Meaning: to become known, to become public knowledge Examples: I don’t want it to get out that I am leaving. Please don’t tell anyone. If this bad news gets out, people will panic and try to run away.
Meaning: to construct or build something Examples: The people set up camp by the lake. The child was building something with her blocks, so I asked her what she was setting up.
Meaning: to continue without interruption Examples: The discussion ran on for hours. Don’t start that book, it runs on for hundreds of pages and never says anything.
Meaning: to be very busy doing something Examples: My new boss asks me to do a million different things. She makes me run around all the time. I am tired, I have been running around all day, fixing the house, doing the shopping, etc.
Meaning: to explain something Examples: This is a complicated subject, I don’t know how to put it across to you. If someone does not understand that other subject, it is hard to put this across to them.
Meaning: to escape from something Examples: The prisoners ran away from the prison during the fire. I don’t like my job. I don’t like this city. I want to run away from everything.
Meaning: to allow someone to know something Examples: I let him in on the big changes happening in our office. I never know what he is doing, he never lets me in on his life.
Meaning: to cut into pieces Examples: My mother cut the onions up before cooking the meat. This big project will be easier if you cut it up into smaller pieces.
Meaning: to cross something in order to make a shorter route Examples: If I cut across the field, it’ll save time. If I cut across the school, I can get to work earlier.
Meaning: to make something shorter or smaller Examples: The knife is very sharp, it will easily cut into the cake. I like my family time very much, I don’t want my new job to cut into it.
Meaning: to think about the past Examples: It is important to look ahead at the future, and to not spend too much time looking back. When I look back at my childhood, I realize it was a very good childhood.
Meaning: to remove something from a high position Examples: He took the vase down from the high shelf. I don’t like that man, I think he got his position by stealing it. I am going to take him down.
Meaning: to take control of something Examples: He loves to control everything. If we invite him to the party, he will try to take everything over. A new boss took the company over last week.
Meaning: to give a short visit, often just to make sure someone is okay Examples: My father is very old. Can you look in on him a few times each week, just to make sure he is okay? When I was in the hospital, my best friend came to look in on me every...
Meaning: to visit a place and look at the things in it Examples: When I visit a new city, I like to just look around the place. When I go to a store, sometimes I just want to look around at things.
Meaning: to think about the past Examples: It is important to look ahead at the future, and to not spend too much time looking back. When I look back at my childhood, I realize it was a very good childhood.
Meaning: to think about the future Examples: I know this won’t happen for another year or two, but I just want to look ahead. The past is finished. We must look ahead.
Meaning: to read a lot about something in order to learn about it Examples: I wanted to learn more about the war, so I read up on it. Before we met, I read up on you.
Meaning: to read something again, out loud, to someone else Examples: That last sentence was really important, can you read that back to everyone in the room? Could you read that back to me? I want to hear your pronunciation.
Meaning: to change something into something else Examples: I don’t like my new boyfriend. He keeps trying to make me into someone I am not. If you add blue paint, you can make red paint into purple paint.
Meaning: to not tell someone something, to not let someone near something Examples: He doesn’t like bad news, so I try to keep bad news away from him. It is important to keep medicine away from children.
Meaning: to not touch something, or to not discuss something Examples: He talks a lot, but he keeps off the subject of his divorce. I ask the children to keep off the grass.
Meaning: to not allow someone to go outside Examples: Because they were noisy during class, the teacher kept the children in after class. The dog is barking a lot today, I am keeping him in because it is raining.
Meaning: to move slowly, to do something slowly Examples: Don’t hang around, you have a train to catch! I am doing nothing today, just relaxing and hanging around the house.
Meaning: To take a vacation from something (or to something), to escape from something Examples: I have been working too hard, I really need to get away to a tropical island. Sometimes I just want to get away from this big city.
Meaning: to continue with something Examples: When I am gone, I want you to carry on with this project. Even though he asked me to stop singing, I decided to carry on like I was before.
Meaning: to mark with a tick mark, to mark something as done Examples: I like my “to do” list to be clear. Please wait while I check off these last two things. Here is a list, let’s check off the names of the people we don’t want at the...
Meaning: to solve, to explain, or to remove a problem Examples: This project is confusing, I hope he can clear it up. It rained a lot today, maybe it will clear up tomorrow.
Meaning: to leave from somewhere Examples: We need to clear out of here before that bad man comes back. I haven’t paid the rent in many months. The landlord asked me to clear out of the house.
Meaning: to open a space, to put things away Examples: You should clear away all your toys before bedtime. I need to clear away the trees before I can farm this land.
Meaning: to give somebody the latest news or information about something Examples: Can someone catch us up on the latest news? He doesn’t know about the new products. I will catch him up on them.
Meaning: to recover, to make something better, to fix a problem you created Examples: Nothing can make up for a lost child. I came to work late yesterday, so I have to work this weekend to make up for it.
Meaning: to allow somebody to stay in your home Examples: My house has an extra bed, so I can take in one more person. Our friend was homeless after the fire, so we took his family in.
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