Phrasal Verb Dictionary: Letter P

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T W Z

Pack in [Pack something in].- (job, course, university) When you pack something in, you leave it because you find it very difficult to continue. Chuck in, jack in

At the age of 29 he packed in his job as an industrial caterer and moved to France.

Pack up.- (insep) (car, computer, system, machine) When something packs up, it stops working because it has a serious problem. Break down

On the way home the car packed up. It was midnight by the time we arrived.

Pass on [Pass something up].- (information, message) When you pass something on, you give it to another person.

By reproducing we pass on our genes to the next generation.
I said I'd be happy to pass on the message.

Pass out.- (insep) When you pass out, you lose consciousness. Black out Come round, come toBring round, bring to

She felt dizzy and then passed out but luckily someone caught her before she hit the ground.
I remember climbing the ladder, but I can't remember the accident. I guess I must have passed out, because the next thing I remember was the paramedic looking down at me.

Pass up [Pass something up].- (opportunity, chance, offer) When you pass something up, you don't take advantage of it. Snap up, take up

Every week you will find a fantastic computer or Internet offer that is too good to pass up.

Pass away.- (insep) When somebody passes away, they die. We say this verb to avoid using the word 'die'. Pass on

She passed away at Royal Lodge, Windsor, on Saturday, and the news was announced by Buckingham Palace about two and a half hours later.

Patch up [Patch something up].- (differences, quarrel, things, dispute, marriage, friendship) When you patch something up with somebody, you are friends again.

Maybe I should try to patch things up with my wife.

Pay in [Pay something in].- (money, cheque) When you pay something in, you put money into a bank account.

The company pays my wages directly into my bank account.

Pay off.- (insep) (plan, planning, gamble, risk, effort, hard work, patience, persistence) When something pays off, it's successful.

He waited patiently for other publishers and his patience paid off. His work was accepted and published.

Pay off [Pay something off].- (insep) (debt, loan, mortgage, creditor) When you pay something off, you pay somebody all the money you owe them so that you are not in debt anymore.

He won so much money in the card game that he was able to pay off his debts.

Perk up [Perk somebody up, perk something up].- When something perks you up, it makes you feel more energetic. Liven somebody up

Coffee is the perfect drink to perk you up.
Any ideas are welcome as to how to perk things up a bit.

Peter out.- (insep) (track, road, voice, conversation, enthusiasm, supplies, engine, storm) When something peters out, it gradully becomes smaller or less intense and ends.

With no one to guide me in my investigations my enthusiasm petered out, but not my interest, that was something which has always remained constant.
Her voice petered out and her last few words were mumbled into my ear.

Pick up.- (insep) (the economy, business, prices, sales, trade, demand, weather) When something picks up, it gets better.

Sales of the product have picked up in recent weeks.
Profits were down last year, but in the first quarter of this year it seems that business has picked up.

Pick up [Pick somebody up, pick something up].- 1 (friend, passenger, hitchhiker) When you pick somebody up, you collect them in your car.

I'll pick you up at your house at seven.

2 (man, woman) When you pick somebody up, you are very friendly with them because you are trying to start a sexual relationship with them.

Discos in Brazil are the best place to pick up a woman.

3 (bag, glass, baby, phone) When you pick something up, you lift it from somewhere. Lift up

She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

4 (bill, tab, cheque) When you pick something up, you pay for it.

At the end of the day, the taxpayer is having to pick up the bill for everything.

5 (language, idea, habit, English, word, rude words, job) When you pick something up, you learn it easily, sometimes by chance and without much effort.

My one year old enjoys the visuals and has already picked up a few words.

Idiom > Pick up the pieces: When you pick up the pieces, you try to go back to a satisfactory situation after things have gone wrong.

Pig out [Pick out, pig out on something].- (junk food, fast food) When you pig out or pig out on something, you eat a lot of something.

Whenever she's upset she pigs out on chocolate.
When everyone goes to bed he pigs out on junk food.

Pin down [Pick down, pin somebody down to something].- (answer, date, time, price) When you pin somebody down, you force them to make a decision or to say clearly what their intentions are. Nail down, peg down

It was always hard to pin him down to a definite answer.

Piss off.- 1 (insep) When you tell somebody to piss off, you tell them in a very offensive way to leave you alone. Bugger off, fuck off, sod off

I told him to piss off and leave me alone.

2 When you are pissed off with something or something pisses you off, you are annoyed or bored with it.

Don't people who ask stupid questions really piss you off?
Doesn't it just piss you off when some prick is going slower than you in the fast lane?

Plant out [Plant something out].- When you plant something out, you put young plants in the ground where you want them to grow.

It's too cold to plant the seedlings out. Wait until it's warmer.

Play down [Play something down].- When you play something down, you try to make it look less important. Play up

The nuclear industry is always anxious to play down the dangers of an accident at a nuclear power station.

Play up [Play something up].- When you play something up, you try to make it look more important. Play down

The article played up his role in helping to write the state of Missouri's Constitution.

Plough back [Plough something back].- (profits) When you plough profits back into a business, you reinvest the money earned.

Companies are not generating enough profits to plough them back into fresh investments.

Pluck up [Pluck something up].- (courage) When you pluck up courage, you decide to be brave enough to do something.

How did you pluck up the courage to do it?

Plug in [Plug something in].- When you play something in, you connect a piece of electrical equipment to the main supply of electricity, or to another piece of electrical equipment.

I don't think the antenna's plugged in right.

Point out [Point something out].- When you point something out, you draw attention to it.

It's worth pointing out that all complaints, formal or informal, shall be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Polish off [Polish something off].-(meal, cake) When you polish something off, you eat it completely or you finish it. Eat up

We sat at the table and talked as we polished off the bottle of sherry.

Pop round.- (insep) When you pop round, you pay a short informal visit.

