English Phrasal Verbs
Alphabetical list C of commonly-used phrasal verbs.
Phrasal Verbs beginning with the letter 'C'
- call after
- Give a child the same name as someone else.
"His name is Charles. He's called after his grandfather."
- Give a child the same name as someone else.
- call at
- Stop at a place briefly (harbour, port, station...)
"The train calls at Newbridge and Glenville on the way to the capital."
- Stop at a place briefly (harbour, port, station...)
- call back
- Return a phone call.
"I'll call you back as soon as possible."
- Return a phone call.
- call for
- Go somewhere to get someone.
"I'll call for you at 8 o'clock. Make sure you're ready!"
- Demand that something be done.
"The opposition has called for an investigation into the misuse of public funds."
- Be required or necessary.
"The job calls for excellent computer skills."
- Be an appropriate occasion for something.
"The happy announcement calls for champagne."
- Go somewhere to get someone.
- call forth
- Produce a reaction or result; evoke.
"The politician's statement called forth a hostile reaction from the crowd."
"That song calls forth sad memories."
- Produce a reaction or result; evoke.
- call in
- Make a telephone call to a place.
"Caroline called in to say that her plane had been delayed and that she would arrive late."
- Ask someone to come and do a job.
"The dishwasher has stopped working. I don't know whether to call in an electrician or a plumber."
- Make a telephone call to a place.
- call in (on)
- Stop and pay a visit to someone.
"I'm going to call in on my parents on my way home from work this evening."
- Stop and pay a visit to someone.
- call off
- Cancel.
"The meeting was called off because of the strike."
- Cancel.
- call on/upon
- Formally request or invite.
"I now call upon the President to address the assembly."
- Formally request or invite.
- call out
- Shout something.
"The child disappeared from the playground. His mother called out his name but he didn't answer."
- Shout something.
- call round
- Go to a place to see someone.
"The nurse said she would call round this afternoon to check on my mother."
- Go to a place to see someone.
- call up
- Phone someone.
"The secretary called up all the area managers to arrange a meeting."
- Summon someone for military service.
"My father was called up to active duty as soon as the war broke out."
- Phone someone.
- calm down
- Become more relaxed or less angry/upset.
"He was angry at first, but he eventually calmed down."
- Become more relaxed or less angry/upset.
- carry on
- Continue.
"Charlie carried on gardening in spite of the rain."
- Continue.
- carry out
- Do something as specified (plan, order, threat...)
"The plan was carried out to perfection."
- Perform or conduct (test, experiment ...)
"Tests are carried out to determine the efficiency of a new drug."
- Do something as specified (plan, order, threat...)
- carry over
- Postpone until later.
"As regards holidays, can we carry over days from one year to the next?"
- Postpone until later.
- catch up on
- Acquire information you have missed.
"I must call my mother to catch up on the latest family events."
- Acquire information you have missed.
- catch up with
- Reach the same stage as someone else.
"I've missed some classes so I'll have to work hard to catch up with the others."
- Reach the same stage as someone else.
- check in
- Register at a hotel or airport.
"For security reasons, you have to check in two hours before your flight."
- Register at a hotel or airport.
- check out
- Pay one's bill and leave (a hotel)
"Is Mr. Brown still at the hotel? No, he checked out this morning.
- Investigate or verify something.
"I don't know if the address is still valid. I'll check it out."
- Pay one's bill and leave (a hotel)
- cheer up
- Put someone in a better mood.
"I told her a joke to try and cheer her up.
- Put someone in a better mood.
- chip in
- Contribute to or participate in something done by a group.
"Bob has decided to retire and we're going to buy him a present. Do you want to chip in? "
- Contribute to or participate in something done by a group.
- clam up
- Refuse to speak.
"When the police arrived, the boy clammed up."
- Refuse to speak.
- clamp down on
- Act strictly to prevent something.
"The government decided to clamp down on smoking in public areas. "
- Act strictly to prevent something.
- clear out
- Tidy a place by removing or throwing away things (e.g.drawer/room).
"She decided to clear out her children's old clothes."
- Tidy a place by removing or throwing away things (e.g.drawer/room).
