Phrasal verbs are a common English verb form that consist of a verb followed by a p-word that functions as a particle. To learn more about some of the most common phrasal verbs in the English language, click on a letter in the following menu to browse the Phrasal Verb Dictionary in alphabetical order.
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Note: When a word entry includes a p-word enclosed in parentheses, the phrasal verb is a phrasal-prepositional verb.
| Phrasal Verb | Definition | Category | Example |
| gain on | get closer to | inseparable transitive | The police are gaining on the bad guys. |
| gang up against | form a group with the intentions of attack | inseparable transitive | My town ganged up against drugs. |
| gang up on | form a group with the intentions of attack | inseparable transitive | The bullies always gang up on him. |
| gas up | put fuel in | separable transitive | Gas the car up before you leave. |
| gear up (for) | prepare for | intransitive | The committee is gearing up for the festival. |
| get across | successfully communicate, convey | separable transitive | You can get across only so much in writing as opposed to speech. |
| get after | chase, attempt to convince another to move into action | inseparable transitive | I need to get after my daughter about picking up her toys. |
| get ahead | make progress, be successful | intransitive | She finally got ahead at work. |
| get ahead of | surpass | inseparable transitive | I got ahead of my goals. |
| get along (with) | have a good relationship | intransitive | My dog gets along with my cat. |
| get around | go many places | inseparable transitive | She really gets around. |
| get at | reach, obtain | inseparable transitive | I am determined to get at the truth. |
| get away | escape | intransitive | The robbers got away. |
| get away with | succeed without being caught, do something against the rules without getting caught | inseparable transitive | He got away with murder. |
| get back | return | intransitive | What time did you get back yesterday? |
| get back at | retaliate | inseparable transitive | The little girl got back at the bully. |
| get back (to) | return to | intransitive | I need to get back to my studies. |
| get by | survive | intransitive | My family can get by on a budget. |
| get by (with) | survive with | intransitive | You can get by with a flip phone. |
| get down on | feel bad about, criticize | inseparable transitive | He really got down on himself. |
| get down to | get serious about a topic | inseparable transitive | We need to get down to business. |
| get in | enter | inseparable transitive | Get in the bathtub! |
| get into | discuss in detail | inseparable transitive | I do not want to get into the specifics right now. |
| get in on | become involved | inseparable transitive | My uncle got in on the great deal. |
| get off | remove | separable transitive | Please get the stain off my skirt. |
| get off | leave, exit | inseparable transitive | Get off the back of the couch. |
| get off on | become excited by | inseparable transitive | She gets off on buying new shoes. |
| get on | put on | separable transitive | Get your coat on before you go outside. |
| get on | enter | inseparable transitive | Get on the airplane. |
| get on with | continue | inseparable transitive | Get on with your boring story. |
| get out of | exit | inseparable transitive | Get out of the closet. |
| get over | recover | inseparable transitive | I finally got over my cold. |
| get through | complete | inseparable transitive | He got through the entire exam. |
| get through | penetrate | inseparable transitive | We need a stronger drill to get through the concrete. |
| get through to | make contact with | inseparable transitive | I can never get through to customer service. |
| get together (with) | informally meet | intransitive | My daughter and your son should get together sometime. |
| get up | rise, cause to rise | separable transitive | My daughter got me up at the crack of dawn. |
| get up | awake and get out of bed | intransitive | What time did you get up this morning? |
| give away | relinquish control, give as a gift | separable transitive | She gave the money away to charity. |
| give back | return | separable transitive | Give the book back to the library. |
| give back to | make compensation to, pay back | inseparable transitive | He gives back to his community during the holidays. |
| give in | stop trying, surrender | intransitive | The enemy gave up last night. |
| give off | release | inseparable transitive | The turkey is giving off a terribly rancid smell. |
| give out | distribute | separable transitive | Give the worksheet out to each student in class. |
| give out | break down, stop working | intransitive | My car gave out on the drive home last night. |
| give up | quit, stop trying | separable transitive | I gave sugar up last year. |
| glaze over | stop showing emotions | intransitive | His eyes glazed over during the boring meeting. |
| gnaw at | bother | inseparable transitive | His plight is gnawing at my conscious. |
| go about | start to deal with something | inseparable transitive | How should we go about the problem? |
| go against | disobey, challenge | inseparable transitive | Your decision not to vaccinate goes against medication recommendations. |
| go away | leave | intransitive | Our annoying houseguests finally went away. |
| go back (to) | return | intransitive | I want to go back to Yellowstone someday. |
| go before | happen previously | intransitive | Whatever went before is no longer relevant. |
| go by | pass | inseparable transitive | He goes by the coffee shop every morning. |
| go back on | not keep a promise or commitment, renege | inseparable transitive | She always goes back on her promises. |
| go down | decrease | intransitive | The cost of diapers may so go down. |
| go down | descend | inseparable transitive | Go down the stairs and turn left. |
| go down | happen | intransitive | What went down last night? |
| go for | attempt, try to achieve | inseparable transitive | I intend to go for the gold. |
| go forward | proceed | intransitive | The meeting will go forward as planned. |
| go off | explode, detonate | intransitive | The bomb could go off at any second. |
| go off | start, begin | intransitive | My alarm clock went off early this morning. |
| go off | stop | intransitive | The lights went off because of the storm. |
| go off | become angry | intransitive | Her husband went off when she told him the price of the shoes. |
| go on (with) | continue | intransitive | Please go on with your story. |
| go on | happen | intransitive | What went on here last night? |
| go out | stop | intransitive | The massive fire finally went out because of the rain. |
| go out | partake in social activities, usually at night | intransitive | Do you want to go out this weekend? |
| go out with | date | inseparable transitive | Is she really going out with him? |
| go over | review | inseparable transitive | I want to go over my notes before the meeting. |
| go over | be well received | intransitive | Your planned seemed to go over with the executives. |
| go through | examine in detail | inseparable transitive | I need to go through all my daughter’s old baby clothes. |
| go through | endure | inseparable transitive | He has gone through a lot in his short life. |
| go through with | continue, proceed | inseparable transitive | The general decided to go through with the ill-conceived plan. |
| go with | match | inseparable transitive | That skirt goes with those shoes. |
| go with | accompany | inseparable transitive | My husband is going with my daughter to the dance. |
| go with | date | inseparable transitive | Jenn is going with Ron. |
| go without | abstain from | inseparable transitive | I can go without cable with not internet. |
| go under | go out of business, fail | intransitive | That new restaurant went under after just a few weeks. |
| gobble up | eat or consume quickly and enthusiastically | separable transitive | My daughter gobbled the squash up. |
| gross out | find disgusting or unpleasant | separable transitive | Whiskey grosses me out. |
| grow apart | gradually become less friendly | intransitive | Childhood friends often grow apart with age. |
| grow into | become big enough | inseparable transitive | My daughter has grown into the next size up. |
| grow on | become more and more likeable | inseparable transitive | The song grew on me. |
| grow out of | become too small | inseparable transitive | My daughter has grown out of her baby clothes. |
| grow up | mature | intransitive | My daughter is growing up too quickly. |
| gun down | shoot to kill | separable transitive | The sniper gunned the suspect down. |
| gussy up | clean up, make fancier | separable transitive | She gussied herself up for the party. |
