Phrasal Verbs/C
Phrasal verbs beginning with C. Select a phrasal verb for more details.
If you call someone back, you return their telephone call.
If a person or an organisation calls for something, they state in public that it's needed, or should be done.
to cancel an event that was planned or scheduled
to visit someone for a short time
If you call out, you use a loud voice to tell something to someone who's far away, or tell something to a large group.
If a person who is excited or agitated calms down, they become calmer and less excited or agitated.
If you care for someone, you like them a lot and have a strong affection for them.
If you care for someone or something, you look after them and make sure they have what they need.
If you ask someone if they would care for something, you want to know if they'd like to have something.
to continue doing something
If you carry out a task or a piece of work, you do whatever is needed to complete it.
If something catches on, it becomes popular.
If you catch on, you suddenly understand something that you couldn't understand at first.
If you catch up with someone who is ahead of you, you go faster than them until you reach them.
If two people meet again after a while and catch up, they tell each other what they've been doing.
to provide people with what they need
to change from one state or form into another
to stop using one thing or one system and start using another one instead
If someone is charged with a crime, they are officially accused of committing it.
to try to find out what is being done about something, or what has happened to something
to talk to someone in the hope of beginning a romantic relationship with them
to be disloyal to your spouse or partner by having sex with someone else
to get something from somebody by cheating them
If you check in, you give your details at a hotel's reception desk, or at an airline's check-in counter, when you arrive.
to register your details after arriving for treatment at a hospital, a rehabilitation centre or a health resort
to look at someone or something to make sure that nothing is wrong
to pay the bill and leave after staying at a hotel, a hospital or a rehabilitation centre
to look at something, or go somewhere, to see what it's like
to examine something carefully to make sure nothing is wrong, or to look for something
to shout loudly to encourage someone, especially someone who's playing sport or competing in a race
to feel happier after being sad
If you chop down something like a tree, you cause it to fall by cutting through its base.
to cut something into pieces with an axe or a knife
to clean the inside of something
If you have been cleaned out, all your money has been taken by someone, or spent on something.
to make something clean and tidy
to tidy a place by removing things that shouldn't be there
to leave a place, usually for a long time or forever
If an illness or a condition like acne clears up, it improves until it's no longer a problem.
If a business closes down, or if someone closes it down, it stops operating.
to happen, especially partly or totally by chance
to find something or meet someone by chance
If somebody comes across as being a certain type of person, they appear that way to other people.
to make progress or to improve in some way
to go with somebody when they're going somewhere
to separate into several pieces, or to break into several parts
to visit somebody, usually at their home
to move to a lower level or a lower position
to be born and raised in a place
to be made in or obtained from a particular place or thing
to enter a room or a building
If something like a train or plane comes in, it arrives at a station or an airport.
to be given something after its owner dies
to be the result of an event or situation
If something comes off, it becomes separated from the thing it's usually attached to.
to result in the intended outcome
to make progress or to improve in some way
If a light or a computer comes on, it starts working.
If a TV or radio show comes on, it starts.
to visit a place, or to move from one place or country to another
to seem to be a particular type of person
to survive a difficult or dangerous situation or time
to regain consciousness after an accident or an operation
to add up to a particular total
If a thought or an idea comes to you, you remember it or you think of it
to suddenly experience or suffer something dangerous or unpleasant
to walk up to someone or something
If an issue or a name comes up in something
like a conversation, a meeting, or a report, the issue or name is
discussed or mentioned.
to appear, occur, or become available
to face a difficult situation or a difficult opponent
to think of something like a plan, an idea or a solution to a problem
to depend on someone or something to do what is expected or needed
to try to stop people finding out about something bad
to start enforcing a law or a rule more strictly
to remove a name or an item from a list by drawing a line through it
If you cross something out, you draw a line
through it with a pen or a pencil, usually because it's wrong or is no
longer necessary.
to scream or yell because of pain or fear
to reduce the amount of money spent on something, or to reduce the size or scale of something
to reduce the amount, number or size of something
to stop the supply of something like electricity, water, gas or telephone service.
to isolate somebody or something by making transport or communication very difficult or impossible
to remove an area of paper or cloth from a larger sheet by cutting
to stop doing something, such as eating
fatty foods or gambling or taking drugs, usually in order to improve
one's health or one's life
If you tell someone to "Cut it out!", you want them to stop doing something annoying.
to cut something into small pieces
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