150 High Frequency Phrasal Verbs: a – K

dress up (1)
wear nice, smart clothes
🔹 It’s a very special occasion so I want you to dress up for the party.


dress up (2)
put on clothes that make you look like a different person; wear a costume.
🔹 The kids love dressing up in their mum’s clothes.
🔹 Emily dressed up as a zombie for her friend’s fancy dress party.


drop in
visit briefly (often without an appointment)
🔹 If you’re in town, drop in for a cup of tea.


drop off
take somebody or something to a place (often by car) and leave them there
🔹 Ada dropped the kids off at school and went to work.
🔹 Can you drop this parcel off at the post office for me? I’ll give you some money for the stamps.


eat out
eat at a restaurant (instead of at home)
🔹 Tom ate out last night as he didn’t have time to go to the supermarket


email back
reply to somebody by email
🔹 John asked me to email him back when I have the answer.
(Extension: We use ‘text back’ in the same way. I asked John what time the party was but he hasn’t texted me back yet.)


end up
finally be in a place or situation
🔹 Richard fell asleep on the train and ended up missing his station.
🔹 Please don’t play with the ball in the house. You’ll end up breaking something.


fall down
suddenly fall to the ground
🔹 Katy slipped on the ice and fell down.
🔹 Can you hang up that picture which has fallen down? (= It was on the wall and now it’s on the ground)
figure out
calculate, solve, understand something by thinking about it.
🔹 I’m trying to figure out how much the party will cost.
🔹 The police are still trying to figure out where the money is hidden.
[Synonym: Work out]