You know the word get, and you know the word up. So why does get up have nothing to do with getting — or climbing? Welcome to phrasal verbs — the small word teams English speakers use all day, and learners meet last.
On this page you’ll find 50 common phrasal verbs with simple meanings and natural examples, grouped by real-life moments: waking up, working, travelling, being with people, and life at home. Learn these fifty, and English feels far less like a puzzle.
New to the idea itself? Start with our guide to what a phrasal verb is — the types and how they work in sentences — then come back for the fifty you’ll use most. If single words are still weak, our 100 essential English words for beginners page fills those gaps first.
What Are Phrasal Verbs — and Why Do They Feel So Hard?
A phrasal verb is a verb joined with one or two small words — like up, off, out or after — whose combined meaning is new. Look is your eyes; look after is caring for a person. The little partner word changes everything.
They feel hard for two honest reasons. First, the meaning often hides: nothing in give up tells you it means “stop trying”. Second, one verb wears many partners — get up, get on, get along, get together — and each pair means something different. The answer isn’t a bigger grammar book — it’s meeting the pairs you’ll use this week, inside real sentences.
How to Learn Phrasal Verbs (and Actually Remember Them)
Learn them in situation groups, not from one long alphabetical list — the groups below follow your real day, from alarm clock to sofa, because memory loves stories and hates rows. You’ll hear these verbs at work in our English conversation practice dialogues.
Learn each verb inside a sentence about your own life, never as a lonely pair. “I get up at six” will stay with you, because it’s true; a card that just says “get up = rise” leaves by Friday. Make the sentence true — your time, your street, your job.
One honest tip: you won’t learn fifty phrasal verbs today, and that’s fine. Take five a day, say them out loud, use one for real before dinner. Ten days from now the whole page is yours — and because it arrived slowly, it stays.
Phrasal Verbs for Daily Routines (10)
Your day begins and ends with these — learn one group this week, make it this one. You’ll use most of them before breakfast.
- wake up — stop sleeping, open your eyes. “I wake up at half past six every morning.”
- get up — leave your bed after waking. “She gets up as soon as her alarm rings.”
- get dressed — put on your clothes. “The children get dressed by themselves now.”
- sit down — take a seat. “Please sit down — dinner is almost ready.”
- go out — leave home to enjoy yourself with friends. “We usually go out with friends on Saturday evening.”
- stay up — go to bed later than usual. “We stayed up late to watch the football.”
- lie down — rest flat on a bed or sofa. “After the long walk, he lay down for an hour.”
- hurry up — move or act faster. “Hurry up, or we’ll miss the train!”
- work out — exercise to keep fit. “She works out at the gym before work.”
- eat out — eat at a restaurant, not at home. “Let’s eat out tonight — nobody wants to cook.”
Phrasal Verbs for Work & Study (10)
School, office or homework desk — these ten handle tasks, deadlines and hard thinking. Teachers and managers use them all day without noticing.
- carry out — do a planned task or piece of work. “The company carried out a survey of its customers.”
- hand in — give finished work to a teacher or boss. “Please hand in your essays by Friday.” Splits: hand them in.
- look up — search for information in a book or online. “If you meet a new word, look it up in a dictionary.” Pronouns sit in the middle: look it up, never “look up it”.
- write down — put words on paper so you remember them. “Write down your phone number here, please.” Splits: write it down.
- go over — review something carefully. “Let’s go over the plan once more.”
- point out — show or mention something easy to miss. “The teacher pointed out two mistakes in my letter.”
- figure out — find the answer to a problem. “I can’t figure out how this machine works.” Splits: figure it out.
- find out — learn a fact you didn’t know before. “We found out that the shop closes at six.”
- take on — accept new work or responsibility. “Don’t take on more work than you can finish.”
- give up — stop doing something that’s hard. “He gave up sugar in January and feels much better.”
Phrasal Verbs for Travel & Moving (10)
Stations, airports, hotels and new homes — travel English leans heavily on phrasal verbs, and these ten carry you from front door to hotel desk.
- set off — start a journey. “We set off at dawn to reach the coast by lunch.”
- check in — tell a hotel or airline you’ve arrived. “You can check in online twenty-four hours before the flight.”
- check out — pay your bill and leave a hotel. “We must check out of the hotel by eleven.” Informally: “Check out this view!” means look at it.
- get on — step onto a bus, train, plane or ship. “We got on the bus outside the station.” Cars are different: you get in a car.
- get off — leave a bus, train or plane. “Get off at the next stop.”
- drop off — take someone somewhere by car, then leave. “I drop the children off at school on my way to work.” Splits: drop them off.
- pick up — go and collect someone, usually by car. “Dad will pick you up at the airport at nine.” Also: learn without lessons — “She picked up Spanish in Madrid.”
- move in — start living in a new home. “Our new neighbours moved in last weekend.”
