English Phrasal Verbs

Alphabetical list E-F of commonly-used phrasal verbs.

Phrasal Verbs beginning with the letter 'E' or 'F'

ease off/up
- Reduce, become less severe or slow down (pain, traffic, work ...)
  "After Christmas, the workload generally eases off."
egg on
- Encourage someone to do something..
  "Egged on by his friends, the boy climbed over the wall"
embark on/upon
- Start or engage in something.
  "Lily embarked on a career that lead her to fame."
end in
- Finish in a certain way/result in.
  "Their tumultuous marriage ended in divorce."
end up
- Finally reach a state, place or action.
  "If Jack continues his misconduct, he'll end up in prison."
even out
- Eliminate differences of opinion.
  "After a long discussion they managed to even out their differences."
- Become level or regular.
  "The old road was evened out to make it safer."
explain away
- Find an excuse or plausible explanation.
  "How are you going to explain away the missing money?"

face up (to)
- Accept to deal with something unpleasant.
  "Sam will have to face up to the fact that Jenny is not in love with him.
factor in
- Include when calculating or trying to understand something.
  "We must factor in the age of the patients."
fall apart
- Disintegrate; break; fall into pieces.
  "My car is so old it's falling apart."
  "Their marriage fell apart after they both lost their jobs."
fall back on
- Be able to use something in an emergency.
  "We were lucky to have some tinned food to fall back on."
fall behind
- Fail to maintain a certain level.
  "As a result of the accident she fell behind at school and had to study harder."
fall down
- Lose one's balance and fall to the ground or floor.
  "The baby tried to walk but fell down several times."
fall for
- Be attracted to somebody or begin to be in love.
  "While on holiday she fell for a handsome young man."
- Be deceived into believing something.
  "Steve fell for the story about free tickets for the football match."
fall in
- Collapse inwards
  "The roof of the supermarket fell in and many customers were injured."
fall off
- Become detached or separate from something.
  "The handle fell off the door as he tried to open it."
fall out
- Become loose and drop.
  "When you grow old your hair starts to fall out."
- Stop being friends because of a disagreement or argument.
  "Emma is not speaking to Julie anymore. They fell out during the school trip. "
fall through
- Fail; not happen as planned.
  "Our planned boat trip fell through because of the storm."
fall to
- Become the duty or responsibility of someone (for example, a task) .
  "It fell to me to announce the bad news."
figure out
- Understand; find the answer.
  "I've bought a new oven. Now I'm trying to figure out how to set the timer.
fill in for
- Temporarily substitute for another person.
  "Eva is absent this morning and Julie is going to fill in for her."
fill out
- Complete (a form/application).
  "Please fill out the enclosed form and send it back as soon as possible."
find out
- Discover or obtain information.
  "I'm going to call the cinema to find out what time the film starts."
fire away
- Ask questions in quick succession.
  "May we ask some questions? Sure, fire away!"
fire back
- Shoot back.
  "The policemen fired back at the robbers."
fish out
- Pull something out of a place.
  "He fished a file from the pile on his desk."
  "The police fished a dead body out of the water."
fit in (with)
- Feel comfortable or be in harmony with.
  "He has difficulty making friends. He just doesn't seem to fit in with the others."
fix up
- Repair or renovate.
  "They're going to fix up the house before moving in. "
fizzle out
- Gradually end.
  "They used to be very close but over the years their friendship fizzled out.
focus on
- Concentrate on something.
  "The advertising campaign will focus on the quality of the product. "
fold in
- Mix one ingredient with another.
  "Beat the eggs then fold in the sugar."
freak out
- Panic or go crazy.
  "She nearly freaked out when she saw the colour of her hair. It was a disaster!"
frown on/upon
- Disapprove.
  "My parents always frowned on smoking."
fuss over
- Pay excessive attention to somebody or somebody.
  "She's forever fussing over her grandson. It's just too much!"

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