Phrasal Verbs/G

Phrasal verbs beginning with G. Select a phrasal verb for more details.

gather around

If people gather around, they form a group or a small crowd around something or someone.

get across

to communicate something or make something understood by others

get ahead

If you get ahead, you make progress in your career.

get along

If two people get along, they like each other and are friendly.

get around (1)

to move from place to place

get around (2)

to find a way of avoiding something

get at (1)

to get hold of something

get at (2)

to mean or to imply something

get away

to leave a place

get away with

to do something illegal or immoral and not get caught or punished

get back (1)

to return to a place

get back (2)

If you get something back, it is returned to you after you've lent it, lost it, or had it stolen.

get by

to have just enough of something, like money, knowledge or skills, to do what you want to do

get down (1)

to move close to the ground, or to move from a higher position to a lower position

get down (2)

to quickly write something, often so as not to forget it

get down (3)

to manage to swallow something that isn't easy to swallow

get in (1)

to enter a place or a vehicle

get in (2)

If a train or plane gets in, it arrives at its destination.

get in (3)

to submit or send something like a document, a form or a report

get into (1)

If you get into something like a university, a team, a club, etc., you have succeeded in joining it.

get into (2)

to become interested in something or focussed on something

get off (1)

to leave a means of transport such as a bus or a train

get off (2)

to finish work, or have a break from work

get on (1)

to step onto a bus, train, ship, etc.

get on (2)

If two people get on, they have a good relationship and are friendly.

get out (1)

to move out of an enclosed space, such as a building or a car

get out (2)

If you get something out, you remove it from whatever it's in.

get out of (1)

If you get out of doing something that you don't want to do, you find a way to avoid doing it, such as by making up an excuse.

get out of (2)

to take off clothes because they're uncomfortable or inappropriate

get over

to recover from something like an illness or a shock

get through (1)

to complete a task

get through (2) British and Australian English

If you get through something, you use or eat all of it.

get through (3)

to reach the person you want to talk to when making a telephone call

get together

to meet and spend time together

get up (1)

to get out of bed after having been asleep

get up (2)

to stand up or to get to one's feet

give away

If you give away something, you give it to someone without expecting anything in return.

give back

If you give something back, you return it to whoever you got it from.

give in

If somebody gives in, they stop trying to do something like win a game, a fight or an argument.

give off

to produce something like a smell, a gas, heat or light

give out

If you give something out, you distribute it to many people, usually by hand.

give up (1)

If you give up, you stop trying to do something because it's too hard or because it can't be done.

give up (2)

If you give up something, you stop doing it because it's bad for you.

go about

to do something in a certain way, or to deal with something in a certain way

go after (1)

to chase and try to catch someone or something

go after (2) INFORMAL

to try to get something

go against

to oppose, or disagree with, something or somebody

go ahead

to start doing something, or to continue doing something, usually after being given permission or encouragement to do so

go along with

to agree with someone or to support something

go around (1)

to act or dress in a certain way

go around (2)

to be enough for everyone

go away (1)

to leave or go to another place

go away (2)

to stop existing, or to stop being noticeable

go back

to return to a place, a person, a condition, etc.

go beyond

to be more than, better than, more advanced than, etc.

go by

to move past (in space), or pass (in time)

go down (1)

to become less

go down (2)

to be received in a certain way, or to create a certain reaction

go down (3)

When the sun or the moon goes down, it gets lower and lower in the sky until it disappears below the horizon.

go down (4)

to be remembered or recorded in some way

go for (1) INFORMAL

to try to get something or achieve something

go for (2) INFORMAL

to like a particular type of person, product, style, experience, etc.

go for (3)

to physically attack a person or an animal

go for (4)

to be sold for a certain amount of money

go into

to talk about or discuss something in detail

go off (1)

If something goes off, it stops working because of a power cut.

go off (2)

If a bomb or a firework goes off, it explodes.

go off (3) British and Australian English

If foods or drinks go off, they go bad and aren't safe to eat or drink.

go on (1)

to happen

go on (2)

to keep happening as before, or to keep doing something

go on (3)

If something like a light or a heater goes on, it starts operating.

go on (4)

to talk for too long, or talk in such a way that it annoys or bores people

go on (5)

used when encouraging someone to do something

go out

to leave your home and go somewhere for enjoyment or entertainment

go over (1)

to look carefully at something like a report, essay, document, etc. to check for mistakes or to make improvements

go over (2)

to review something, or look at it again, in order to learn or memorize it

go over (3)

to cause a reaction of some sort, especially from an audience

go through (1)

to look through a collection of things like documents, books, clothes, etc. to find something or to sort them out

go through (2)

to live through a bad time or a difficult situation

go together (1)

If two things go together, they look good together or they harmonize.

go together (2)

to happen together, or to often occur at the same time

go under

If a company goes under, it goes out of business and closes down.

go up

If something like a price or a rate goes up, it becomes higher.

go with

If one thing goes with another, they look good together or seems to work well together.

go without

to not have something that you used to have because conditions have changed and it's no longer available or affordable

grow on

If something grows on you, you gradually start to like it, even though you didn't like it much at first.

grow out of

If you grow out of something, you become too big for it or too old for it.

grow up

to change from being a child to being an adult, or from being an immature adult to being a mature adult

Contributor: Matt Errey