- move out — leave your home and live somewhere else. “He moved out of his parents’ home at twenty-five.”
- see off — go to the station or airport to say goodbye. “The whole family went to the station to see her off.”
Phrasal Verbs for People & Feelings (10)
Friendships run on these verbs — meeting, arguing, forgiving, and looking forward to good days. Warm, spoken English at its most natural.
- get along — have a friendly relationship with someone. “I get along well with everyone in my office.” In British English you’ll also hear get on with.
- hang out — spend free time relaxing with friends. “After school, they hang out in the park.”
- get together — meet friends socially. “Let’s get together at my place this Sunday.”
- cheer up — become happier, or make someone happier. “Her friend’s visit really cheered her up.” Splits: cheer him up.
- calm down — become relaxed after feeling angry or worried. “He was upset, but he soon calmed down.”
- fall out — argue with someone and stop being friendly. “The brothers fell out over money and stopped talking.”
- make up — become friends again after an argument. “They argued in the morning and made up by lunch.” Also means invent: “He made up an excuse.”
- look forward to — feel pleased and excited about a future event. “We’re looking forward to our holiday in June.” Careful: after it, use a noun or -ing — “looking forward to seeing you”, never “to see”.
- grow up — change from a child into an adult. “She grew up in a small town by the sea.”
- bring up — raise a child until they’re grown. “His grandparents brought him up.”
Phrasal Verbs for Home & Everyday Actions (10)
The last group lives indoors: tidying, caring, switching things on and off. Small verbs — but you’ll say some of them every day of your life.
- look after — take care of a person, animal or thing. “Will you look after my plants while I’m away?” Never splits: look after the baby — not “look the baby after”, and never “look after to”.
- tidy up — make a room or place neat and clean. “Tidy up your room before your friends arrive.” Splits: tidy it up.
- clean up — clean a place completely. “After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen together.”
- put away — return something to its usual place. “Put the clean plates away in the cupboard.” Splits: put them away.
- throw away — put something in the rubbish bin. “Don’t throw away those old photos!” Splits: throw them away.
- turn on — start a light, machine or device. “Please turn on the fan — it’s hot in here.” Splits: turn it on.
- turn off — stop a light, machine or device. “Turn off your phones during the film.”
- fill in — write information on a form. “Fill in this form and give it to the nurse.” American English often uses fill out a form.
- run out of — use all of something so none is left. “We’ve run out of bread — can you buy some?”
- put on — put clothes or shoes on. “Put on a warm coat; the wind is cold today.” Splits: put it on.
Quick Practice
Try these without scrolling back — one verb from the lists fits each.
One: “We ___ at six to miss the morning traffic.” Two: “Please ___ your project before Friday — the teacher is waiting.” Three: “I can’t ___ this puzzle; the last piece makes no sense.” Four: “We’ve ___ coffee, so it’s tea this morning.” Five: “Who will ___ the dog while we’re on holiday?” Six: “Don’t ___ now — the finish line is close.”
Answers: 1. set off. 2. hand in. 3. figure out. 4. run out of. 5. look after. 6. give up. Five or six right? They’re moving into your head, not just sitting on this page. Missed a few? Skim that group again tomorrow — it’s faster the second time. For more sentence practice, try our 100 daily use English sentences, and test what stuck with our free idiom quiz.
Meeting a verb that isn’t here? Both the Cambridge Dictionary entry for “phrasal verb” and the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries entry for “phrasal verb” define it clearly — and list thousands more with examples.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a phrasal verb, in simple words?
It’s a verb plus one or two small words — like up, off or after — that together mean something new. Take alone is simple; take on means accepting work; take off is what planes do. Learn the team, not just the verb.
How many phrasal verbs do I need to know?
English has thousands, but a few hundred cover almost everything in daily conversation — and the fifty here are among the hardest-working of all. Master these first, then add new ones as you meet them.
What’s the difference between “get on” and “get in”?
Use get on for big public transport you can stand in — buses, trains, planes, ships, bikes. Use get in for cars and taxis. “We got on the train at nine,” but “She got in the taxi.”
Can I split a phrasal verb into two parts?
Some of them, yes — the separable ones. With a pronoun, splitting isn’t just allowed, it’s required: pick it up, hand them in, turn it off. Never “pick up it”. Others, like look after and get along, never split at all.
Are phrasal verbs too informal for exams and work?
Not at all — many are perfectly neutral: carry out, find out and point out appear in reports and exams every day. A few, like hang out, belong to friendly talk only. In formal writing you can often pick a single-word cousin (tolerate for put up with); in speech, phrasal verbs are natural.
What’s the best way to remember phrasal verbs?
In groups, in sentences, and in your own life. Five a day, each inside a true sentence about your day, said aloud and used once for real. Your brain keeps the verbs it keeps meeting — so meet them in conversation and reading, and they’ll stay.