Improve Your VOCABULARY
Everyone—from beginning learners in English to veterans in journalism—knows the frustration of not having the right word immediately available in that lexicon one carries between one's ears. Sometimes it's a matter of not being able to recall the right word; sometimes we never knew it. It is also frustrating to read a newspaper or homework assignment and run across words whose meanings elude us. Language, after all, is power. When your children get in trouble fighting with the neighbors' children, and your neighbors call your children little twerps and you call their children nefarious miscreants—well, the battle is over and they didn't stand a chance. Building a vocabulary that is adequate to the needs of one's reading and self-expression has to be a personal goal for every writer and speaker.
| Several quizzes have been connected to this section as vocabulary muscle builders. In addition, a javascript pop-up lexicon, A YEAR'S WORTH OF WORDS—with a word for every day of the year—is available. See the hyperlinks at the bottom of this page. |
Making It Personal
Using some durable piece of paper—white construction paper or the insides of the ripped-off covers of old notebooks—begin to write down words in small but readable script that you discover in your reading that you can't define. Read journals and newspapers that challenge you in terms of vocabulary. Pursue words actively and become alert to words that you simply overlooked in the past. Write down the words in one column; then, later, when you have a dictionary at your disposal, write down a common definition of the word; in a third column, write a brief sentence using the word, underlined.
Carry this paper or cardboard with you always. In the pauses of your busy day—when you're sitting on the bus, in the dentist's office, during commercials—take out the paper and review your vocabulary words until you feel comfortable that you would recognize (and be able to use) these words the next time you see them. The amazing thing is that you will see the words again—even "nefarious miscreants," and probably sooner than you thought. In fact, you might well discover that the words you've written down are rather common. What's happening is not that, all of a sudden, people are using words you never saw before, but that you are now reading and using words that you had previously ignored.
Using Every Resource
Most bookstores carry books on building a more powerful vocabulary, some of them with zany names such as Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary. If you've got money to spare or if they're on sale, buy them and use them; they can't hurt. Books that group words according to what they have in common—more in meaning than in spelling—are especially useful.
Newspapers often carry brief daily articles that explore the meanings of words and phrases. These articles often emphasize peculiar words that won't find themselves into your working vocabulary, but they can still be fun. Often you'll find that learning one new word leads to other new words, little constellations of meaning that keep your brain cells active and hungry for more. Make reading these articles one of your daily habits, an addiction, even.
Play dictionary games with your family in which someone uses the dictionary to find a neat word and writes down the real definition and everyone else writes down a fake (and funny) definition. See how many people you can fool with your fake definitions.
Witnesses were aghast, amazed, astonished, astounded, bemused, benumbed, bewildered, confounded, confused, dazed, dazzled, disconcerted, disoriented, dumbstruck, electrified, flabbergasted, horrified, immobilized, incredulous, nonplussed, overwhelmed, paralyzed, perplexed, scared, shocked, startled, stunned, stupified, surprised, taken aback, traumatized, upset. . . .
December 2003
A thesaurus is like a dictionary except that it groups words within constellations of meaning. It is often useful in discovering just the right word you need to express what you want to say. Make sure you correctly understand the definition of a word (by using a dictionary) before using it in some important paper or report. Your bookstore salesperson can provide plenty of examples of an inexpensive thesaurus. The online Merriam Webster's WWWebster Dictionary has access to both an extensive dictionary and a hyperlinked thesaurus. Links allow you to go conveniently back and forth between the dictionary and the thesaurus.
If you have a speedy computer processor and a fast hookup to the internet, we recommend the Plumb Design Visual Thesaurus. Once the program is entirely loaded, type in a word that you would like to see "visualized," hit the return key, and a construct of verbal connections will float across the screen. Click on any of the words within that construct and a new pattern of connections will emerge. Try the Visual Thesaurus with several different kinds of words—verbs, adverbs, nouns, adjectives—and try adjusting some of the various controls on the bottom of the window. We do not recommend this web-site for slow machines; in fact, the bigger your monitor and the faster your computer and connection, the more satisfying this experience will be.
