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 |
| hack into | enter illegally (usually electronic equipment) | inseparable transitive | Criminals hacked into my computer. |
| hammer away at | work hard and diligently | inseparable transitive | The little girl hammered away at the puzzle. |
| hammer out | work out | separable transitive | The committee hammered the details out. |
| hand back | return | separable transitive | The professor handed the essays back yesterday. |
| hand down | pronounce formally | separable transitive | The judge will hand his decision down tonight. |
| hand down | give as an inheritance | separable transitive | When my daughter outgrows her clothes, I hand them down to her cousins. |
| hand in | submit | separable transitive | You must hand your test in by noon. |
| hand out | distribute | separable transitive | You should hand the fliers out at school. |
| hand over | relinquish control of | separable transitive | Hand your license over to the court. |
| hang around | stay in a place | inseparable transitive | She hangs around the library all day. |
| hang back | not move forwards | intransitive | The shy woman hung back at the party. |
| hang up | suspend | separable transitive | You can hang your coat up on the hook by the door. |
| hang up | end a telephone call | separable transitive | Do not hang the phone up! |
| hang out | stay in a place | intransitive | Do you want to hang out at the mall tonight? |
| hanker for | want very much | inseparable transitive | I hankered for water while pregnant. |
| hark at | criticize | inseparable transitive | Mom harked at me again. |
| hark back to | look or turn to the past | inseparable transitive | His new movies hark back to his first films. |
| harp on | talk about incessantly and annoying | inseparable transitive | She is always harping on the educational system. |
| hash out | decide in detail | separable transitive | My coworkers hashed out the details. |
| haul off | remove, take away | separable transitive | The cops hauled the criminal off. |
| have on | wear | separable transitive | Do you have your hiking boots on? |
| have over | invite as a guest | separable transitive | Thanks for having me over! |
| haze over | become covered in fog or film | intransitive | The afternoon sky hazed over. |
| head off | leave | intransitive | We headed off for our vacation. |
| head out | leave | intransitive | Can we head out for the movie now? |
| hear from | receive news from | inseparable transitive | Have your heard from Sam? |
| hear of | know | inseparable transitive | Have you heard of phrasal verbs? |
| heat up | make hot | separable transitive | I will heat the leftovers up for dinner. |
| heave up | lift | separable transitive | Help me heave the dresser up. |
| help out | assist | separable transitive | Can you help me out tonight? |
| hide out | go to a secret place | intransitive | The bad guys hid out in a cave. |
| hike up | increase | separable transitive | Stores have hiked prices up recently. |
| hinge on | depend on, be subject to | inseparable transitive | The outcome hinges on the weather. |
| hint at | suggest | inseparable transitive | The witness hinted at the truth. |
| hit on | discover by accident | inseparable transitive | She hit on the solution in the meeting. |
| hit on | flirt with | inseparable transitive | That creepy man always hits on me. |
| hold back | restrain, not allow to advance | separable transitive | Hold me back! |
| hold down | keep, maintain, retain | separable transitive | My brother cannot hold a job down. |
| hold off | restrain, delay | separable transitive | The archers will hold the enemy off. |
| hold off on | delay | inseparable transitive | Hold off on buying a new car. |
| hold on to | grasp tightly | inseparable transitive | Hold on to the rope. |
| hold out | resist | intransitive | Who can hold out longer: husbands or wives? |
| hold out against | resist | inseparable transitive | The cavalry held out against the archers. |
| hold up | delay | separable transitive | An accident held traffic up all afternoon. |
| hold up | rob | separable transitive | An old woman held the bank up last week. |
| hole up | hide away | intransitive | The dogs holed up under the bed. |
| hollow out | empty | separable transitive | Beetles hollowed the log out. |
| home in on | give a lot of attention to | inseparable transitive | The investigator homed in on the truth. |
| hook up | connect | separable transitive | Can you hook me up with a new computer? |
| horse around | behave silly or ridiculously | intransitive | Boys often horse around. |
| hunger for | want very much | inseparable transitive | I hunger for knowledge. |
| hunt up | manage to find | separable transitive | Can you hunt the number up? |
| hurry along | make go more quickly | separable transitive | Can you hurry your husband along? |
| hurry up | make go more quickly | separable transitive | Can you hurry your children up? |
| hush up | suppress, make quiet | separable transitive | The woman will hush the truth up. |
| hype up | make seem important | separable transitive | Public relations hyped up the movie. |
