A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb; the combination creates a meaning different from the original verb.
laugh off
- Make light of something; minimise.
“The author laughed off the unflattering review of his latest book.”
lay off
- Fire, dismiss, let go.
“Many factories have had to lay off workers.”
leaf through
- Turn over pages quickly.
“Sophie leafed through a magazine in the waiting room.”
leak out
- Become known to the public unofficially (information).
“News of the planned merger leaked out before the end of the negotiations.”
leave out
- Omit; not mention.
“Tom’s name was left out of the report so he got no credit for his work.”
let down
- Disappoint.
“You promised to come to the party, so don’t let me down! - Lengthen (skirt, pants).
“The skirt is too short? We can have it let down for you if you like.”
light up
- Illuminate.
“1 watched the floodlights light up the castle.”
“The screen lights up when you turn on a computer.”
line up
- Stand in a row.
“The books were lined up neatly on the shelves.”
live through
- Experience something and survive.
“My grandparents lived through two wars and learned to survive.”
liven up
- Make something livelier or more attractive.
“We’ve got to find a way to liven up the presentation somehow. “
log in/on (to)
- Access a program or database using a password.
“You need to log in to your account before you can use our services.”
log off
- End access to a database.
“First log off the system and then turn off the computer.”
look after
- Take care of.
“A baby sitter looks after the children when their parents go out.”
look ahead
- Think of the future.
“Don’t keep thinking about the past . It’s time to look ahead and plan the future.
look at
- Pay attention to something you see.
“Look at this picture of my grandfather when he was young.“
look at
- Read in order to give an opinion.
“Have you got time to look at my business plan?”
look at
- Examine closely.
“That’s a nasty bruise. You should ask a doctor to look at it.”
look at
- Examine or study carefully.
“We are going to look at all possible options.”
look away
- Turn your head away so as not to see.
“The scene was so horrible that I had to look away.“
look back on
- Remember the past.
“My parents and their friends like to look back on “the good old days”.”
look down on
- Consider as inferior.
“He tends to look down on anyone who is not successful.”
look for
- Try to find something.
“Jane went shopping to look for an outfit for the wedding.”
look forward to
- Await or anticipate with pleasure.
“I look forward to seeing you next week-end.”
look into
- Examine or investigate.
“Our after-sales service will look into the matter and call you back.”
look on
- Be a spectator at an event.
“Billy didn’t take part in the fight. He just looked on. “
look out
- Be careful; pay attention.
“Look out! There’s a car coming.”
look over
- Examine; review.
“The editor will look over the article before it is published.
look through
- Examine, usually quickly.
“I’ll look through my mail to see if I can find your message.”
look up to
- Admire.
“He was a wonderful teacher and many students looked up to him.”
lose out
- Be unsuccessful; suffer a loss.
“I’m the one who will lose out if our plan goes wrong.”
lose out on
- Miss or be deprived of something.
“I watched the documentary until the end so as not to lose out on anything.”
“Because I left before the end of the year I lost out on the annual bonus.”
lose out to
- Be less successful than another.
“Jose was called for an interview but he lost out to a candidate who spoke fluent English.”