When people use a word that puzzles you, ask what it means! You'll find that most instructors, especially, are not in the least bothered by such questions—in fact, they're probably pleased that you're paying such close attention—but if they do seem bothered, write down the word and look it up later, before the context of the word evaporates.
Knowing the Roots
At least half of the words in the English language are derived from Greek and Latin roots. Knowing these roots helps us to grasp the meaning of words before we look them up in the dictionary. It also helps us to see how words are often arranged in families with similar characteristics.
For instance, we know that sophomores are students in their second year of college or high school. What does it mean, though, to be sophomoric? The "sopho" part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us philosophy, which we know means "love of knowledge." The "ic" ending is sometimes added to adjectival words in English, but the "more" part of the word comes from the same Greek root that gives us moron. Thus sophomores are people who think they know a lot but really don't know much about anything, and a sophomoric act is typical of a "wise fool," a "smart-ass"!
Let's explore further. Going back to philosophy, we know the "sophy" part is related to knowledge and the "phil" part is related to love (because we know that Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love and that a philodendron loves shady spots). What, then, is philanthropy? "Phil" is still love, and "anthropy" comes from the same Greek root that gives us anthropology, which is the study ("logy," we know, means study of any kind) of anthropos, humankind. So a philanthropist must be someone who loves humans and does something about it—like giving money to find a cure for cancer or to build a Writing Center for the local community college. (And an anthropoid, while we're at it, is an animal who walks like a human being.) Learning the roots of our language can even be fun!
Some common Greek and Latin roots:
 |
Root (source) | Meaning | English words |
|
aster, astr (G) | star | astronomy, astrology |
|
audi (L) | to hear | audible, auditorium |
|
bene (L) | good, well | benefit, benevolent |
|
bio (G) | life | biology, autobiography |
|
dic, dict (L) | to speak | dictionary, dictator |
|
fer (L) | to carry | transfer, referral |
|
fix (L) | to fasten | fix, suffix, affix |
|
geo (G) | earth | geography, geology |
|
graph (G) | to write | graphic, photography |
|
jur, just (L) | law | jury, justice |
|
log, logue (G) | word, thought, speech |
monolog(ue), astrology, biology, neologism |
|
luc (L) | light | lucid, translucent |
|
manu (L) | hand | manual, manuscript |
|
meter, metr (G) | measure | metric, thermometer |
|
op, oper (L) | work | operation, operator |
|
path (G) | feeling | pathetic, sympathy, empathy |
|
ped (G) | child | pediatrics, pedophile |
|
phil (G) | love | philosophy, Anglophile |
|
phys (G) | body, nature | physical, physics |
|
scrib, script (L) | to write | scribble, manuscript |
|
tele (G) | far off | telephone,television |
|
ter, terr (L) | earth | territory, extraterrestrial |
|
vac (L) | empty | vacant, vacuum, evacuate |
|
verb (L) | word | verbal, verbose |
|
vid, vis (L) | to see | video, vision, television |
Authority for this chart: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.
Learning Prefixes and Suffixes
Knowing the Greek and Latin roots of several prefixes and suffixes (beginning and endings attached to words) can also help us determine the meaning of words. Ante, for instance, means before, and if we connect bellum with belligerant to figure out the connection with war, we'll know that antebellum refers to the period before war. (In the United States, the antebellum period is our history before the Civil War.)
