Phrasal verbs are an essential part of natural English speech. They combine a verb with a particle (or sometimes two) to create a meaning that’s often different from the original verb.
Today, we’re focusing on phrasal verbs with the particle “out,” which typically indicates movement away from something, completion, or visibility.
Common phrasal verbs with “out”
Daily activities
- Wake out: To wake up from a deep sleep, often suddenly. “I woke out of my sleep when I heard the alarm.”
- Eat out: To have a meal at a restaurant rather than at home. “Let’s eat out tonight instead of cooking.”
- Work out: To exercise or solve a problem. “I work out at the gym three times a week.”
- Clean out: To thoroughly clean the inside of something. “I need to clean out my closet this weekend.”
- Take out: To remove something from a place or to purchase food to be eaten elsewhere. “I’ll take out the trash before dinner.”
- Go out: To leave one’s home for social activities. “We’re going out for drinks after work.”
- Hand out: To distribute items to a group of people. “The teacher handed out the test papers.”
- Help out: To provide assistance. “Can you help out with the dinner preparations?”
- Hang out: To spend time relaxing or socializing casually. “We’re just hanging out at the park.”
- Sleep out: To sleep away from one’s own home. “The kids asked if they could sleep out at their friend’s house.”
Communication
- Speak out: To express opinions publicly and boldly. “She spoke out against the unfair policy.”
- Call out: To shout or to publicly criticize someone. “He called out to his friend across the street.”
- Point out: To draw attention to something. “Let me point out the key features of this design.”
- Cry out: To shout in pain, fear, or surprise. “The child cried out when he fell off his bike.”
- Reach out: To contact someone for help or connection. “I decided to reach out to my old colleague about the job opening.”
- Shout out: To mention someone publicly as a way of thanking or acknowledging them. “I’d like to give a shout out to my supportive parents.”
- Ask out: To invite someone on a date. “He finally asked her out after weeks of hesitation.”
- Spell out: To explain something clearly and in detail. “Let me spell out the consequences of this decision.”
- Blurt out: To say something suddenly and without careful consideration. “She blurted out the secret during dinner.”
- Write out: To produce in writing, often in complete form. “Please write out your full name and address.”
Discovery and revealing
- Find out: To discover or learn something. “I need to find out what time the meeting starts.”
- Figure out: To understand or solve something. “Can you figure out how to assemble this furniture?”
- Check out: To investigate, to borrow from a library, or to pay and leave a hotel. “I want to check out that new restaurant downtown.”
- Make out: To see, hear, or understand with difficulty, or to kiss passionately. “I couldn’t make out what he was saying over the noise.”
- Pick out: To select or choose from a group. “She picked out a beautiful dress for the wedding.”
- Turn out: To be discovered or revealed as, or to produce a result. “The movie turned out to be better than expected.”
- Bring out: To reveal or emphasize a quality. “This color brings out the blue in your eyes.”
- Come out: To become known, to be published, or to reveal one’s sexual orientation. “When did her new book come out?”
- Stand out: To be noticeable or conspicuous. “His bright red shirt made him stand out in the crowd.”
- Seek out: To search for and find someone or something. “The journalist sought out witnesses to the accident.”
Exclusion and elimination
- Leave out: To exclude or omit. “Don’t leave out any important details from your report.”
- Shut out: To prevent from entering or participating. “The high fence shuts out unwanted visitors.”
- Keep out: To prevent from entering. “The sign clearly says to keep out of the restricted area.”
- Lock out: To prevent someone from entering a building. “I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment.”
- Rule out: To eliminate from consideration. “We can rule out mechanical failure as the cause of the accident.”
- Cut out: To remove or exclude, or to stop doing something. “I’ve cut out sugar from my diet.”
- Phase out: To gradually stop using or producing something. “The company is phasing out the older product models.”
- Kick out: To force someone to leave. “The bouncer kicked out the rowdy customer.”
- Cross out: To draw a line through written text to show it’s incorrect or unwanted. “Cross out any mistakes in your essay before submitting it.”
- Block out: To prevent from passing or to mentally suppress. “The tall buildings block out the sunlight.”
Depletion and endings
- Run out: To use up a supply of something. “We’ve run out of milk; can you get some from the store?”
- Sell out: To sell all available stock of something. “Concert tickets sold out within minutes.”
- Wear out: To use something until it breaks or becomes unusable. “I’ve worn out my running shoes and need new ones.”
- Burn out: To become exhausted, especially from overwork. “Many healthcare workers burned out during the pandemic.”
- Die out: To become extinct or disappear gradually. “Some traditional crafts are dying out in the modern age.”
- Fade out: To disappear gradually; often used for sound or light. “The music faded out at the end of the scene.”
- Tire out: To exhaust or make very tired. “Playing with the kids all day tired me out.”
- Use up: To consume entirely. “We used up all the ingredients making dinner.”
- Empty out: To remove all contents from a container. “Empty out your backpack so we can see what’s inside.”
