English Phrasal Verbs

Alphabetical list R-S of commonly-used phrasal verbs.

Phrasal Verbs beginning with the letter 'R' or 'S'

rake up
- Recall unpleasant memories or events
  "She's constantly raking up old quarrels."
ramp up
- Increase the quantity or amount
  "The company ramped up production to meet the demand."
reel off / rattle off
- Recite without effort or pause, from memory.
  "Stella amazed everyone by reeling off all the phrasal verbs she had learned."
rely on
- Count on; depend on; trust
  "Don't worry. You can rely on me. I can keep a secret."
rig out (verb)
- Dress or equip.
  "The old lady arrived all rigged out in her best clothes."
ring back (also: call back)
- Return a phone call.
  "John rang this morning and asked if you could ring him back."
ring off
- End a phone call.
  "The caller gave his name and then rang off."
rub out
- Erase.
  Write it in pencil so that you can rub it out later if you want to change it.
rule out
- Eliminate.
  "The police are still investigating but they have ruled out political motives."
run away
- Escape from a place or suddenly leave.
  "He ran away from home at the age of fourteen."
run about/around
- Be busy doing many different things.
  "Julie has been running about/around all week getting ready for the wedding."
run across
- Run to the other side of something (a road, a bridge...).
  "The pickpocket ran across the road and jumped onto a bus."
run after
- Chase something.
  "Tom threw the ball along the beach and the dog ran after it."
run into (also : bump into)
- Meet by accident or unexpectedly .
  "Sophie ran into Maria at the shopping centre."
run on
- Continue without interruption.
  "We didn’t expect the chairman's speech to run on for so long.”
run out
- Expire, come to an end.
  "Let’s order now before the offer runs out.”
run out of
- Have no more of something.
  "What a nuisance! We've run out of coffee."
run up
- Accumulate a debt.
  "James ran up a large amount in hotel expenses at the trade fair."
- Make something quickly.
  "My mother can run up a pair of curtains in no time.”
run up against
- Encounter difficulties or problems.
  "The property developer ran up against strong local opposition."

scale back/scale down
- Make something smaller than originally intended.
  "Due to the crisis the company had to scale down the size of the plant."
scrape along
- Live with barely enough money
  "He managed to scrape along with very little money until he found a job."
scrape together/scrape up
- Manage to find or collect enough of something you need, usually money.
  "We finally scraped together enough money to buy an old car."
scrape through
- Succeed with difficulty.
  "How I scraped through the exam is still a mystery to me!"
set about
- Begin to do something.
  "She set about tidying the house."
set apart
- Have a distinguishing characteristic.
  "The fact that she spoke several languages set her apart from the other candidates."
set aside
- Reserve for future use.
  "We're always careful to set aside money for the rent."
set back
- Delay something.
  "Bad weather set back the construction work."
set down
- Record in writing.
  "The rules were set down in a handbook."
set forth
- Start a journey.
  "They set forth on their expedition in April."
set in
- Take root, begin and continue
  "It's snowing today. Winter has set in."
  "A few months after changing jobs, regret set in."
set off
- Start a journey.
  "Early Saturday morning we set off for the ski slopes."
set off
- Initiate something
  "Opening a window will set off the alarm."
  "Fireworks were set off just before midnight."
set on/upon
- Attack
  "The burglars were set on/upon by the dog."
set up
- Start a business.
  "Victoria set up her own company 10 years ago."
set up
- Establish or organize.
  "The hikers set up camp near a lake."
settle for
- Accept something not quite satisfactory
  "I was hoping for a better proposal but I'll settle for the amount you offer."
settle in/into
- Get used to a new place or home
  "How are the children settling into their new school?."
shop around
- Compare prices.
  "It's always wise to shop around before buying anything."
show off
- Brag or want to be admired.
  "There's Donald showing off in his new sports car!"
show up
- Appear; arrive.
  "We expected William to come but he didn't show up."
shut up (impolite)
- Be silent, stop talking.
  "Oh shut up you idiot!"
sign away
- Give up one's rights or ownership.
  "He signed away his property and joined a religious community."
sign in
- Register (e.g. at a hotel).
  "As soon as we've signed in we'll go and get something to eat ."
sign out
- Pay your bill and leave (e.g. a hotel).
  "At 9 o'clock he signed out and left for the airport."
sign over (to)
- Transfer ownership of something.
  "He signed over the house to his two children."
sign up (for)
- Enroll in an activity.
  Emma signed up for a computer course.
sign up (with)
- Sign an agreement to work for somebody.
  "Paul has signed up with a news agency."
sing along (with)
- Sing while someone else is singing or playing the same piece of music.
  "While the band played her favourite tune, Alice sang along with them."
single out
- Select for special attention.
  "Two of the boys were singled out for extra coaching.
sink in
- Be fully understood.
  "In spite of the detailed news reports, it took a while for the scale of the disaster to sink in."
sit down
- Take a seat.
  "Please come in and sit down."
sleep in
- Sleep longer and get up later than usual.
  "Tomorrow is Saturday, so I can sleep in!"
sleep over
- Stay overnight at someone else's home.
  "You're welcome to sleep over if you don't want to drive in this weather."
slip up
- Make a mistake.
  "You slipped up there! His name is Alex, not Alan!"
slow down
- Decelerate; go more slowly.
  "George! You're going to cause an accident. Slow down!"
soak up
- Absorb
  "She got a sponge to soak up the water."
  "We soaked up the sun all afternoon."
sober up
- Get rid of the effects of too much alcohol.
  "Jack decided to go for a long walk to sober up."
sort out
- Organise, resolve a problem.
  "There was a misunderstanding but Lea sorted it out."
  "Students should sort out their books at the end of the school year."
speed up
- Accelerate; go faster.
  "We need to speed up the registration procedure."
spit (something) out
- Stop hesitating and say what you have to say.
  "Come on Tommy ! Just spit it out and tell us what happened !"
splash out
- Buy something expensive.
  "He splashed out on a diamond necklace for his girlfriend!"
stand for
- Represent, mean.
  "VAT stands for value added tax."
- Tolerate.
  "There's no way I'm going to stand for such bad behaviour!"
stand up
- Rise from a sitting position
  "The pupils stood up when the headmaster arrived."
stand up for
- Support or defend someone or something.
  "You must learn to be assertive and stand up for your personal views."
stay in
- Remain at home rather than go out.
  "I stayed in all afternoon waiting for a delivery."
stick around
- Stay somewhere for some time.
  "I'll stick around until the end of the parade."
stick out
- Come out.
  "The speaker's shirt was sticking out from his trousers."
- Become noticeable.
  "With that dress you'll really stick out!"
stick (something) out
- Tolerate, accept to continue.
  "Lunch with my girlfriend's colleagues was boring but I had to stick it out - I had no choice!"
stick to
- Continue without changing anything.
  "We must decide on a plan of action and stick to it."
stick together
- Support each other.
  "Good friends always stick together."
stick with
- Continue using or doing something.
  "I'll stick with this grammar book because it has everything I need."
string along
- Let someone continue to believe something false.
  "If you’re not in love with her, then tell her so. Don’t string her along."

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