901
|
top … off
|
To complete something with one
last act, e.g. They decide to top off the day’s session
with a meal at a restaurant.
|
|
|
To fill up a partly full tank
with fuel.
|
|
top out
|
To reach an upper limit, e.g. No
one knows if oil price has topped out.
|
|
top ... up
|
To add more drink to one’s glass
or mug.
|
|
|
To add to an amount, etc. to
bring it up to a required level.
|
|
|
To fill up a partly full
container.
|
|
902
|
toss off
|
To produce something quickly and
effortlessly, e.g. He can toss off a simple meal within
minutes.
|
|
toss … off
|
To drink something rapidly or
all at once.
|
|
|
To masturbate.
|
|
903
|
tot … up
|
To total up amounts, numbers,
etc, e.g. She totted up the bill with the use of a
calculator.
|
|
904
|
total … up
|
To find the total of something
such as amounts, numbers, etc. by adding, e.g. He totalled up the
bill without using a calculator.
|
|
905
|
touch at
|
(Ship) to call briefly at a
port.
|
|
touch down
|
(Aircraft, etc.) to land on the
ground.
|
|
touch … for
|
To ask someone to lend or give
one something, especially money.
|
|
touch ... off
|
To cause something to happen
suddenly, e.g. A cut in personal income tax touched off rumours
of an impending general election.
|
|
touch on/upon
|
To mention or refer briefly to a
subject when talking, writing, etc.
|
|
touch ... up
|
To improve something by doing
something to it.
|
|
|
To stroke someone gently without
their consent for sexual pleasure.
|
|
906
|
toy with
|
To think of something for a
short while and not seriously, e.g. He has been toying with the
idea of working overseas.
|
|
907
|
track … down
|
To find someone or something
that one has been searching very hard for, e.g. The police finally managed
to track down the vandal.
|
|
908
|
trade … in
|
To use a used article,
especially a car, as part payment for another, e.g. He traded his
car in for a newer one.
|
|
trade ... off
|
To counterbalance an action
against another in order to produce a satisfactory result, e.g. They have
to trade off the cost of new machinery to step up
production against the possibility of production not being able to meet the
demand.
|
|
trade on/upon
|
To take advantage of someone or
something.
|
|
909
|
traffic in
|
To deal in illegal goods,
especially drugs.
|
|
910
|
treat of
|
(Book, article, etc.) to be
about a particular subject.
|
|
treat with
|
To negotiate an official
agreement with someone.
|
|
911
|
trespass on
|
To take advantage of someone or
something.
|
|
912
|
trick … into
|
To deceive someone into doing
something, e.g. I was tricked into parting with one
hundred pounds by a so-called friend.
|
|
913
|
trim off
|
To cut small irregular or
unwanted parts or edges off something to make it neater.
|
|
914
|
trip up
|
To make or cause one to make a
mistake, e.g. The questions are designed to trip you up.
|
|
|
To cause someone to fall by
blocking his foot with yours while he is walking.
|
|
915
|
trot … out
|
To use same excuses, reasons,
etc. repeatedly, e.g. He trots out the same excuses
whenever he is late.
|
|
916
|
truckle to
|
To be or behave excessively
obedient to someone.
|
|
917
|
trump … up
|
To falsely accuse someone of
something.
|
|
918
|
trust in
|
To have faith in someone or
something.
|
|
trust to
|
To commit someone or something
to the protective care or guardianship of someone or something else.
|
|
trust … with
|
To have faith in someone to do
something.
|
|
919
|
try for
|
To attempt to achieve or get
what one desires.
|
|
try … on
|
To put on something to see if it
fits or suits one, e.g. Have you counted how many dresses she has tried
on? So many and yet she hasn’t decided on any.
|
|
try ... out
|
To test the suitability or
effectiveness of something or someone by using or testing them, e.g.
