Education Phrasal Verbs

  • Brush Up On
    • Meaning: To review and improve one’s knowledge or skills in a particular subject.
      • Sentence: “I need to brush up on my Italian before the language exam.”
  • Catch On To
    • Meaning: To understand or grasp a concept or idea.
      • Sentence: “It took a while, but she finally caught on to the new math formula.”
  • Drop Out Of
    • Meaning: To leave a course or school before completing it.
      • Sentence: “Unfortunately, he had to drop out of college due to financial constraints.”
  • Fall Behind
    • Meaning: To lag in progress or development, especially in studies.
      • Sentence: “Missing a week of classes caused her to fall behind in the coursework.”
  • Get Ahead
    • Meaning: To progress or succeed faster than others.
      • Sentence: “By attending extra tutorials, she was able to get ahead in the challenging subject.”
  • Hold Back
    • Meaning: To hinder progress or advancement.
      • Sentence: “Fear of failure shouldn’t hold you back from pursuing your goals.”
  • Iron Out
    • Meaning: To resolve or settle issues or difficulties.
      • Sentence: “Let’s have a meeting to iron out any concerns about the upcoming project.”
  • Jump In
    • Meaning: To start participating or engaging in something.
      • Sentence: “Feel free to jump in with your thoughts during the class discussion.”
  • Keep Up With
    • Meaning: To stay at the same level or pace as others.
      • Sentence: “It’s important to keep up with the reading assignments to succeed in this course.”
  • Lay Out
    • Meaning: To present or explain something clearly.
      • Sentence: “The professor will lay out the guidelines for the research project during the next class.”
  • Make Up
    • Meaning: To compensate for missed work or lessons.
      • Sentence: “If you miss a class, make sure to make up the material by reviewing the lecture notes.”
  • Narrow Down
    • Meaning: To reduce the number of options or choices.
      • Sentence: “We need to narrow down our research topic before starting the project.”
  • Opt Out Of
    • Meaning: To choose not to participate or be involved in something.
      • Sentence: “Students have the option to opt out of the extracurricular activity if they prefer.”
  • Plug Away At
    • Meaning: To persistently and steadily work on something.
      • Sentence: “She continued to plug away at her thesis until it was finally complete.”
  • Qualify For
    • Meaning: To meet the requirements for a particular position or opportunity.
      • Sentence: “With her extensive experience, she easily qualified for the advanced placement program.”
  • Run Out Of
    • Meaning: To exhaust or deplete a resource, such as time or energy.
      • Sentence: “I ran out of time and couldn’t finish the last section of the exam.”
  • Show Up
    • Meaning: To attend or be present, especially for a class or meeting.
      • Sentence: “It’s crucial to show up for every session to get the most out of the workshop.”
  • Take In
    • Meaning: To comprehend or absorb information.
      • Sentence: “It may take some time to take in all the details of the complex theory.”
  • Use Up
    • Meaning: To consume or exhaust a resource completely.
      • Sentence: “Make sure not to use up all your energy before the final exam week.”
  • Vet (Through)
    • Meaning: To carefully examine or assess something.
      • Sentence: “The professor will vet through the research proposals before approving them.”
  • Work Out
    • Meaning: To solve or find a solution to a problem.
      • Sentence: “Let’s work out the details of the group project during our meeting tomorrow.”
  • Xerox (Off)
    • Meaning: To make photocopies of documents.
      • Sentence: “Don’t forget to xerox off enough copies of the handouts for the entire class.”
  • Yearn For
    • Meaning: To have a strong desire or longing for something.
      • Sentence: “Students often yearn for more practical applications in their coursework.”
  • Zero In On
    • Meaning: To focus or concentrate on a particular target or goal.
      • Sentence: “It’s time to zero in on the main themes of your research paper.”