Phrasal Verbs and Idioms (II Semester additional English)

Phrasal Verbs and Idioms

1.  absorbed in:   with one’s attention fully held.

v  She seemed totally absorbed in her book

2.  at the rate of: 

v  He drove the car at the rate of 100 km/h to complete his target of 500 kms within five hours.

3.  at the eleventh hour: at the last possible moment only just in time.

v  The president’s visit was called off at the eleventh hour.

4.  in accordance with:   (sth) in agreement or harmony with sth.

v  In accordance with somebody’s wishes I have done this work.

v  Act in accordance with custom/ the regulations / the law etc.,

5.  take into account:  take account of sth;) take sth into account. To consider the importance of a                                            particular, etc when factor, consequence making a decision

v  You must take his age into account when you judge his performance.

6.  a lot of:  (also lots of)  a large number or amount of sth/sb.

v  What a lot of presents.          

v  I haven’t got a lot of time.

v  I would like to have black coffee with ( a lot of ) lots of sugar.

7.  be limited to: to set a limit or limits to sb/sth to restrict sb/sth.

v  I shall limit myself to 1500 calories per day. (i.e., in what I eat and drink.)

v  Your choice will be limited by the amount you have to spend.

8.  carry out:       to do sth as required or specified; to fufil sth. Carry out a promise/ a threat/ a plan/                               an order.

v  We will carry out the necessary work.

v  Carry out an enquiry / an investigation/a survey.

v  Extensive tests have been carried out on the patient.

9.  call on:         paid a brief visit.

v  Ramesh called on yesterday.

10.  call out:       drew forth.

v  New responsibilities often call out virtues and abilities.

11. call for:         demanded

v  His master called for an explanation of his conduct.

12. call in:         summon; send for.

v  Please call in a doctor immediately.

13. call up:         recollect.

v  The old man could not call up his past events.

14.  equivalent to:           equal in value/ amount/ meaning/ importance.

v  £5 is roughly equivalent to 40 French franks.

v  250 grams or an equivalent amount in ounces of gold is required.

v  The new regulations were seen as equivalent to censorship.

15.  beware of:    beware of sb/ sth (Used only in the infinitive and imperative) to be continuous of sb/ sth; to take care about sb/ sth.

v  He told us to beware of pickpockets/ the street dogs / icy roads.

16.  to consist of:            to be composed of sth.

v  The committee consists of ten members.

v  A mixture (consisting) consists of flour, sugar, and water.

17.  inspite of:    not being prevented by sth; regardless of sth, despite of.

v  They went out in spite of the rain.

v  In spite of all our efforts we failed.

‘in spite of’ is a preposition.

Inspite of + Noun = although+ clause.

We went out inspite of the rain.

(we went out although it was raining.)

We understood him in spite of his accent.

(We understood him although he had a strong accent.)

18.  prior to:       before sth.

v  We received no notification prior to the event.

19.  of late:         lately; recently.

v  I haven’t seen him of late.

20.  lose interest: lose interest in sth/ sb. (i.e., stop being interested in or attracted to sth/ sb)

v  I have lost interest in reading Hindi literature.

Break loose:       (from sb/sth) to escape being confinement or restricted.

v  The dog had broken loose.

v  Break loose from tradition.

21. pick out:       Pick sb/ sth out, to choose sb/sth from a number of people/things.

v  She has picked out from thousands of applicants for the job.

v  He picked out the ripest peach/ mango.

To distinguish sb/ sth from people or things around them.

v  Pick out sb/ sb’s face in a crowd.

v  Pick out recurring themes in an author’s work.

22.  prick one’s ear:(also prick up one’s ears) ( of an animal, esp a horse or a dog) to raise the ears as                                  if listening.

v  The children pricked up their ears when they heard the word ice cream.

To (of a person) begin suddenly to pay attention to what is being said.

23.  to take refuge in:       shelter or protection from danger.

v  Srilanka Tamils take refuge in the Indian Govt.

v  Some of the Indians have taken refuge in the US Embassy.

v  He would like to take refuge in poetry to escape from the problems of the world.

24.  in the presence of:     

v  All the notorious bandits laid down their arms and surrendered in the presence of the Honourable Chief Minister.

25.  to look into:             (look into sth) to investigate or examine sth.

v  A working party has been set up to look into the problem.

v  The police are looking into his disappearance.

26.  culminate in:            (culminate in sth) to reach the highest point or specified conclusion or result.

v  A long struggle that culminated in success.

v  A series of border clashes which culminated in full-scale war.

v  Her career culminated in her appointment as director.