- Max out: To reach the upper limit of something. “I’ve maxed out my credit card this month.”
Distribution and expansion
- Spread out: To distribute over a larger area. “The hikers spread out to search for the missing child.”
- Give out: To distribute, or to stop functioning due to exhaustion. “The teacher gave out homework assignments.”
- Pass out: To distribute items, or to lose consciousness. “The flight attendant passed out refreshments to the passengers.”
- Hand out: To distribute freely. “Volunteers were handing out flyers at the event.”
- Share out: To divide something among people. “We need to share out the responsibilities more evenly.”
- Branch out: To expand or diversify. “The company is branching out into new markets.”
- Fan out: To spread outward in different directions. “The search party fanned out to cover more ground.”
- Roll out: To introduce or launch (a new product or service). “The tech company is rolling out a new software update next week.”
- Dish out: To serve food or deliver criticism/punishment. “The lunch lady dished out portions of pasta to the students.”
- Lay out: To arrange visibly or to explain in detail. “The designer laid out all the fabric samples on the table.”
Creation and production
- Put out: To produce, publish, or extinguish. “The band put out a new album last month.”
- Set out: To begin a journey or to arrange items. “We set out early to avoid traffic.”
- Start out: To begin an activity or journey. “Many successful businesses started out in someone’s garage.”
- Map out: To plan in detail. “Let’s map out our strategy for the upcoming project.”
- Carve out: To create or obtain with effort. “He’s carving out a niche for himself in the industry.”
- Work out: To develop or devise. “We need to work out a solution to this problem.”
- Sketch out: To draw or explain briefly. “Can you sketch out your idea for the design?”
- Fill out: To complete a form by adding information. “Please fill out this application form.”
- Flesh out: To add more details or substance. “We need to flesh out the basic outline of the proposal.”
- Round out: To complete or make more balanced. “This final chapter rounds out the book nicely.”
Performance and actions
- Carry out: To perform or complete a task. “The team carried out the operation successfully.”
- Pull out: To withdraw or remove. “The company decided to pull out of the deal.”
- Hold out: To resist or endure. “The defenders held out against the attack for weeks.”
- Act out: To perform dramatically or to misbehave. “The children acted out the story for their parents.”
- Try out: To test something. “I want to try out the new restaurant downtown.”
- Sort out: To resolve a problem or put in order. “Let’s sort out these misunderstandings.”
- Read out: To read aloud. “The teacher read out the list of award winners.”
- Pan out: To turn out well or be successful. “I hope your new business venture pans out.”
- All out: To do something with maximum effort. “The team went all out to win the championship.”
- Jump out: To exit quickly or to be particularly noticeable. “That spelling mistake jumps out at me every time I read the text.”
Changes and transformations
- Break out: To escape or suddenly start. “A fight broke out in the schoolyard.”
- Turn out: To develop in a particular way or to switch off a light. “The event turned out to be a huge success.”
- Make out: To establish the nature of something, or to prepare a document. “I could barely make out the shape in the fog.”
- Grow out: To become longer through growth. “She’s growing out her hair for a new style.”
- Stretch out: To extend to full length or to make last longer. “He stretched out on the couch after a long day.”
- Iron out: To resolve or remove (problems or difficulties). “We need to iron out a few details before finalizing the contract.”
- Smooth out: To remove irregularities or problems. “The editor helped smooth out the rough patches in my writing.”
- Work out: To develop successfully. “Everything worked out fine in the end.”
- Level out: To become steady or equal. “The plane leveled out at 30,000 feet.”
- Balance out: To bring into equilibrium. “The sweet ingredients balance out the sour ones in this recipe.”
Miscellaneous useful phrasal verbs
- Look out: To be careful or vigilant. “Look out for ice on the road when driving.”
- Watch out: To be careful or alert to danger. “Watch out for that car coming around the corner!”
- Stick out: To protrude or to be conspicuous. “His ears stick out a bit, which he’s self-conscious about.”
- Set out: To aim or intend. “The research set out to determine the effects of sleep deprivation.”
- Miss out: To fail to take advantage of an opportunity. “I missed out on the concert because I was sick.”
- Drop out: To withdraw from participation. “Several students dropped out of the course mid-semester.”
- Fall out: To quarrel or to happen as a consequence. “The two friends fell out over a minor disagreement.”
- Hold out: To offer or extend. “He held out his hand for a handshake.”
- Opt out: To choose not to participate. “You can opt out of receiving marketing emails.”
- Freak out: To become very angry, scared, or excited. “Don’t freak out, but I just won the lottery.”
Mastering phrasal verbs with “out” will significantly enhance your English fluency and comprehension. These versatile expressions appear frequently in everyday conversations, business settings, and entertainment media. Practice using them in context to make them a natural part of your vocabulary.
Remember that many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings depending on their context, so pay attention to how they’re used in different situations. With regular practice, you’ll find yourself using these phrasal verbs naturally in your own English conversations.