- close down
- Stop operating (company, restaurant, cinema ...)
"When the factory closed down, the employees lost their jobs."
- Stop operating (company, restaurant, cinema ...)
- come about
- Happen or occur.
"How did such a complicated situation come about?"
- Happen or occur.
- come across
- Find by chance, encounter.
"Julie came across some photographs of her grandparents in the attic."
- Appear, seem, make an impression.
"The candidate came across as a dynamic person during the interview."
- Find by chance, encounter.
- come along
- Go somewhere with someone.
"I wanted to watch the parade and Alex decided to come along with me."
- Tell someone to hurry.
"Come along Emily. You don't want to be late for school!" - Arrive, appear.
"Tony needs a job. If an opportunity comes along he's determined to seize it."
- Improve, develop or make progress.
"How's your mother coming along since she broke her leg?"
- Go somewhere with someone.
- come apart
- Separate into pieces.
"I need to get my glasses repaired. They came apart when they fell off the table."
- Separate into pieces.
- come before
- Be more important.
"She always says that her family comes before her career."
- Be more important.
- come by
- To get, especially something that is difficult to obtain or find.
"How did you come by such a beautiful location to build your house?"
- To get, especially something that is difficult to obtain or find.
- come down with
- Become ill with.
"The architect planned to attend the inauguration but unfortunately he came down with the flu yesterday."
- Become ill with.
- come forward
- Present oneself; volunteer.
"The police have asked any witnesses to come forward."
- Present oneself; volunteer.
- come off
- Be separated from something.
"The handle came off the suitcase."
- Be separated from something.
- come off
- Be successful or effective.
"It seemed to be a good plan but unfortunately it didn't come off."
- Be successful or effective.
- come out
- Become known.
"The truth will come out sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."
- Become known.
- come to
- Regain consciousness.
"She fainted when the news was announced but she came to quite quickly."
- Regain consciousness.
- come to
- Reach a total amount.
"Let's see... two coffees and two orange juices, that comes to 7€ please."
- Reach a total amount.
- come up against
- Be faced with or opposed by.
"The plan to demolish the old theatre came up against a lot of criticism."
- Be faced with or opposed by.
- come up with
- Produce an idea or plan.
"Sacha came up with a great idea for the party."
- Produce an idea or plan.
- come upon
- Find or discover.
"The police came upon a stock of firearms in a disused mine."
- Find or discover.
- conk out
- Stop working.
"The car conked out on the motorway."
- Fall asleep (from exhaustion).
"He was so exhausted, he conked out in front of the television. "
- Stop working.
- consist in
- Have something as
its principal or only feature.
"The elegance of the building consists in its simplicity. "
- Have something as
its principal or only feature.
- consist of
- Be composed or made up of.
"The jury consists of five members."
- Be composed or made up of.
- count on
- Rely or depend on.
"I'm counting on the taxi driver to find the theatre."
- Rely or depend on.
- count in
- Include in an activity.
"You're all going to the beach party? You can count me in."
- Include in an activity.
- cross out
- Remove by drawing a line through.
"In some exercises you are asked to cross out the incorrect word."
- Remove by drawing a line through.
- cut across/through
- Go across to shorten one's route.
"I usually cut across the park on my way to work."
- Go across to shorten one's route.
- cut back
- Reduce or decrease.
"It was decided to cut back production."
- Reduce or decrease.
- cut down
- Strike down, cut at the base.
"A number of trees were cut down before the construction work started."
- Kill or cause to die.
"He was cut down by pneumonia."
- Strike down, cut at the base.
- cut down on
- Reduce in number or size.
"The doctor told him to cut down on cigarettes."
- Reduce in number or size.
- cut in
- Interrupt somebody speaking.
"During his presentation of the project a journalist cut in."
- Interrupt somebody speaking.
- cut off
- Discontinue; interrupt.
"The operator cut off our conversation before we had finished."
- Be separated or isolated.
"Our group was cut off from the others so we got lost!."
- Discontinue; interrupt.
- cut out
- Remove using scissors.
"She cut out a picture of the actor in a magazine."
- Stop doing something.
"I'm going to cut out eating sweet food."
- Remove using scissors.
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