100 Commonly Used Business Phrasal Verbs with Examples
1. Aim for β to make it a goal or target.
- You need to aim for four more clients this month.
2. Ask around β to ask multiple people to find the answer to something.
- Tim, could you please ask around and find out what causing this problem?Β
3. Back up #1 β To make a copy of something to protect against loss.
- Please make sure to back up all your work each day on the companyβs server.
4. Back up #2 β To talk about an earlier point in a conversation.
- Letβs back up for a minute. You said earlier that the customer couldnβt log in?
5. Bail out β to save from, or pull out of, failure/loss. (most often using money).
- In 2008-2009, the US government had to bail out many banks.Β Β
- Bail out of β to leave quickly when unfinished. (see also: pull out)
- We had to bail out of the Sydney deal. We didnβt have the manpower to complete it.Β
- Bank on β to count on something or base plans on expecting it to happen.Β
- The design team at Toyota were banking on the new Escobar line to be a success.
- Be snowed under β to have a lot or too much work to do.
- I am snowed under this week. Can we do it next week?
- Booked out β when all tickets or spaces are already reserved or taken.
- Our business event is nearly booked out because of ticket pre-orders.
- Branch out β to start something new that is similar and in addition to what you have been doing.
- The electric car company, Tesla, is branching out into the motorcycle industry.Β
- Break down β to make something into smaller parts.
- We need to break down our sales process to see where we can improve it.Β
- Break into β to enter a new market (with effort).
- Itβs tough to break into the beauty industry right now.
- Bring forward β to move a deadline or agreed time closer to now.
- Do you mind if we bring our meeting forward to 3 oβclock?
- Bring off β to successfully achieve something that is difficult to do.
- Tony promised two times more sales this March. Think he can bring it off?
- Bring up β to begin a discussion on a topic.
- I would like to bring up the problems weβre facing in our Asian factories.
- Burn out β to become sick or exhausted because of working too much.
- Jill looks burned out this year. I think the change of job has been tough for her.Β
- Buy out β to buy a large enough portion of a company to take control of it.
- Many companies buy out their competitors to increase their market share.
- Call back β to phone someone in reply to their (missed) call.
- Sarah, could you tell Tom Iβll call him back later? Iβm going to a meeting right now.
- Call for β to demand or need something.Β
- The shareholders are calling for the CEOβs resignation.
- Call off β to cancel.
- Sorry John, Iβm going to have to call off our business lunch tomorrow.
- Carry on β to continue to do something.
- Carry on with your lunch. We can discuss it later.
- Carry out β to perform an action.
- Steve will carry out our social media campaign starting next month.
- Cash in on β to use an event or external opportunity in your benefit (normally for money).
- Colgate is cashing in on market interest in natural products with a new organic toothpaste.
- Cash up β to keep/hold large amounts of money instead of investing or spending it.
- Apple is cashed up and ready to buy small tech companies.
- Catch on to β to realize something that is happening.
- If large media companies donβt catch on to social media quickly, theyβll go out of business.Β
- Catch up β to become up to date with current work to be done.
- I need to catch up with some work I havenβt finished.Β
- Chase up β to try and get someone to pay a bill.Β
- Tesla has a whole team of accountants who chase up unpaid invoices.
- Chip in β to put something in towards a greater goal (normally ideas, work, or money).
- Jerry, could you chip in and help the guys in the factory today?Β
- Close down β to permanently stop a business, or part of a business.
- We are closing down our Mexico factory next quarter.
- Close up β to temporarily stop or close a business (at the end of each day for example).
- Could you help Sarah close up the shop tonight?Β
- Come up βto happen or be created.
- Something unplanned has come up and we wonβt make our deadline.
- Contract out to β to give work to someone outside of the company to do.
- Weβre going to contract our website design out to an Indian companyΒ
- Cross sell β to promote or suggest similar products at the time of customers purchase.
- Companies like Vista Print and Amazon use cross selling to maximize spending.
- Cut out β to get rid of, or take away, something/someone.Β
- If we cut out the middle man we can lower our costs.
- Deal with β to handle, work, or interact with, something/someone.
- Our company deals with dentists all over the country.Β
- Draw up β to prepare paperwork/contracts/plans/etc. Normally to do with written work.
- Letβs talk again after Timothy in our legal department draws up a contract.
- Drop in/by β to visit.
- Greg from head office is going to drop in
- Drop off β to deliver something.
- The FedEx guy dropped off something for you this morning, sir.Β
- Drum up β to increase or gain something. Normally business/sales/awareness/customers.
- Little bakeries are having a hard time drumming up business after Tesco opened its own in-store bakeries.
- Fall short β to not have enough of something. Often money or time.
- If a cash register falls short, the cashier has to pay the difference themselves.
- Fall through β to not be successful. To fail or lose something.
- Google had a deal to sell to Yahoo! ten years ago but it fell through.Β
- File away β to put in organized storage (normally documents, and files)
- Remember to file away those invoices after youβre finished with them.Β
- Fill in for β to temporarily replace something or someone.
- Can you come into work today? We need someone to fill in for Sam, whoβs sick.Β
- Fill out β to complete or put details into a form or survey.
- Could you please take the time to fill out our customer survey?Β
- Find out β look for information or to discover something previously unknown.Β
- Tom, please find out what happened to the supplierβs delivery.Β
- Get ahead β to become successful in your career or business.
- You have to be tough to get ahead in the finance industry.
- Get on β to make improvement or progress.Β
- How did you get on with the marketing plan this week?Β
- Go through β to read, discuss, or examine something, usually paper.
- Tom from legal will get back to us after going through the contracts.
- Hire out β to allow others to use a resource you own in return for money.