He tried out the new car to experience its performance
before deciding whether or not to buy it. / They tried him out to
see if he could do the job.
|
|
try out for
|
To put oneself forward for
selection for a particular role.
|
|
920
|
tuck … away
|
To put someone or something in a
quiet, concealed or secure place.
|
|
|
To eat a lot quickly and in an
enjoyable way.
|
|
tuck in
|
To eat in an enjoyable manner.
|
|
|
To conceal the edge of a piece
of clothing in something, e.g. tuck in one’s shirt.
|
|
tuck into
|
To eat something eagerly.
|
|
tuck ... up
|
To arrange bedclothes around
someone, especially a child, in bed.
|
|
921
|
tucker out
|
To become or make someone very
tired.
|
|
922
|
tune in
|
To watch or listen to a
television or radio broadcast.
|
|
tune out
|
To ignore or stop listening or
paying attention to someone or something.
|
|
tune … up
|
To bring something to the most
efficient condition.
|
|
923
|
turf … out
|
To get rid of someone or
something.
|
|
924
|
turn against
|
To oppose someone or disagree
with something.
|
|
turn … against
|
To incite someone to oppose
someone else or to disagree with something.
|
|
turn around
|
To revive something, especially
a company, e.g. The new manager was able to turn the
company around in less than two years.
|
|
|
To make to face opposite
direction, e.g. I thought someone was following me, and I turned
around to see who it was.
|
|
turn away
|
To refuse someone entry to a
place such as a stadium, etc. because it is full.
|
|
turn back
|
To return, e.g. We had to turn
back halfway through the journey because of extreme heavy rain and
flooding.
|
|
turn down
|
To reduce the level of what
something is producing or doing, e.g. Every day he has to be told to turn the
television down.
|
|
|
To reject someone’s proposal,
suggestion, offer, etc., e.g. She has turned down his
marriage proposal for the tenth time.
|
|
turn in
|
To go to bed, e.g. We have
to turn in now in order to wake up early.
|
|
|
To inform the police the
whereabouts of a criminal, e.g. His guilty conscience has certainly played
the chief part in making the murderer turn himself in.
|
|
|
To return something, stolen or
missing, etc., to the police or its owner.
|
|
|
To give something, especially a
completed piece of work, to someone who requested it, e.g. At the end of an
examination, we have to turn in our exam papers to the
person in charge.
|
|
turn into
|
To change someone into someone
else, e.g. The parents tried unsuccessfully to turn their
son into a teacher like them as the son believed he was
not made for it.
|
|
|
To change something into
something else, e.g. The freezer has turned water into ice.
|
|
turn off
|
To do something repulsive or
boring, e.g. His frequent picking of the nose turn his
friends off.
|
|
|
To end the supply or operation
of something such as water, television, etc. by turning the tap, switch,
etc., e.g. The tap is dripping, can you turn it off tight?
|
|
|
To leave one road and drive into
another, e.g. We have to turn off at the next exit to
reach our destination.
|
|
turn on
|
To start the supply or operation
of something such as water, television, etc. by turning the tap, switch,
etc., e.g. Someone turned the television on and
nobody is watching it.
|
|
|
To suddenly attack or vent one’s
anger on someone, e.g. I’m not responsible for the rumour about her, so why
is she turning on me?
|
|
|
To excite or stimulate someone,
especially sexually, e.g. Some guys are easily turned on by
a woman who is busty.
|
|
|
To make someone interested in
something, e.g. He was the one who turned me on to
that excellent documentary.
|
|
turn out
|
To produce an unexpected result,
e.g. It turned out that he was my classmate at college.
|
|
|
To go somewhere to do something,
e.g. Many turn out to cast their votes because of the fine
weather.
|
|
|
To expel someone from a place,
e.g. They turned him out of the lecture
hall for his disruptive behaviour.
|
|
|
To put out an electric light by
pushing a switch etc., e.g. He turns out the light and
closes his eyes to sleep.
|
|
|
To produce something, e.g. The
new machine turns out twice as many units as the previous
one.
|
|
turn over
|
To turn upside down, e.g. The
car swung around the bend at a great speed and turned over.
|
|
turn ... over
|
To hand someone to the police,
e.g. The villagers turn the wanted man over to
the police.
|
|
|
To hand something to the police
or its rightful owner, e.g. We found a wallet and turned it
over to the police.
|
|
|
To give someone the ownership of
or responsibility for something, e.g. He is slowly turning the
business over to his son as he anticipates his retirement.
|
|
|
To do an amount of business in a
particular period, e.g. That company has been turning over $4
million a year for the past five years.
