45个常见英语短语（看你能认识的有多少）

hand down: give to someone younger

The tradition was handed down from father to son.

hand in: give to person in authority

The students handed their assignments in to the teacher.

hand on: give to another person

I am not sorry to hand the responsibility on to you.

hand over: transfer

We had to hand the evidence over to the police.

hang up: break a telephone connection

After receiving a busy signal, I hung up the phone.

hold back: restrain, delay

He is so enthusiastic; it is hard to hold him back.

iron out: remove

I am sure we can iron out every difficulty.

knock out: make unconscious

Boxers are often knocked out.

lap up: accept eagerly

The public lapped up the story.

lay off: put out of work

The company laid off seventy workers.

leave behind: leave, not bring

I accidentally left my umbrella behind.

leave out: omit

Tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out!

let down: disappoint

We will let him down if we don't arrive on time.

live down: live so that past faults are forgotten

This will be hard to live down!

look up: find (information)

We looked up the word in a dictionary.

make up: invent

She likes to make up stories.

pass up: not take advantage

I couldn't pass up such an opportunity.

pension off: dismiss with a pension

He was pensioned off at the age of sixty.

phase in: introduce gradually

The new program will be phased in over the next six months.

phase out: cease gradually

The practice will gradually be phased out.

pick up: collect

You may pick up the papers at the office.

pin down: get a commitment

When the guest speaker is pinned down, we can set a date for the conference.

play down: de-emphasize

He played down the importance of the news.

point out: draw attention to

She pointed out the advantages of the proposal.

polish off: finish

We polished off the rest of the apple pie.

pull down: demolish

Many old buildings are pulled down to make way for new ones.

pull off: succeed

Do you think she can pull off her plan?

put away: put in proper place

It is time to put the toys away.

put back: return to original location

Please put the book back on the shelf.

put off: postpone

We cannot put off the meeting again.

reel off: recite a long list

She reeled off a long list of names.

rope in: persuade to help

We roped in everyone we could to help with the work.

rub out: erase

Be sure to rub out all the pencil marks.

rule out: remove from consideration

None of the possibilities can be ruled out yet.

scale down: reduce

Because of lack of funds, we had to scale down our plans.

sell off: dispose of by selling

We sold off all the books and furniture.

set back: delay

This could set back the project by several years.

shout down: stop from speaking by shouting

The crowd shouted down the speaker.

shrug off: dismiss as unimportant

He attempted to shrug off the mistake.

single out: select from others

You have been singled out for special attention.

size up: assess

I quickly sized up the situation.

sort out: organize

It will take some time to sort out this mess.

sound out: talk with to learn the opinion of

We attempted to sound him out.

stammer out: stammer

They stammered out their apologies.

sum up: summarize

He summed up the discussion in a few well-chosen words.

summon up: gather

I attempted to summon up my courage.

take in: absorb

We tried to take in the new information.

take out: invite to a restaurant

May I take you out for supper?

take over: assume control

They will take over at the beginning of June.

talk over: discuss

Let us talk it over before we decide.

tear up: destroy by tearing

She tore up the letter.

think over: consider

I need some time to think it over.

think up: invent

What will they think up next?

track down: search for and find

We finally tracked him down at the bookstore.

trade in: give as part payment

Why don't you trade in your old vacuum cleaner for a new one?

try on: test clothes by putting them on

I tried on the new suit, but it didn't fit me.

try out: test by using

Would you like to try out my fountain pen?

turn away: refuse admission

The event was so popular that many people had to be turned away.

turn back: reverse direction

Every fall the clocks must be turned back by one hour.

turn off: deactivate by using a switch

I turned off the radio.

turn on: activate by using a switch

Please turn on the light.

water down: dilute

The soup has been watered down.

wear out: gradually destroy by wearing or using

My jacket is wearing out, although it is only a year old.

write down: make a note

I wrote down the instructions.

write off: cancel, regard as

They were forced to write off several irretrievable debts.

write up: compose in writing

I used my notes to write up the report.