- The boss wants to hire out the 3rd floor of our office building to a small business.
- Hold off on β to postpone something until a later date.Β
- They will need to hold off on the release of their new phone until they fix the battery.
- Hold on β to wait (usually for a small period of time).Β
- Please hold on for a minute until I finish this call.Β
- Hold out β to wait before taking action or remain in the same difficult situation.
- Sir, I think we should hold out for a better offer before selling.
- Hone in on β to focus on one thing. Or, to focus down in detail.
- GoPro has been successful in honing in on the extreme sports market.Β
- Join in on β to take part in an activity.
- Letβs get Steve from accounting to join in on this meeting.
- Keep up with β to stay up to date. Or to stay at the same level or speed as something else.
- Small businesses find it difficult to keep up with technology changes.
- Key in β to type something on a computer or keyboard.
- Weβre looking for a data entry specialist to key in customerβs purchase history.
- Knuckle down β to focus on the task or job to be done.
- The design team will have to really knuckle down to finish this by Christmas.
- Lay off β to fire. To tell to leave the company.
- They had to lay off He was stealing paperclips.
- Look into β to research to find more information.
- Our office keeps losing paperclips. Can you please look into it Stacy?
- Look through β to examine or read briefly on the surface
- The team had a quick look through your proposal.Β
- Look up to β to respect and admire.
- I know you look up to Larry like a father, which makes this hard.
- Make up β to compensate for something. (also see: Catch up)
- Thereβs a lot to do today. The office needs to make up for being closed last week.
- Measure up β to be at the right level or good enough to do something.
- We hired an ex-Apple Marketing Director. I hope he measures up to expectations.Β
- Meet up β to get together.
- The department heads are meeting up next week to talk about Larryβs behavior.Β
- note down β to write something quickly to use again later.
- Stacy, could you join us and note down the key points to the meeting?Β
- Pencil in β To make flexible plans for something that can still change.
- Shall we pencil in next Wednesday at 1 pm for your interview?
- Phone up β to call by phone.
- Customers have been phoning up with complaints about the new Furby toy.
- Pick up β to increase or improve after a period of slow or no results.
- Business really has really picked up since the month of June.
- Point out β to bring attention to something.Β
- I need to point out that we have not yet decided on new productβs name yet.Β
- Pull out of β to stop doing something. Or, to stop being a part of something.Β
- Many companies are pulling out of their advertising contracts with YouTube.
- Put back βto stall or delay something to a later date (also see: Hold off on)Β
- The delivery date will be put back by two days because of the hurricane.
- Put off β to know longer feel positive about something.
- Many Samsung customers were put off by the Note 7 battery problems.
- Report Back β to return to a boss or superior person with new information found.
- Itβs part of your job to report back any issues you find within the companyβs servers.
- Rip off β when a product/service is expensive in comparison to its value.Β
- Some say the iPhone 7 is a rip off because little has been changed since the iPhone 6.Β
- Run by / past β to check with someone first.
- Shouldnβt we run it by the supervisor, first?
- Run late β when you will not be somewhere at the planned time.
- He is running a little late this morning because of traffic.
- Run out of β to not have any more of an item.
- We are about to run out of printing ink, could you order more, please?
- Sell off β to sell a part of or a whole business.
- Nokia plans to sell off its mobile phone department to Samsung.Β
- Sell out β to have sold all items of something with nothing left.
- We always sell out of that perfume brand during this time of year.
- Set up β to arrange/create. Or, to start a new business or a new department of a business
- Virgin Airways plans to set up offices in Berlin next year.Β
- Shop around β to compare prices and products at different places before buying.
- Most large companies constantly shop around for the cheapest materials.Β
- Sign off on β to formally approve of something
- Youβre going to need the boss to sign off on this order.
- Sign up β to agree to receive or to do something.
- Many website companies want their siteβs visitors to sign up for a newsletter.Β
- Sort out β to fix or solve a problem.
- The company had to recall all the phones to sort out the battery problem.Β
- Spell out β to explain in plain and simple terms.
- Tech companies need to really spell out their productβs advantages to customers.
- Step Down β to give up their position or title.
- The CEO of Malaysia Airways stepped down on Tuesday after the news report.
- Step up β to try/work harder
- Our company needs to step it up if we want to compete with Tesla.
- Stock up β to collect or buy a lot of something.
- Most restaurants stock up on champagne before New Yearβs Eve.
- Take off #1 β to become highly successful or popular quickly.
- The Harry Potter books took off even faster than the publisher expected.Β
- Take off #2 β to not go to work.
- Boss, can I take Tuesday off to visit my friend in the hospital?
- Take on β to accept or agree to deal with.
- The boss thinks that youβve taken on too much work and wants me to help you.Β
- Take over β to gain control. Or, to do something someone else was responsible for.
- The Financial controller has taken over the accountants duties.
- Talk over β to discuss a topic for decision.
- Letβs talk it over tomorrow during the Sales meeting.
- Team up β to work together with another on something.
- Malcolm and John, you two team up to solve this issue.Β
- Trade in β to give something old as part of the price paid for new things.
- All customers get $100 off the new S8 when trading in their old S7.
- Trade off β to negotiate or make a dealΒ
- I had to trade off my paid vacation leave for a smaller workload.
- Turn down β to reject or say no.Β
- He turned down my request for a raiseΒ
- Up sell β to promote a more premium product option or add-ons during the sales process.
- McDonaldβs up sells at every opportunity. βWant to make it jumbo size for $1?β
- Weigh up β to think about both sides of something. Ie cost vs benefit.
- A company must weigh up the costs and benefits when changing their pricing.Β
- Work out βto find the solution for something or to calculate something.
- The boss wants me to work out the total cost per unit.