English often combines a verb & a direction to form expressions or idioms. They are sometimes called phrasal verbs (though some of the examples in this list are not verbs). These are not “true” definitions of verbs. For those, see .
- Throw
- Put
- Step
- Take
- Let
- Leave
- Turn
- Break
- Speak
- Talk
- Bring
- Space
- Walk
- Go
- Spin
- Act
- Blow
- Tear
- Wait
- Show
- See
- Get
- Come
- Stand
- Look
- Figure
- Run
- Cut
- Catch
- Up
- Fill
- Hand
- Lock
- Hang
- Line
Throw
Throw in
- contribute (I’ll throw in an extra $100 to help pay for the trip)
- give up (you are not going to win—just throw in the towel now)
Throw out, throw away
- put something in the trash (throw out that food, it’s not good anymore)
Throw up
- vomit (he ate too much, so he threw up)
Throw down
- fight (you wanna fight? I’ll throw down right now! … also: “throw hands”)
- contribute (everyone throw in at least $10 so we can eat)
Throw off
- confuse someone (to throw the police off his trail, criminals create fake personas)
Throw back
- reference a time in the past (that song throws me back to the 90s!)
Put
Put in
- contribute a thought (once everyone had finished talking, he put in his two cents)
Put out
- offer yourself sexually (she felt like she had to put out because he had bought her some nice gifts)
Put up
- organize something back to its place of storage (also: put away, put back)
- dealing with something (I’ve been putting up with this for too long—I’m done!)
Put down
- make someone feel bad (the boy put down the girl for saying the wrong answer)
Put on
- play something (what do you want to put on the TV while we eat?)
- act in a certain way (she put on a great performance)
Put off
- be distraught (I was put off by her negative attitude)
Step
Step in
- intervene in a situation (the teacher decided to step in before one of the kids got hurt)
Step out, step away
- leave a place (I’m going to step out to take this phone call)
Step up
- improve performance (you’re not getting results—you need to really step up)
- approach (the baseball player stepped up to the plate)
Step down
- leave or resign from a position (after 10 long years, the CEO finally stepped down)
Step on
- encroach on someone’s space (don’t step on my toes, I’m already handling this situation)
Step back
- look at a situation from a larger perspective (I’m getting confused with all these details—let’s step back for a minute)
Take
Take in
- to shelter someone (they need a place to stay, so we will take them in)
Take out
- food being eaten elsewhere (also: to-go, take away)
- kill/dispose of something or someone (we need to take out the enemy before they take us out)
Take away
- remove something from someone (please take away that kid’s BB gun before he hurts someone)
Take up
- address a problem (this had gone on for too long, so she decided to take it up with the boss)
Take down
- remove or unpublish something from its location (Take down that Facebook post right now!)
- bring someone to justice (the CIA was discussing how best to take down the crime lord)
- overcome an opponent (
Take on
- accept responsibility (she took on the CEO role with grace and determination)
- accept a challenge (he took on his opponent with courage)
Take off
- gain momentum (the business is really starting to take off!)
- when an airplane leaves the ground (the plane will take off in 5 minutes)
Take back
- regain possession (I’m taking back my wheelbarrow, you’ve had it for long enough)
- change something that was said (he made the girl feel bad, so he tried to take back what he said to her)
Let
Let in
Let out
Let up
Let down
Let on
Let off
Leave
Leave out
Leave off
Turn
Turn in
Turn out
Turn on
Turn off
Turn up
Turn down
Turn back
Turn around
Break
Break in
Break out
Break off
Break up
Break down
Speak
Speak out
Speak up
Talk
Talk up
Talk down
Bring
Bring on
Bring out
Bring up
Space
Space out
Walk
Through
Go
Bad
Spin
Act
Blow
Tear
Wait
Show
Show up
Show down
Show in
Show out
Show off
See
See through
See in
See out
See off
Get
By
Come
Stand
Look
Figure
Out
Run
Into