Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs with UP

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Learn Common Phrasal Verbs with UP in English with Meaning and Examples.

Up for movement; Up for increasing or improving; Up for completing; ending; Up for …

Here is an English lesson on some of the most common phrasal verbs made from the preposition UP.

Common Phrasal Verbs with UP

1. Blow up

Meaning: Explode

E.g. The car blew up after it crashed into the wall.

2. Build up

Meaning: Increase in amount, size or intensity

E.g. We have built up the business over the years and it now employs over 20 people.

3. Build up

Meaning: Increase over time

E.g. It’s important to build your muscle strength up over time.

4. Burn up

Meaning: Destroy something completely with fire

E.g. The spacecraft burned up as it entered the earth’s atmosphere.

5. Burn up

Meaning: Make somebody very angry

E.g. The way he treats me really burns me up.

6. Burn up

Meaning: Have a high temperature

E.g. You’re burning up—have you seen a doctor?

7. Call up

Meaning: Telephone

E.g. I’m going to call up and cancel my subscription.

8. Call up

Meaning: Bring back to your mind

E.g. The smell of the sea called up memories of her childhood.

9. Catch up

Meaning: Reach somebody who’s in front of you

E.g. Go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you.

10. Catch up

Meaning: To reach the same level as somebody who was better

E.g. After missing a term through illness he had to work hard to catch up with the others.

11. Catch up

Meaning: To do something that you have not been able to do recently

E.g. I need to catch up on my reading for English class.

12. Check up

Meaning: To make sure that somebody is doing what they should be doing

E.g. My mother is always checking up on me.

13. Check up

Meaning: To find out if something is true or correct

E.g. I need to check up on a few things before I can decide.

14. Cheer up

Meaning: To make someone happier

E.g. Can you cheer Tim up?

15. Chop up

Meaning: Cut into small pieces

E.g. Can you chop up some tomatoes for me?

16. Come up

Meaning: Happen unexpectedly

E.g. I’m afraid I can’t make the meeting tomorrow. Something has come up.

17. Divide up

Meaning: Distribute

E.g. We can divide up the commission among the sales staff.

18. Drive up

Meaning: Force up the prices or costs

E.g. The uncertainty in the markets is driving up labour costs.

19. Do up

Meaning: Fasten up

E.g. Do you know how to do up your seat belt?

20. Do up

Meaning: Arrange hair so that it’s tied or fastened close

E.g. Her shiny dark hair was done up in a ponytail.

21. Do up

Meaning: To repair and decorate a house, etc.

E.g. He makes money by buying old houses and doing them up.

22. Dress up

Meaning: To wear a fancy dress, a costume to disguise yourself

E.g. He dressed up as a pirate, for the party.

23. Dress up

Meaning: Put on clothes

E.g. There’s no need to dress up, girl—come as you are.

24. Eat up

Meaning: To eat all the food that you’ve been given

E.g. If you eat up all your food, you can have dessert.

25. End up

Meaning: Eventually do/decide

E.g. We ended up going to the theatre instead of the gallery.

26. Get up

Meaning: Get out of bed

E.g. I got up early this morning and went for a walk.

27. Give up

Meaning: To stop doing something

E.g. Time to give up, son!

28. Go up

Meaning: To increase

E.g. The price of gas went up in March.

29. Grow up

Meaning: To become an adult

E.g. I’m 18, I’m a grown-up now!

30. Heat up

Meaning: To make hotter

E.g. I’ll heat the soup up for lunch.

31. Hurry up

Meaning: To do something faster, to get ready faster

E.g. Could you please hurry up?!

32. Liven up

Meaning: To make something more fun

E.g. Let’s liven this party up with a game.

33. Look up

Meaning: Find, search for

E.g. Did you look up the telephone number of the restaurant?

34. Meet up

Meaning: Make an arrangement to meet

E.g. What time should we meet up on Wednesday?

35. Open up

Meaning: Start to talk freely about something

E.g. She hates to open up and discuss her feelings.

36. Set up

Meaning: Arrange

E.g. I’ll help you set up for the party as soon as I get home.

37. Show up

Meaning: Make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed

E.g. He showed us up when he arrived drunk and started arguing.

38. Speak up

Meaning: To speak with a stronger voice

E.g. You need to speak up for people to understand you.

39. Speed up

Meaning: To go faster in a vehicle

E.g. He quickly sped up to sixty miles an hour.

40. Stand up

Meaning: To be on your feet

E.g. There were no seats left so I had to stand up.

41. Start up

Meaning: To start something new

E.g. They’ve started up a new division in Southern Europe.

42. Turn up

Meaning: To raise the volume

E.g. I like to turn the stereo up when nobody is home.

43. Warm up

Meaning: To make hotter

E.g. Would you like me to warm your tea up?

44. Write up

Meaning: Write a report or minutes

E.g. It’ll take him at least a week to write up his findings.

45. Back up

Meaning: Cause to move backward

E.g. Tim backed up without looking and ran over his laptop.

46. Back up

Meaning: Support or help someone

E.g. The rebels backed up their demands with threats.

47. Draw up

Meaning: Prepare a written document

E.g. They agreed to draw up a formal agreement.

48. Fix up

Meaning: Repair

E.g. They fixed up the house before they moved in.

Common Phrasal Verbs with UP | Picture