Transitive Verbs followed by Adverbs

Transitive Verbs followed by Adverbs

	Phrases
back up: reverse	I cannot back up my car.
bail out: empty	Now is the time to bail out the water from the boat.
break in: intrude	The robber tried to break in while the people were sleeping.
breathe in: gasp	Some people breathe in very quickly.
breathe out: expire	If you don’t breathe out you won’t get any oxygen.
bring back: retrieve	The dog was sent to bring back the duck.
bring around: encourage	His family had to bring around his dog to make him feel better.
bring up: tell	The lady said she had to bring up the problems to get them fixed.
butter up: crawl	I don’t like it when people butter up to get an advantage.
call in: visit	My friend likes to call in from time to time for a chat.
call off: delay	The chairman had to call off the vote because no one turned up.
call up: plead	The army had to call up all its reserves for help.
cheer on: urge	The boy had his mum there to cheer him on during the race.
chop down: lop	We decided to chop down all the old pine trees.
clean up: neaten	The house needed a good clean up because visitors were coming.
fend off: push away	The girl was able to fend off the unwanted attention
ferret out: dig up	The private eye was able to ferret out the information he needed.
figure out: work out	I was left to figure out every problem myself.
fill in: plug	We had to fill in the hole so that the water would not escape.
fill out: write in	The boy had to fill out a form before he could enlist.
fill up: cram	The host filled up the room with too many guests.
give back: refund	I decided to give back the money to the buyer.
give off: emit	Old socks can give off a really bad smell.
hand down: pass on	My mother decided to hand down her jewelry before she left.
hand in: return	The man decided to hand in the money he found.
hand on: pass over	My team mate handed the baton on to me during the race.
hand over: relay	I handed over the information to my superior.
hang up: desire	I have a hang up for the cast of my favorite movie.
hold back: suppress	I had to hold back my happiness or I would burst.
iron out: press	He used the table to iron out the creases in his trousers.
knock out: beauty	Everyone said the model was a knock out.
lap up: drink	Dogs lap up more water per day than cats.
lay off: ease up	I want you to lay off the new employee.
leave behind: abandon	The sailors were left behind when the boat sank.
leave out: exclude	Let me know which item you want to leave out of the program.
let down: betray	The king was let down by his sons all the time.
live down: withstand	It can be hard to live down the temptation of chocolate sometimes.
look up: see	It’s amazing what you can find if you look up.
make up: pretend	The clown likes to make up every day at the circus.
pass up: refuse	It’s hard to pass up a warm cup of coffee on a cold day.
pension off: retire	He decided it would be good to be pensioned off before he quit.
phase in: appear	Computer programs can be used to make pictures phase in on the desktop.
phase out: disappear	If you can make that picture phase out I will be very happy.
pick up: grasp	The boy was able to pick up all the information very quickly.
pin down: grab	It is really hard to pin down the busy worker on a Friday.
play down: dampen	I had to play down my enthusiasm.
point out: show	Can you point out the best site for me to begin my search?
polish off: clean	I begin my day by having to polish off the brass jugs.
pull down: drag	Don’t let the other team pull you down to their level.
pull off: accomplish	I was able to pull off all my jobs for today.
put away: stash	My daughter put her clothes away under the bed.
put back: postpone	The game was put back because the field was flooded.
put off: delay	If we put off the sale any longer we will lose too much money.
reel off: communicate	When you reel off too much information my brain hurts.
rope in: charm	She roped in all the volunteers with a wink and a smile.
rub out: cancel	He had to rub out the show dates because they clashed with another show.
rule out: exclude	I cannot rule him out because he has not done anything wrong.
scale down: decrease	The council had to scale down their staff numbers as there were too many.
sell off: liquidate	I had a yard sale to sell off all my possessions.
set back: hinder	Your decision could set back our plans for years to come.
shout down: heckle	The crowd tried to shout down the comedian because he was not funny.
shrug off: brush aside	I wish I could shrug off the problems I am having at the moment.
single out: choose	I don’t want to single out anyone for the worst job.
size up: check	I needed to size up my competition before I challenged them.
sort out: rearrange	I hate having to sort out my sock drawer.
sound out: quiz	If you don’t sound out your opposition they might be smarter than you.
stammer out: stutter	She had trouble stammering out in front of a huge crowd.
sum up: finalize	I had to sum up my accounts before I submitted my tax return.
summon up: recall	Everybody had to be summoned up to put the fires out.
take in: accept	We like to take in all stray animals.
take out: eradicate	Feral cats need to be taken out of the national park.
take over: usurp	The army was used to take over the role of the president.
talk over: converse	I think we need to talk over the submission before our boss sees it.
tear up: rip	I had to tear up the paper because I did not have any scissors.
think over: muse	I will need a lot more time to think over my proposal.
think up: generate	We need to think up some new ideas for the party.
track down: find	The policeman was able to track down the escapee.
trade in: swap	I wanted to trade in my old bike for a newer one.
try on: evaluate	It took me a long time to try on the best pair of jeans.
try out: attempt	Why don’t you try out for the next competition?
turn away: banish	The man was turned away from the party because he was drunk.
turn back: return	You need to turn back to the previous chapter.
turn off: disgust	Smelly armpits are a real turn off.
turn on: excite	Please don’t turn them on.
water down: cool	My dogs need to be watered down because they get very hot in summer.
wear out: exhaust	If you wear him out too quickly he won’t be able to finish the race.
write down: cheapen	A bad review will write down the value of a great product.
write off: disregard	If you write off the rules you will get in lots of trouble.
write up: report	I like to write up on the happenings in our community.