| Prefixes showing quantity | ||
|
Meaning | Prefixes in English Words |
|
half | semiannual, hemisphere |
|
one | unicycle, monarchy, monorail |
|
two | binary, bimonthly, dilemma, dichotomy |
|
hundred | century, centimeter, hectoliter |
|
thousand | millimeter, kilometer |
| Prefixes showing negation | ||
|
without, no, not | asexual, anonymous, illegal, immoral, invalid, irreverent, unskilled |
|
not, absence of, opposing, against | nonbreakable, antacid, antipathy, contradict |
|
opposite to, complement to | counterclockwise, counterweight |
|
do the opposite of, remove, reduce | dehorn, devitalize, devalue |
|
do the opposite of, deprive of | disestablish, disarm |
|
wrongly, bad | misjudge, misdeed |
| Prefixes showing time | ||
|
before | antecedent, forecast, precede, prologue |
|
after | postwar |
|
again | rewrite, redundant |
| Prefixes showing direction or position | ||
|
above, over | supervise, supererogatory |
|
across, over | transport, translate |
|
below, under | infrasonic, infrastructure, subterranean, hypodermic |
|
in front of | proceed, prefix |
|
behind | recede |
|
out of | erupt, explicit, ecstasy |
|
into | injection, immerse, encourage, empower |
|
around | circumnavigate, perimeter |
|
with | coexist, colloquy, communicate, consequence, correspond, sympathy, synchronize |
Authority for this table: The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc.
Suffixes, on the other hand, modify the meaning of a word and frequently determine its function within a sentence. Take the noun nation, for example. With suffixes, the word becomes the adjective national, the adverb nationally, and the verb nationalize.
See what words you can come up with that use the following suffixes.
- Typical noun suffixes are -ence, -ance, -or, -er, -ment, -list, -ism, -ship, -ency, -sion, -tion, -ness, -hood, -dom
- Typical verb suffixes are -en, -ify, -ize, -ate
- Typical adjective suffixes are -able, -ible, -al, -tial, -tic, -ly, -ful, -ous, -tive, -less, -ish, -ulent
- The adverb suffix is -ly (although not all words that end in -ly are adverbs—like friendly)
Using Your Dictionary
The dictionary should be one of the most often used books in your home. (We'll allow room for sacred texts here.) Place the dictionary somewhere so that you can find it immediately and use it often. If you do your reading and homework in the kitchen and the dictionary is on a shelf in the den or bedroom, it's too tempting to say "I'll look it up next time."
The home dictionary should be large enough to contain much more than just spellings. It should contain extensive definitions, word origins, and notes on usage. Carrying in your purse or backpack a pocket dictionary with more concise definitions is also a good idea. Get in the habit of turning to it often. A well worn dictionary is a beautiful thing.
Using the Internet
You can use the internet as an aid to vocabulary development by exploring the abundant opportunities for reading available on the World Wide Web. Capital Community College maintains an extensive list of online newspapers and commentary magazines. Choose magazines such as Atlantic and Mother Jones that challenge your mind and your vocabulary with full-text articles. At least once a week read a major article with the purpose of culling from it some vocabulary words that are unfamiliar to you. We also recommend the New York Times Book Review (which might require an easy, one-time, free registration).
Vocabulary University is a new online resource for working on groups of related vocabulary words in a puzzle format. Vocabulary U., a graphically rich Web site, is broken into beginning, intermediate, and college-level work. Vocabulary for English Language Learners is a treasury and nicely organized resources for ESL students. It is maintained by the College of Arts & Sciences of Ohio University.
There are also at least two services that send you an e-mail message every day with a new word—with definitions, pronunciation guides, and examples of its use. Get in the habit of reading these messages regularly. Print out the words and definitions you think will be really useful, or write them down and carry them around with you on your personal vocabulary builder.
- Garner's Usage Tip OF the Day Bryan Garner, author of A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (Oxford University Press), offers this invaluable, free, daily e-mail service. Subscription is easy. http://www.us.oup.com/us/subscriptions/subscribe/?view=usa .
- Vocab Vitamins (formerly "MyWordaDay"): Colin O'Malley maintains this Website, a treasure for people who know that developing an adequate vocabulary is not a short-term project. Users can visit the Website or have the WordaDay e-mailed to them. Words are arranged in meaningful groups and defined in painstaking and useful detail, with plenty of examples. http://www.vocabvitamins.com/.
