esl-lounge Student

Phrasal Verbs S

This is the phrasal verb reference section. Here there are definitions and examples for hundreds of phrasal verbs found in English.

Don't forget we have a phrasal verb exercise page.

saddle

Saddle With

Leave someone a large responsibility, burden.
I've been saddled with paying all these bills.

sand

Sand Down

Make a surface smooth.
We will need to sand down those old doors.

scare

Scare Off

Frighten away.
We heard a burglar in the garden but the dog scared him off.

scrape

Scrape Along/By

Survive financially with difficulty.
We just scraped by once my husband lost his job.

Scrape Through

Just about qualify, pass an exam, etc.
She scraped through her chemistry exam with 51%.

Scrape Together

Collect with care and effort.
We managed to scrape together enough money for a new fridge.

screw

Screw Out Of

(Informal) Force money out of.
The gang screwed protection money out of the neighborhood's businesses.

Screw Up

(Informal) Make a disaster of something.
I only asked him to book the restaurant and he even screwed that up!

see

See By

Use something to help you see.
We used candles to see by.

See Off

Go to airport, station to say goodbye.
Will you come to see me off tomorrow at the airport?

See Someone Out

Accompany someone to the door.
You don't have to see me out. I know the way.

See Through

1. Understand the real nature of someone.
You may be able to convince the others but I see through you.
2. Continue an activity until it's finished.
We have to see this project through. We have spent too much money to stop now.

See To

Take care of, deal with.
I'll see to it that the boss understands our feelings on this.

sell

Sell Off

Sell things cheaply.
The government was accused of selling off the country's nationalized industries.

Sell Out

1. Sell all tickets, etc.
I'm sorry, we don't have any more apples left. We sold out an hour ago.

Sell Up

Sell house, business and leave town.
The harassment got so bad that he decided to sell up.

Share With Others

Follow ESL Lounge on Twitter

Follow @ESLLounge

Get information about great new exercises and quizzes like this one. Sign up for our newsletter today.

Grammar Guide

Grammar Exercises

Reading Exercises

Listening Exercises

Vocab. Exercises

Test Prep

Phrasal Verbs

Pronunciation

Games