Essential Business Phrasal Verbs
Branch out
Meaning: Expand or extend one’s interests
Example: I’m leaving the company to branch out on my own.
Break into
Meaning: Enter (with effort or force)
Example: It’s always been his ambition to break into broadcasting.
Carry on
Meaning: Continue
Example: He moved to New York to carry on his work.
Close down
Meaning: Stop operating
Example: The firm has decided to close down its Chicago branch.
Look forward to
Meaning: Feel pleased and excited about something that is going to happen
Example: We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Note down
Meaning: Write something down
Example: Her answers were noted down on the chart.
Step down
Meaning: Resign or leave (a position/job)
Example: The chairman was forced to step down due to ill health.
Take off
Meaning: Become successful or popular very fast
Example: Her business has really taken off.
Take up
Meaning: Fill a particular amount of space or time
Example: These files take up a lot of disk space.
Weigh up (UK)
Meaning: Consider carefully the advantages or disadvantages of a situation
Example: I’m weighing up my options before I decide to apply for the job.
Back up
Meaning: Make a copy of information
Example: It’s a good idea to back up your files onto a memory stick.
Carry out
Meaning: Do and complete a task
Example: The building work was carried out by a local contractor.
Come up
Meaning: Happen or arise
Example: I’m going to have to cancel our meeting – something’s come up.
Get on (UK)
Meaning: Continue or start doing something
Example: Can we please get on, because there are a lot of things still to discuss.
Keep up with
Meaning: Follow
Example: We try to keep up with what’s happening about financial news.
Set up
Meaning: Start (a business)
Example: The group plans to set up an import business.
Go through
Meaning: Experience something bad
Example: We can’t really imagine what our company’s going through.
Find out
Meaning: Discover a fact or piece of information
Example: Can you find out what our customers think of their local bus service?
Call off
Meaning: Cancel something
Example: With the weather worsening, they have called off their field trip.
Call back
Meaning: To return a call or telephone someone again.
Example: I’ll call you back when I’ve heard something about the interview.
Deal with
Meaning: Handle (a problem)
Example: He’s good at dealing with pressure.
Drop in
Meaning: Make a short visit without making an arrangement in advance
Example: Drop in whenever you want—I’ll be at the office all day.
Fill out
Meaning: Complete (a form)
Example: It took me several hours to fill out the application form.
Hold on
Meaning: Wait
Example: We’ll hold on another minute, then we’ll have to go.
Join in
Meaning: Participate
Example: We would be eager to join in projects of that sort.
Lay off
Meaning: Fire (staff)
Example: We have no plans in the immediate future to lay off workers.
Put back
Meaning: Delay or postpone
Example: The meeting has been put back to next week.
Run out of
Meaning: Have no more of something
Example: Many companies are running out of money.
Sort out
Meaning: Organise or fix
Example: We brought in a management consultant to sort out the mess.
Take on
Meaning: Employ (staff)
Example: We’re not taking on any new staff at the moment.
Take over
Meaning: To begin to have control of or responsibility for something
Example: He understands the business and can take over when I’m away.
Bail out
Meaning: To rescue somebody from a difficult situation, especially financial problems
Example: The bank helped to bail out the struggling company.
Cut back
Meaning: To reduce something
Example: In times of economic hardship, firms cut back on training.
Go under
Meaning: To become bankrupt
Example: The firm will go under unless business improves.
Fall through
Meaning: If an agreement, plan, sale etc. falls through, it is not completed successfully
Example: The planned purchase of the racecourse fell through.
Pull out
Meaning: To move away from something or stop being involved in it
Example: The project became so expensive that we had to pull out.
Bottom out
Meaning: To stop getting worse
Example: Property prices are still falling, and show no signs of bottoming out.
Level off
Meaning: To stop rising or falling and become steady
Example: Inflation has begun to level off.