- WORDSMITH: To subscribe or unsubscribe to A.Word.A.Day, send a message to wsmith@wordsmith.org with the "Subject:" line as "subscribe
" or "unsubscribe." The Wordsmith has thousands of subscribers. It does a great job of discovering interesting themes and sources of words and then exploring those words—a word a day—for a week or so and then goes off to another theme and series of words. - Word of the Day: Maintained by Merriam Webster, Inc., the dictionary people. Go to the online WWWebster Dictionary and click on Word of the Day. From there, you can either subscribe to their free daily service or explore their archives. The guides for pronunciation are easier to follow than Wordsmith's and the examples are well founded and even fun. The Merriam-Webster people also provide a neat link directly to their word database so that you can highlight a word on a Web-page, click on their icon in your personal toolbar and get an instant and authoritative definition for that word.
The following resources do not go to your e-mail account, but they are easily available online — if you can just remember to visit them on a regular basis.
- Word of the Day from the OED: Although the online version of the esteemed Oxford English Dictionary is not available without a hefty price tag, you can get a free Word of the Day from the OED. You will find more information there about each word presented than you could ever imagine existed.
- The New York Times Word of the Day: every weekday, a word chosen from the archives of the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/wordofday/.
- Michael Quinion's "World Wide Words": investigating the use and creation of English words, from a British point of view. Fun to read, always something new.http://www.worldwidewords.org/index.htm.
- The Atlantic section on Language: from the Atlantic Monthly's online journal. Select from "Word Court," "Word Fugitive," and "Word Police." http://www.theatlantic.com/language/.
- Word Safari challenges web surfers' knowledge of vocabulary, and then sends them off on expeditions to see the chosen word used in context on the web. Aiming her Web site at building academic vocabulary skills, Ruth Pettis adds new vocabulary words every week. http://home.earthlink.net/~ruthpett/safari/index.htm.
- The Maven's Word for the Day was maintained by the Reference division of Random House. It went belly-up in December 2001, but the archives are still available online. http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/.
You can also go to the web-site of the Scripps-Howard Annual National Spelling Bee and listen to words on Audio Paideia. The words are arranged in interesting groups. With RealAudio on your browser, you can hear the word and its definition and then try to spell it on your own. Have a dictionary handy! This Guide to Grammar and Writing also has a series of spelling tests that can be used as a vocabulary builders: go to the section on Spelling and choose the spelling tests (bottom of the page) that use sound (the words you're asked to spell are accompanied by brief definitions).
Javascript Vocabulary Stretchers, maintained by John Gales, offers a new computer-graded vocabulary test (ten words) every week. Michael Quinion maintains a series of articles about the English language called Wide World of Words (also available as a weekly e-mail newsletter). You can spend days wandering through the maze of word-games and language resources listed in Judi Wolinsky's Word Play.
Crossword puzzles are an excellent way to develop your vocabulary. Do the puzzles that appear in your local newspaper on a daily or weekly basis or try these interactive crossword puzzles on the internet:
- The Christian Science Monitor Interactive Crossword Puzzle
- Crossword of the Day
- Michael Curl's Puzzles and Wordplay (This stuff is a real challenge!)
Voycabulary.com provides a means of typing in the URL of any Web page and the program will turn every word on that page into a clickable hyperlink that will reveal a definition in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary or Thesaurus. Voycabulary will also translate a Web page into another language for you. Try it with this page, whose URL is
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/vocabulary.htm
Five-Dollar Words
An extensive vocabulary can be a powerful writing and speaking tool; it can also be misused, made to make others feel powerless. Never use a five-dollar word where a fifty-cent word will do the job just as well or better. Do we really need utilize when a three-letter word, use, will nicely suffice. Risible is a lovely word, but is it worth sending your readers to the dictionary when laughable is at hand? It's a good question. On the other hand, don't cheat yourself or your readers out of some important nuance of meaning that you've discovered in a word that's new to you. At some point you have to assume that your readers also have dictionaries. It's sometimes a tough line to draw—between being a pedantic, pretentious boor (Oh, there are three dandies!) and being a writer who can take full and efficient advantage of the English language's multifarious (another one!) resources.
