English Phrasal Verbs
Alphabetical list B of commonly-used phrasal verbs.
Phrasal Verbs beginning with the letter 'B'
- back away
- Move backwards, in fear or dislike
"When he saw the dog, he backed away."
- Move backwards, in fear or dislike
- back down
- Withdraw; concede defeat
"Local authorities backed down on their plans to demolish the cinema."
- Withdraw; concede defeat
- back down
- Stop defending your opinion
"Jenny never backs down. She loves debating and usually wins."
- Stop defending your opinion
- back into
- Reverse a vehicle into a space
"Tom backed his car into a parking space."
- Reverse a vehicle into a space
- back into
- Hit something when reversing a vehicle
"Lisa backed into the fire hydrant that she couldn’t see in the rear view mirror."
- Hit something when reversing a vehicle
- back off
- Retreat; abandon an intention; become less aggressive
"The thugs backed off when they saw the police."
- Retreat; abandon an intention; become less aggressive
- back onto
- Reverse a vehicle onto something
"Jack backed the van onto the gravel path."
- Reverse a vehicle onto something
- back onto
- Overlook something from the back.
"They have a beautiful house that backs onto the beach."
- Overlook something from the back.
- back out
- Not keep a promise; decide not to do something agreed on
"You promised to help. Please don't back out now!"
- Not keep a promise; decide not to do something agreed on
- back out of
- Withdraw from an agreement
"He backed out of the Paris agreement."
- Withdraw from an agreement
- back out of
- Drive out of a place in reverse gear.
"She backed the car out of the garage."
- Drive out of a place in reverse gear.
- back up
- Give support or encouragement
"If I tell the boss we've got too much work, will you back me up? "
- Give support or encouragement
- back up
- Make a copy of (file, document, program...) for security purposes.
"It is recommended to back up all files for safety."
- Make a copy of (file, document, program...) for security purposes.
- bail out
- Pay money to secure someone's release from jail.
"When he was arrested his family refused to bail him out."
- Pay money to secure someone's release from jail.
- bail out
- Rescue from financial difficulties.
"The government bailed out the bank."
- Rescue from financial difficulties.
- band together
- Unite in a group.
"Consumers banded together to protest against the measures."
- Unite in a group.
- bank on
- Base your hopes on something/someone.
"Don't forget the date. I'm banking on your help."
- Base your hopes on something/someone.
- bargain for
- Expect; be prepared for.
"The interview was more difficult than he had bargained for."
- Expect; be prepared for.
- bear out
- Confirm.
"The other witnesses will bear out my testimony."
- Confirm.
- bear with
- Be patient.
"Please bear with me please while I finish my explanation."
- Be patient.
- beef up
- Improve or make more substantial.
"He beefed up his presentation with diagrams and statistics."
- Improve or make more substantial.
- black out
- Faint; lose consciousness.
"When he fell off the horse, he blacked out."
- Faint; lose consciousness.
- block off
- Separate using a barrier.
"The area was blocked off during the demonstration."
- Separate using a barrier.
- block up
- Fill a passage or opening
“All the windows have been blocked up in the old building.”
- Fill a passage or opening
- blow up
- Be destroyed by an explosion.
"The car blew up but luckily there was nobody in it."
- Be destroyed by an explosion.
- bog down
- Get caught up in something and be unable to make progress.
"Try not to get bogged down with/in unimportant details."
- Get caught up in something and be unable to make progress.
- boil down to
- Be reduced to the main reason or the essential part.
"The problem boils down to a lack of money."
- Be reduced to the main reason or the essential part.
- boot up
- Start a computer by loading an operating system or program.
"Just give me a few minutes to boot up the computer."
- Start a computer by loading an operating system or program.
- bottle out
- Become too afraid at the last moment and no do something you intended to do.
"I was going to go bungee jumping but I bottled out at the last minute. I lost my nerve!"
- Become too afraid at the last moment and no do something you intended to do.
- break away
- Escape from captivity.
"The horses were enclosed in a paddock but a few of them managed to break away."
- Escape from captivity.
- break away from
- Leave and become independent.
"He broke away from the organisation and set up his own agency."
- Leave and become independent.
- break down
- Go out of order; stop functioning.
"John's car broke down on the way to the airport."
- Lose control of one's emotions.
"The parents broke down when they heard the news."
- Go out of order; stop functioning.
- break something down
- Divide into smaller or simpler parts.
"The lesson will be easier to learn if you break it down into small sections."
- Divide into smaller or simpler parts.
- break free
- Detach from a physical hold.
"He broke free from his attacker's grasp."
- Detach from a physical hold.
- break in/into
- Enter by force in order to steal something.
"I saw a man outside the shop trying to break in."
"The burglars broke into the house around midnight."
- Enter by force in order to steal something.
- break in on
- Interrupt unexpectedly.
"An operator suddenly broke in on our telephone conversation."
- Interrupt unexpectedly.
- break off
- Stop, discontinue.
"It has been decided to break off diplomatic relations with that country."
- Stop speaking.
"She broke off in the middle of a sentence."
- Stop, discontinue.
- break out
- Start suddenly or erupt.
"Rioting broke out as a result of the strike."
"He was in such a nervous state that sweat started to break out on his forehead."
- Start suddenly or erupt.
- break out of
- Escape from captivity by force.
"Three prisoners broke out of the central prison last night."
- Escape from captivity by force.
- break through
- Force a way through something.
"The car broke through the barrier set up by the police."
- Force a way through something.
- break up
- Come to an end (marriage, a relationship ...).
"After her marriage broke up, Caroline went to live in London."
- Separate into small pieces.
"Pablo had to use a fork to break up the soil."
- Come to an end (marriage, a relationship ...).
- break with
- Discontinue something or do something in a different way.
"He broke with tradition and invented new methods."
- Discontinue something or do something in a different way.
- bring about
- Cause something to happen.
"The arrival of electricity in rural areas brought about a huge change."
- Cause something to happen.
- bring off
- Succeed in doing something difficult.
"You pretended to be a journalist and he believed you? I never thought you'd bring it off!"
- Succeed in doing something difficult.
- bring up
- Raise (a child).
"She stopped working for a few years in order to bring up her children." - Mention something.
"His friends knew he had lost his job but they decided not to bring up the subject."
- Raise (a child).
- brush up on
- Improve; refresh one's knowledge of something.
Mary decided to brush up on her Spanish before going to South America."
- Improve; refresh one's knowledge of something.
- bump into
- Meet by accident or unexpectedly.
"Rafael bumped into his English teacher at the supermarket."
- Meet by accident or unexpectedly.
- burn out
- Stop (something) working.
"These electric bulbs seem to burn out more quickly than the old ones."
"The lawn mower has broken down. I think the motor has burnt out." - Become exhausted from too much work or stress.
"Tom will burn himself out if he doesn't slow down and stop working such long hours.."
- Stop (something) working.
- butt in (on)
- Interrupt impolitely.
"It's rude to butt in on a conversation."
- Interrupt impolitely.
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