27.  verge on:     to be very close or similar to sth, to be approaching sth.

v  A situation verging on the ridiculous.

v  I was treated with suspicion that verged on hospitality.

28.  stand on one’s own legs: self support, without depending on others.

v  India stands on its own legs in nuclear power research and development

v  One should stand on his own legs without depending on anybody.

29.  turn on:       (turn on sb) to attack sb suddenly and unexpectedly.

v  His old dog suddenly turned on him and bit him in the leg.

v  Why are you turning on me (i.e., criticizing or blaming me)?

29. a. turn on sth:            to have something as its main topic.

v  The discussion turned on the need for better public health care.

30.  look for:      to hope for sth. to expect sth.

v  We shall be looking for an improvement in your work term.

31.  interested in:            (~in sth /sb)showing curosity or concern about sb/sth.

v  Are you interested in history?

v  The company is interested in selling its products over seas.

32.  pass on:       pass on (to sth) to move from one activity , stage, etc., to another.

v  Let’s pass on to the next item on the agenda.

32. a. pass sth on (to sb):  to hand over or give sth to sb else. Esp. after receiving or using it oneself

v  Pass the book on to me when you’ve finished with it.

v  I passed your message on to my mother.

v  She caught my cold and passed it on to (i.e., infected) her husband.

33.  set down:     to write sth down on paper in order to record it.

v  Why don’t you set your ideas down on paper.

33. a. to set sth as a rule, principle etc., to establish sth.

v  Achieve the standards set down by the governing body.

34.  turn out:      to be present at an event, to appear, assemble or attend.

v  A vast crowd turned out to watch the procession.

v  Not many men turned out for duty.

35.  go through:  to look at or to examine sth carefully, esp. in order to find sth.

v  I always start the day by going through my mail/the express.

v  I have gone thorough all my pockets but I can’t find my keys.

v  She went through the company’s accounts, looking for evidence of fraud.

36.  in the long run: with regard to the far/ near future.

v  Her present unpopularity is not going to help in the short run, of course, but in the longer run she may still be the best election hope for the Democrats.

37.  run out of:    (of a supply or sth) to be used up or finished: ( of a person) to use up or a supply or                               sth.

v  Our fuel ran out. (or) we ran out of fuel.

v  Time is running out for the trapped miners.

v  Could I have cigarette? I seem to have run out.

38.  carry out:     execute.

v  He agreed to carry out my orders.

39.  carry away:   deprived him of self control.

v  His passion carried him away.

40. carry on:       managed

v  His son carried on his business in his absence.

41.  carried off:    killed.

v  Many persons were carried off by plague.

42.  bear away:    won.

v  Satish bore awy many prizes at the school sports.

43.  bear down:   overthrow, crush.

v  The new Sultan has been able to bear down all opposition.

47. bear out:       confirms, corroborates.

v  His evidence bears out the evidence of the first witness.

48.  bear up:       to keep up spirits, not to despair.

v  In his misfortune God gave him strength to bear up all difficulties.

v  A religious hope bears up (support) a man in his traits.

49.  bear upon:    was not relevant to

v  His evidence did not bear upon to the inquiry.

50. bear with:     have patience with; show forbearance to.

v  I trust you will bear with me a few minutes more.

51. break down:  failed

v  He broke down in the middle of his speech.

52.  break off:      stopped suddenly.

v  He broke off in the middle of his story.

53.  break with:   quarrel with.

v  He gave him no cause to break with me.

54.break into:     entered by force.

v  The burglars broke into the house.

55.  bring about: caused.

v  His folly has brought about his ruin.

56.  bring forth:   produce, cause.

v  Idleness and luxury bring forth poverty and want.

57.  bring forward: adduced

v  He brought forward several cogent arguments in support of his scheme.

58. bring in:       yields as rent.

v  That building brings in Rs 900/- a month.

59.  bring out:    show, publish.

v  Our teacher often tells us a story to bring out the meaning of the lesson.

v  The publisher has recently brought out a cheap edition of their new dictionary.

60. bring round:  bring sth round; converting her-----

v  He found great difficult in bringing her round to his views.

61.  bring up:     reared, nurish

v  She brought up the Orphen as her own child.

62.  fall in with:  meet by chance.

v  Mr. Allemtuck was killed by the man who had fallen in with at a bar the day before.

63.  account for:  accountability.

v  Can you account for all the money you spent on your trip?         

           

64.  lay a finger upon:  to find a fault with.

v  I don’t want to lay a finger upon the mistakes that you have committed.

65.  pay attention to: show interest.

v  The child’s mother did not pay much attention to his behaviour.

v  The student paid close attention to what his teacher told him.

