A glossary of prepositional phrases.

abide by- to accept and act according to a law, agreement

be/ keep abreast of sth- to remain aware of the latest news, ideas

abound in- to have sth in great numbers or quantities

absolve of- to declare that sb is free of guilt

acquit of- to free sb of blame

akin to- similar

allocate to- to distribute for a special purpose

allot to- to give money, time, etc as a share of what is available

apprehensive of- anxious about sth

in arrears- at the end of the period in which work was done

avail oneself of- to make use of sth

averse to- opposed to sth

back off- to move away

back out of- to withdraw from an agreement, etc

back up- to support

bandy about- to pass on a rumor

bark up the wrong tree- to pursue a course of action that is wrongly directed

beef up- to add force or weight to sth

boil down to- to have sth as its basic factor

bolt down- to eat very quickly

book in- to register

box in- to surround

break out- to start

break through- to penetrate

break up- to end

bring up- to raise

butt in- to interrupt

call in- to pay a visit

care for- to like/ want

catch up- to reach

catch up on- to spend extra time doing sth

be caught up in- to be involved in sth

chalk up- to achieve a victory/ success

clam up- to stop talking

come to- to become conscious again

converge on- to move towards the same place; to become similar

cut down on- to reduce

deal in- to trade in sth

dearth of- a lack of people/ things

defer to-to show respect

dispose of- to get rid of

do with – to need/ want sth

be done for- to be ruined

dovetail with- to combine

dwell in- to live in a place

dwell on- to think, speak a lot about sth

endear to- to make sb loved by sb

figure out- to understand

get in- to arrive

give up- to stop

go off- to start to decay

hem in- to enclose

hold up- to delay

Indulge in- to become involved in an activity

kick out – to force to leave

leave out- to omit

let up- to stop (rain, snow)

look down on- to have a poor opinion of sb

look on- to watch sth without doing anything

look up to- to respect

mull over- to think about sth carefully

below par- less well, good than is expected

on a par with- equal in importance, quality to sb/ sth

patch up- to repair

pluck up- to gather

plug in- to connect sth to a socket

polish off- to finish a meal

propensity for/ to sth- a tendency to do sth undesirable

pull off- to manage to achieve

put by- to save

put out- to extinguish; to release

put together- to form

qualify for- to have the right to do sth; to be of a high standard to enter a contest

qualms about- a feeling of doubt or worry

queue up- to wait in line

reason out- to find an answer to a problem

reason with- to argue

rein in- to control

resort to- to make use of sth

result in- to cause sth

run down- to criticize

run out- to be no longer valid

serve out- to work until the end of a fixed period

set off- to leave

set up- to start a company, etc

slip off- to remove

slip up- to fail

sound off- to express one’s opinions noisily

sound out- to try to discover views on sth

split up- to end a relationship

stand up for- to support, to act in favor of

stand up to- to resist

stand sb in good stead- to be useful when needed

step down- to retire

straighten out- to resolve sth that is confused

keep tabs on- to keep sth/ sb under observation

take in- to understand

take to- to like

take a toll on- to cause damage

tip off- to give information

under wraps- hidden

weigh up- to consider carefully

wind up- to bring sth to an end

yearn for- to desire sth strongly