She called and said she really needed to talk to me so I said I'd pop round if I could.

Pop in.- (insep) When you pop in or you pop into a place, you make a short visit. Call in, drop in

I only popped in to say hello.
Why don't you pop into the office later? There's something I want to show you.

Pop up.- (insep) When you pop up, you appear, often unexpectedly.

He has a habit of disappearing for ages and then just popping up out of the blue.

Pull out [Pull something out].-(tooth, nail, plug, gun) When you pull something out, you extract it.

The victim was still alive when he was pulled out from the rubble by police, who were close by when the explosion occurred.

Pull out.-(troops, deal, negotiations) When you pull out, you withdraw.

They've just pulled out. The deal's off. They're not interested any more.

Pull through [Pull through, pull through something, pull somebody through].-(crisis, illness) When you pull through or pull through something, you manage to recover after dealing with a difficult situation.

She is in intensive care, in a very deep coma and it looks very unlikely that she will pull through.
He's gonna be alright. He's gonna pull through.

Pump in [Pump something in].-(money, cash, funds, supplies) When an organization pumps something in, they provide money or resources for something. Pour in

Investors are pumping in money, although these young firms face a maze of scientific and commercial obstacles before they mature into commercially successful ventures.

Pump up [Pump something up].-(tyre, dinghy, balloon, airbed) When you pump something up, you fill it with air. Blow up

Sound quality is relatively good and you can pump up the bass to a reasonable level.

Push away [Push somebody away, push something away].- When you push somebody or something away, you move them to a distance from you.

I tried to kiss her but she pushed me away.

Push into [Push somebody into something].- When you push somebody into doing something, you try to influence or persuade them to do something.

The protesters are trying to push the government into reducing fuel tax.

Put about, put around [Put something about, put something around].- (news, rumours, stories) When you put something about, you spread bad or false news.

Rumours were put about that he had a drug problem.

Put across [Put something across].- (idea, message, views, concept, point, facts, things, oneself) When you put something across, you try to make people understand what you're trying to say.

We were trying to put across the message that looking after your heart is important.

Put away [Put something away].- 1 When you put something away, you put it where it's usually kept.

After they use something, it’s their responsibility to put it away.

2 When somebody is put away, they go to prison. Lock somebody up

I hope he gets put away for life.
Hansen was not jailed for a true crime, she was put away by vested interests who had influence and wanted her out of the way. But she was no criminal.

3 (food, beers) When you put something away, you eat or drink a lot of it.

Mick Baker has put away thousands of pints in his 28-year mission to sample every beer in the British Isles.

4 (money, sum) When you put something away, you put it in the bank.Put by, lay aside

He's put away a decent sum of money.
When I started a Saturday job as a waitress I opened a savings account and started putting about £5 or £10 away each week.

Put behind [Put something behind].- Forget When you put something behind, you try to forget it.

It's gonna be such a relief, finally putting all this behind me.

Put by [Put something by].- Save(money) When you put something by, you put it in the bank. Put away, lay aside

Alice thought how she'd scrimped and saved over the years just to have a little money put by for when she retired.

Put down [Put something down].- When you put something down, you stop holding it.

He finished the book and put it down on the table.

Put down to [Put something down to something].- (insep) (hard work) When you put something down to something else, you think that is the probable explanation for it.

He puts his success down to hard work.

Put forward [Put something forward].- 1 (idea, plan, proposal, proposition, suggestion) When you put something forward, you offer it for consideration or discussion.

A new set of proposals were put forward aimed at saving the peace process.
He put his plan forward so the others could think about it.

2 (clock, watch) When you put something forward, you adjust the time. Put back

In Britain the clocks are put forward at 2am on the last Sunday in March.

Put in [Put something in].- 1 (hard work, effort, hours, time) When you put something in, you work hard or spend time doing something.

We still have to put in a lot more work on the project to make it look attractive and viable to the business people.

2 (central heating, lock, window) When you put something in, you install it.

We had a whole new system put in because the old one was completely useless.

3 (application, bid, bill, claim, order, request, protest, tender) When you put something in, you request it formally.

She immediately quit and put in a claim for worker's compensation.

Idiom > Put in an appearence: When you put in an appearence, you go somewhere to be seen for a short while, usually because you are expected to go.

Put off [Put somebody off].- When you put somebody off, you make them change their mind or stop being interested in something.

I didn't want her to come to the concert so I put her off by saying she wouldn't enjoy it.

Put off [Put something off].- (meeting, visit, decision) When you put something on, you do it at a later date. Be off, call off

The band had to put the tour off until May because the drummer broke his arm.

Put on [Put something on].- (clothes, weight) When you put something on, you dress yourself in it. Get on Take off

Don't put that tie on. It's completely out of fashion.

Put out [Put something out].- 1 (fire, flames, cigarette, pipe, light, lamp, candle) When you put something out, you stop it burning.

Please put out your cigarette. This is a no-smoking area.

2 (press release, story, message, statement, report, call, information, issue, description, warning, word) When you put something out, you make it public. Blow out

They put the word out that they were looking for sponsors to help fund the project.

Put up [Put somebody up].- When you put somebody up, you give them a bed for the night.

Don't stay in a hotel. We can put you up for a few days.

Put up [Put something up].- 1 (notice, sign, poster, decorations, plaque, ladder, tent, fence, building) When you put something up, you put it on a wall or post so that people can see it or use it. Stick up

Do I need a permit to put up a fence?

2 (prices, rent, taxes) When you put something up, you increase it. Go up

He said the government would stand by its pledge at the general election in June not to put up income tax or VAT.

Put up [Put up something].- (insep) (fight, struggle, resistance, case, opposition, objections) When you put up something, you show a lot of opposition to something.

The enemy is putting up stiff resistance.

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