66.  give up:       abondon.

v  I have given smoking up on my doctor’s advice.

67.  keep an eye on: watch/ guard.

v  Would you keep an eye on my books while I make a telephone call?

v  Mrs Elezabeth kept an eye on the baby while she was cooking dinner.

68. range from:   

v  Those dresses range in price from eighteen to fifty dollars.

69. round off:      finish/ complete.

v  He rounded off his political career by becoming Minister of trade and Industry.

v  ---round off a meal with a good brandy.

70.  beyond one’s reach:

v  Nothing is there in world to pose as if it is beyond any body’s reach.

71.  address oneself to: to deal with sth.

v  It is time we addressed ourselves to the main item on the agenda.

72.  to be ashamed off:

v  You should be ashamed of yourself.

v  He was ashamed of his clothes.

73.  to pry into:

v  Mrs. Cates is a snooper: She pries into everybody’s affairs.

74.  to pick a pocket:

v  When I was about to climb onto the bus at Bellary to Kutturu some body picked my pocket and left me penniless to buy even a ticket to Kotturu.

75.  to rely on:

v  You can rely on me for help.

v  One should not rely on anybody.

76.  for the purpose of:

v  That project was undertaken for the purpose of housing poor people.

77.  to be worthy of:

v  That man is worthy of a better job.

v  Your remark was not worthy of a gentleman.

78.  to be famous for:

v  The sculptor is famous for his statues.

v  Agra is famous for its beautiful structure of Taj.

79.  from time to time:

v  I read mystery stories time to time. 

 80.  come to one’s mind:

v  The date and the year of terrorist attack on WTC is often come to my mind.

v  The incident of borrowing Rs 1000/- from me does not come to his mind.

81.  to be called upon/ on: obligated.

v  I felt called on / upon to express my opinion on the matter.

82.  sought after: desired, in demand.

v  Mr. Truman is sought after as a speaker.

83.  burst into laughter: suddenly begin to laugh, cry etc.,

v  The woman burst into laughter when she saw me.

v  The garden burst into bloom early in May.

84.  in high spirits: i.e., cheerful.

v  A glass of brandy will help you to keep your spirits up.

v  A glass of brandy will help you to keep you in high spirits.

85.  peep through: to appear through a small opening.

v  Day light peeps through the curtains.

v  Green shoots are peeping through the soil.

86.  fatal flaw / mistake: causing disaster.

v  There was a fatal flaw/ mistake in the plan.

87.  take advantage of:      make use of, profit from.

v  You should take advantage of your opportunity to speak English here.

87. a. impose on:            to place a penalty, tax, etc officially on sb.

v  The Govt. imposes tax on its people.

88.  going all out:           doing everything possible.

v  The Democratic Party is going all out for victory.

v  We should all go out at least once in week to help the poor.

89.  Hanging about / around: loiter in the vicinity of

v  Young men often hang about/ around drug store.

v  The boys certainly hang about/ around those attractive girls.

90.  stock-reply:

v  ‘Sorry, I don’t know’ is his stock-reply for every thing you ask him.

91.  last wish:

v  The last wish of APJ Abdul Kalam is to see India is developed nation.

92.  flesh and blood: the very physical existence of his own.

v  Many of the cartoon characters are more popular than their flesh and blood counterparts.

v  I may be a priest, but I’m not immune to pretty women. I am only flesh and blood after all.

v  How can you be so cruel to him when he’s your own flesh and blood.

93.  heart and soul: complete dedication.

v  Why don’t you put your heart and soul in your studies.

v  She loves me heart and soul.

v  He put his heart and soul into running that café.

94.  milk and honey: plenty; make life easy.

v  The age of Gupata’s if the time of milk and honey.

v  Vijayanagara Empire is the land of milk and honey for Telugu literature.

95.  hard and fast:  no hard and fast rules.

v  There are no hard and fast rules about how much weight you can safely gain in your pregnancy.

96.  cats and dogs: fight like cats and dogs.

v  We get on very well as adults but as kids we fought like cats and dogs.

97.  part and parcel:

v  Being recognised in the street is all part and parcel of being famous.

98.  up to the hilt:  if you do something to the hilt. In the most complete way that you can.

v  All though the trial. He has backed his wife up to the hilt.

v  They took the new aircraft and tested it to the hilt.

v  We’re mortgaged up to the hilt.

v  He was in the battle up to the hilt.

99.  come to terms with: arrive at an agreement with.

v  India and Pakistan have been struggling with the choice of coming to terms with peaceful co-operation.

100.  to sit on the fence: remaining neutral in a quarrel.

v  India chose to sit on the fence in the name of non-aligned movement.

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