Phrasal Verbs (idioms)
Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs (Idioms)
Many verbs in English are followed by an adverb or a preposition (also called a particle), and these two-part verbs, also called phrasal verbs, are different from verbs with helpers. The particle that follows the verb changes the meaning of the phrasal verb in idiomatic ways:
|
VERB |
MEANING | EXAMPLE |
|
drop off |
decline gradually |
The hill dropped off near the river. |
|
drop off(2) |
fall asleep |
While doing his homework, he dropped off. |
|
drop off(3) |
stop and give something to someone |
Would you drop this off at the post office? |
|
drop out |
cease to participate |
After two laps, the runner dropped out. |
Some particles can be separated from the verb so that a noun and pronoun can be inserted, and some particles can't be separated from the verb. In addition, some phrases are intransitive, meaning they cannot take a direct object.
|
Separable |
add up (meaning: to add) |
Correct: She added up the total on her calculator. |
| Correct: She added it up on her calculator. | ||
|
Inseparable |
get around (meaning: to evade) |
Correct: She always gets around the rules. |
| Incorrect: She always gets the rules around (This construction makes no sense in English.) | ||
| Intransitive | catch on (meaning: to understand) | Correct: After I explained the math problem, she began to catch on. |
| Incorrect: She began to catch on the math problem. (catch on cannot take a direct object in this meaning.) | ||
| Correct: She began to catch on to the math problem. (the word to makes the math problem an indirect object, which is acceptable in this meaning.) |
Unfortunately, there is usually no indicator whether an idiomatic phrase is separable, inseparable, or intransitive. In most cases the phrases must simply be memorized. Below is a partial list of each kind of phrase.
Separable
add up - add
back up - cause to move backwards; support; blow up; cause to explode; destroy by explosives
break down - analyze; list the parts of separately
break into - go into a house or room forcibly; suddenly; begin; bring about - cause to happen
bring off - accomplish
bring on - cause
bring out - publish; emphasize
bring over - bring
bring to - revive
bring up - raise; care for from childhood
brush out - brush the inside of
burn down - destroy by burning
burn up - consume by fire
buy out - by the other person's share of a business
buy up - buy the whole supply of
call off - cancel; order away
call up - telephone; summon for military service
calm down - become calm
carry on - continue
carry out - fulfill; complete; accomplish; perform
carry over - carry; continue at another time or place
cheer up - cause to become cheerful
chew up - chew thoroughly
chop up - chop into small pieces
clean off - clean the surface of
clean out - clean the inside of
clean up - clarify; tidy
clear out - clear the surface of
clear up - clear the inside of
close down - close permanently
close up - close temporarily
count in - include
count out - exclude
count up - calculate; count; add to a total
cross out - eliminate
cut off - interrupt; sever; amputate
cut out - eliminate; delete
cut down - reduce in quantity
draw up - write; compose (a document)
dress up - put clothes on; adorn
dust out - dust the inside of
eat up - eat completely
figure out - interpret; understand
figure up - compute
fill in - complete (a printed form)
fill out - complete (a printed form)
fill up - fill completely (a container)
find out - discover
fix up - repair; arrange in a suitable manner
get across - cause to be understood
give back - return
give out - distribute; announce
give up - surrender something
hand down - deliver; pronounce formally; leave as an inheritance
hand over - yield control of
hang up - suspend
have on - be dressed in
have over - entertain someone informally at one's home
hold off - delay; restrain
hold up - delay; rob; threaten with a weapon
keep up - continue; keep the same pace
leave out - omit
let down - disappoint
let out - release from confinement; make larger (in sewing)
light up - light; illuminate thoroughly
live down - live in such a way as to cause something to be forgotten
make over - remake
move over - move to the side
pass out - distribute
pass up - not take advantage of (as an opportunity)
pass on - transmit
pay back - repay
