Phrasal Verbs for 17-21 February

1. Settle-in – relax in new surroundings.
   He is just settling in to the new house.

2. Chuck away – throw away
   He had to chuck away a lot of junk to make space for the new car.

3. Smarten up – make neat
   He repainted the room to smarten it up.

4. Block up – fill a hole
   He blocked up the hole in the wall to stop the mice from coming into the house.

5. Part with – sell or give away
   We were sad to part with our old car, but it was not going to pass the roadworthy.

Phrasal Verbs 2-6 March

6. Draw up : Prepare something in writing, especially an official document

   The contract was drawn up last year.

7. Fill in for : To do somebody’s job for a short time while they are not there

   Could I fill in for him? he asked.

8. Knuckle down : Start working harder

   I’m going to have to knuckle down to some serious study.

9. Run by : Tell someone about an idea or plan so that they can give you their opinion

   You’d better run it by your manager first.

10. Slack off : Do something with less energy and effort than is usual or necessary Workers usually slack off just before the weekend.

Phrasal verbs 9-13 March

11. Do Without – Survive without, to not need.
    You can use my car today as I can do without it. I’ll work at home.

12. Catch On – Become popular.
    I don’t think those paper shoes will ever catch on.

13. Break Out –To Start Suddenly (especially disease, war)
    War broke out after the president was assassinated.
    Poor health facilities means disease is certain to break out.

14. Tear Down – Destroy.
    They are tearing down the old pub at the end of the road. What a shame!

15. Think Over – Consider for a long time.
    This is a huge decision which we must think over carefully before making.

Phrasal verbs 16-20 March

16. Get Ahead – to be successful / to make progress

    You need to make lots of connections in order to get ahead in this industry.

17. (Not) Measure Up – (not) satisfactory

    This designer’s work just doesn’t measure up to the quality we’ve come to expect.

18. Zero In On – focus closely

    We’ve tried a lot of strategies, but we need to zero in on what’s actually working.

19. Pencil In – unconfirmed appointment

    Let’s pencil in a lunch meeting next Wednesday – but I’ll call you later to confirm it.

20. Sign Off On – give official approval

The manager signed off on the revised budget for 2015