in reference to a problem)" (S). Don't worry about a thing: we'll be able to iron this
problem out in no time at all.
joke around, "fool around; goof off, horse around." Some boys were joking around outside in the hall
during class, and our teacher got annoyed.
keep away (from), "stay away from." Keep away (from the stove), children.
keep off, "keep away from" (S). Please keep your hands off the merchandise.
keep on:a. "continue wearing" (S). I'm going to keep my jacket on; it's cold in here.b. "continue." I told her to stop, but she kept on laughing at me.
keep out (of), "stay out of." She angrily told him to keep out (of her life).
keep up, "maintain" (S). He keeps his house up beautifully, but he's a terrible cook.
keep up (with), "maintain the same speed or level." Try to keep up (with the class); if you fall behind, try to
catch up.
kick out (of), "eject; suspend" (S). Fortunately, they kicked that troublemaker out (of school). After the
revolution, a lot of rich people were kicked out (of the country).
kid around, "joke around; fool around." Some children were kidding around with our new kitten, and one of
them got scratched.
kneel down, "go into a kneeling position." Upon entering the chapel, she knelt down to pray.
knock down (S), Jamie knocked Andy down, and a fight started.
a. "cause something to fall" (S). I knocked that sculpture off the shelf by accident.b. "quit work." What time do you usually knock off?
knock out, "render unconscious (usually in reference to boxing)" (S). The American fighter knocked the
Englishman out in the third round.
lay off, "fire" (S). Due to the recession, the auto companies have laid thousands of workers off.
lay over, "delayed (usually in reference to planes)" (S). Our plane was laid over in Dublin for a couple of
hours.
leak out:a. "release by leaking." Don't let any water leak out of the bucket.b. "secretly reveal" (S). The government leaked the news out for political reasons.
leave out, "omit" (S). Don't leave any answers out on your examination.
let down, "disappoint" (S). I'm depending on you for your help; don't let me down.
let out, "release" (S). judge, please let me out of jail.
let up, "decrease." It's been raining all day, but it's beginning to let up.
lie down, "recline." He'd like to lie down for a little nap.
lie low, "hide." The rebels lay low up in the mountains while the army was looking for them.
listen in (on), "eavesdrop, secretly listen." I never listen in on my boss's phone calls; they're none of my
business.
load up, "load completely" (S). We loaded the car up the night before so that we could take off early the next
morning.
lock out (of) (S). She locked herself out (of her house) last night.
lock up, "lock completely" (S). Don't forget to lock the house up when you go out.
look after, "protect; tend to, take care of." Look after your own interests first.
look at, Oh, look at the sunset! Isn't it beautiful?
look for, "search for." May I ask what you're looking for in life?
look forward to, "anticipate with pleasure." She looks forward to graduating from the university and going
out into the world on her own. Her mother isn't looking forward to the day that she retires.
look into, "investigate." Mr. Holmes himself looked into the matter and found nothing suspicious.
look out (for), "be careful; be on guard." Look out (for pickpockets) when you're in the market.
look over, "examine" (S). You might enjoy reading Satanic Verses. Why don't you look it over?
look through, "search." I forgot which book I'd hidden my money in, so I had to look through every book
on the shelf.
look up:a. "Search for (usually in reference to dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.)" (S). When you don't know
a word, look it up in your dictionary.b. "contact; get in touch with" (S). I tried to look her up when I was in Miami, but I was told she'd moved
out of town.c. "improve." Business has been bad, but things are starting to look up.
make out:a. "succeed; get along." How are you making out on your new job?b. "complete a form or document" (S). Has your grandfather made a will out yet?c. "understand" (S). It was so foggythat I couldn't make the street signs out.d. "pretend." He's always making out that he's a millionaire.e. "construct." This ancient Egyptian necklace is made out of gold and lapis lazuli.
make up:a. "invent" (S). Children like to make stories up, and so do adults.b. "compensate for" (S). I have to make some assignments up for my writing class; I didn't have time last
week.c. "apply cosmetics" (S). She never makes herself up, and she always looks beautiful.d. "become reconciled after a quarrel or argument." My neighbors are no longer fighting; they've finally
made up.
make up one's mind, "make a decision" (S). Hamlet couldn't make his mind up.
mess around, "fool around, goof off." What are you doing today? Nothing; just messing around.
mess up, "mess completely" (S). Our son always messes the kitchen up when he cooks.
mix up:a. "blend" (S). Mix all the ingredients up before you add the milk.b. "confuse" (S). His complicated directions mixed me up even further.
mop up, "mop completely" (S). The floor was filthy (very dirty), so I mopped it up.
move away, They haven't lived in this town for a long time; they moved away ten years ago.
move over, Would you please move over and make some room for me?
nibble on, "eat sparingly." Let's nibble on a little something now; lunch is a long time away.