pay off - discharge a debt completely; give someone his final pay
pick up - come to meet an escort; lift with hands or fingers; learn casually;
initiate an association publicly
play down - minimize
play up - emphasize
point out - indicate
pull down - pull in a downward direction; raze
push across - cause to be understood or accepted
put off - postpone
put on - dress in; deceive or fool
put up - preserve (food); receive as an overnight guest
quiet down - be quiet
ring up - the telephone
rinse off - rinse the surface of
rinse out - rinse the inside of
rule out - eliminate
run down - trace; disparage; hit with a vehicle
run off - cause to depart; reproduce mechanically
save up - accumulate
see through - complete; in spite of difficulties
see off - accompany someone to the beginning of a trip
send back - send to a place where formerly located
send over - send to where someone is
set up - arrange
show off - exhibit ostentatiously
shut off - cause to cease functioning
slow up - cause to move more slowly
spell out - enumerate; state in detail
stand up - fail to keep an appointment with
sweep out - sweep the inside of
take back - return; retract a statement
take down - remove from a high position; write from dictation
take in - understood; fool; deceive; make smaller (in sewing)
take over - take; assume command of
tear down - destroy
tear up - tear into small pieces
tell off - scold; reprimand
think over - consider
think through - consider from beginning to end
think up - create; invent
throw away - discard
throw over - reject
tie up - tie securely or tight
tire out - cause to be exhausted
touch up - repair
try on - put on a garment to verify the fit
try out - test
turn down - refuse; lower the volume
turn out - produce; force into exile, extinguish (a light)
wash off - wash the surface of
wash out - wash the inside of
wear out - use until no longer usable; tire greatly
wind up - finish, tighten the spring of a watch or machine
wipe off - wipe the surface of
wipe out - wipe the inside of; decimate
work out - solve
write down - record
write out - write down every detail; spell out
write up - compose; prepare (a document)
Inseparable
back out of - desert; fail to keep a promise
bear down on - lean on; browbeat
bear on - have to do with
bear up under - endure
break in on - interrupt
break into - interrupt
call for - come to get; require
care for - like; guard; supervise; maintain
carry on with - continue
catch up with - cover the distance between oneself and
check up on - examine; verify
come across - find accidentally
come along with - accompany; make progress
come by - find accidentally
come down with - become ill with
come out with - utter; produce
come up with - utter; produce
count on - rely on
cut in on - interrupt
disagree with - cause illness or discomfort to
do away with - abolish
do without - deprive oneself of
drop in at/on - visit casually without planning
drop out of - leave; quit
face up to - acknowledge
fall behind in - lag; not progress at required pace
fall back on - use for emergency purpose
fall out with - quarrel with
fill in for - substitute for
get ahead of - surpass; beat
get around - evade; avoid
get away with - do without being caught or punished
get by with - manage with a minimum of effort
get down to - become serious about; consider
get in - enter (a vehicle)
get off - descend from; leave
get on - enter (a vehicle); mount
get on with - proceed with
get through with - terminate, finish
go back on - desert; fail to keep (a promise)
go for - like a great deal
go in for - be interested in; participate in
go on with - continue
go over - review
go with - harmonize with; look pleasing together
go without - abstain from
hang around - remain idly in the vicinity of
hear from - receive a communication from
hear of - learn about (sometimes accidentally)
hit on - discover accidentally
hold on to - grasp tightly
hold out against - resist
keep at - persevere at
keep to - persist in; continue
keep up with - maintain the pace of
lie down on - evade; fail to do
live on - support or sustain oneself by means of
live up to - maintain the standard demanded of
look after - take care of
look back on - remember nostalgically
look down on - feel superior to
look forward to - anticipate
look up to - respect; admire
make up for - compensate for
pass on - transmit
pick on - tease; bully
play up to - flatter for personal advantage
put up with - tolerate
read up on - search out information on
run against - compete against in an election
run away with - leave; escape from
run for - campaign for
see about - consider; arrange
see to - arrange; supervise
settle on - decide on; choose
stand for - represent; permit
stand up for - support; demand
stand up to - resist
stick to - persist
stick up for - support; defend
take after - resemble
talk back to - answer impolitely
talk over - discuss
tell on - report misbehavior to authority
touch on - mention briefly
turn into - become
wait on - serve
wait up for - not go to bed while waiting for
watch out for - be careful for
Intransitive
back down - retreat from a position in an argument
back out - desert; fail to keep a promise
back up - move backwards
bear up - endure
blow in - drop in to visit unexpectedly
blow over - pass without doing harm
blow up - explode; lose one's temper
call up - telephone
calm down - become calm
carry on - continue as before; misbehave
catch on - understand
catch up - cover the distance between oneself and a moving goal
check up - investigate
check out - leave; pay one's bill
cheer up - become cheerful
clear out - leave
clear up - become clear
close down - close permanently
close up - close temporarily
came about - happen
come along - accompany; make progress
come back - return
come by - visit someone in his home
come out - appear; make a social debut
come over - come to someone's house, to where someone is
come through - succeed
come to - regain consciousness
cut in - interrupt
die away - fade; diminish
die down - fade; diminish
die off/out - disappear; become extinct
dress up - don fancy or unusual clothes
drive back - return by car
drop in - visit someone casually without planning
drop out - abandon some organized activity; leave; quit
drop over - visit someone casually
fall behind - not progress at required pace
fall off - decrease; lose weight
fall through - fail; not be accomplished
fill in - substitute
find out - learn
fly back - return by air
fly over - fly to where someone is
get ahead - make progress
get along - have a friendly relationship
get around - circulate; move about
get away - escape
get by - manage; either just barely or with a minimum of effort
get in - enter
get off - descend from leave
get on - enter (a vehicle); mount (a horse, etc.)
get on/along - progress; be compatible
get up - rise
get through - finish
give out - become exhausted
give up - surrender; fail to finish
go back - return
go off - explode
go on - happen; continue
go out - stop burning; leave one's residence
go over - go; succeed
grow up - mature
hang around - remain idly; dawdle
hang up - replace a telephone receive on its hook
hold on - grasp tightly; persevere; wait while telephoning
hold out - continue to resist; persevere; persist
keep on - continue
keep up - maintain the required pace or standard; continue
let up - diminish in intensity
lie down - recline
look on - be a spectator
make out - progress; succeed
make up - become reconciled
move over - move to the side
pan out - turn out well; be successful
pass out - become unconscious
pass on - die
pick up - grow; increase
pull in - arrive
pull out - deport
pull through - survive (barely)
ride over - ride to where someone is
run away - escape; leave; leave quickly without permission
run down - slowly lose power so as to stop functioning
run off - depart running; drain
sell out - sell the ownership or responsibility
settle up - pay one's bills or debts
show off - boast by words or actions
show up - arrive; appear unexpectedly
shut up - stop talking
slow up - reduce speed
stand by - wait; be prepared to assist
stand up - stand; rise from sitting; last; endure
stay over - remain at someone's house overnight or longer
step aside - move to one side
take off - leave the ground
take over - assume command
talk back - answer impolitely
throw up - vomit
turn around - turn so that one is facing another direction
turn in - go to bed
turn out - succeed; come; appear, as at a public meeting
turn up - arrive; be found unexpectedly
wait up - remain awake in anticipation
wake up - awaken
walk back - return on foot to where one was
walk over - walk to where someone is
wash out - fade or disappear from washing
watch out - be careful
wear off - fade; disappear through use or time
wear out - become unusable through use; become used up
work out - be successful