|
|
|
To change television channels,
e.g. Can you turn over to the other channels and see what
they have?
|
|
turn to
|
To get help, advice, etc. from
someone, e.g. He turned to a consultant for advice on
management of his business.
|
|
|
To go to a particular page in a
book, e.g. The students are asked to turn to page 13.
|
|
turn up
|
To suddenly appear after having
been lost or searched unsuccessfully for, e.g. The villagers were shocked
to suddenly see the long missing man turn up at the
market.
|
|
|
To arrive somewhere, e.g. The
politician turned up at a public rally late as usual.
|
|
|
To search thoroughly for
something, e. g. They searched every inch of the area for the murder weapon
and more evidence, but nothing new turned up.
|
|
|
To increase the volume, heat,
power, etc. of television, oven, air-conditioner, etc., e.g. This is the
third time you turn up the television, can you see that
I’m reading?
|
|
925
|
urge … on
|
To encourage someone or
something to continue to do something.
|
|
926
|
use up
|
To consume or expend the whole
of something, e.g. I bought a bottle of brake oil and someone used it up.
|
|
927
|
vamp … up
|
To improve something such as
making a story more exciting by modifying it.
|
|
928
|
venture on/upon
|
To do something that involves
risks.
|
|
929
|
verge on/upon
|
To be very close or similar to,
e.g. His behaviour sometimes verges on madness.
|
|
930
|
vest … with
|
To give someone the legal right
to power, property, etc.
|
|
931
|
visit … on
|
To punish someone.
|
|
932
|
wad … up
|
To compress soft material such
as paper, cloth, etc. into a small lump.
|
|
933
|
wade in
|
To intervene or become involved
in something.
|
|
wade through
|
To read or deal laboriously with
a lot of boring papers or written work.
|
|
934
|
wait around
|
To stay where one is and do
nothing until an expected event occurs, such as the person one waits for
arrives, etc.
|
|
wait behind
|
To stay back until all the
others have left.
|
|
wait on
|
To attend to or serve food to
someone, especially customers in a restaurant.
|
|
wait ... out
|
To wait for something to end,
e.g. We had to stay back in college where we waited out the
heavy rain.
|
|
wait up
|
To await the return of someone,
e.g. She waited up for her husband’s return so they could
go to the cinema together.
|
|
935
|
wake up
|
To come out or be caused to come
out of a sleep, e.g. He uses two alarm clocks to wake him up every
morning.
|
|
wake up to
|
To become aware or alert to what
goes on, e.g. More and more people are waking up to the reality
of climate warming.
|
|
936
|
walk all over
|
To treat someone thoughtlessly
and unfairly.
|
|
walk away
|
To move from and not get
involved in a dispute, bad situation, etc.
|
|
walk away with
|
To win something, e.g. She walks
away with the first prize in tonight’s contest.
|
|
walk in
|
To enter a place such as a
building, etc., especially unexpectedly or uninvited.
|
|
walk into
|
To move into something quickly
and hard, e.g. He walked into a glass door and slightly
hurt himself.
|
|
walk off
|
To leave someone by moving away
from them.
|
|
walk off with
|
To take along one’s winning,
e.g. She walks off happily with the first
prize money.
|
|
walk away with
|
To steal something secretly and
quietly, e.g. Someone walked away with the marble statue
at the party without anyone noticing it.
|
|
walk over
|
To take advantage of or treat
someone badly, e.g. He allows others to walk all over him
by not defending his rights.
|
|
walk out
|
To go outside.
|
|
|
To leave a place suddenly or
angrily, especially because one is unhappy over something.
|
|
|
To go on strike.
|
|
walk out on
|
To leave one’s spouse, e.g. She
walked out on her husband after discovering he has a lover.
|
|
937
|
wall … in
|
To enclose an area with walls.
|
|
wall … off
|
To separate an area from another
by building a wall.
|
|
wall … up
|
To turn a window, doorway, etc.
into a wall by filling it with bricks, cement, etc.
|
|
938
|
waltz off with
|
To take something deliberately
without permission or unintentionally, e.g. He waltzed off with the
receptionist’s pen after using it.
|
|
waltz through
|
To do something such as an exam,
test, etc. very well and with ease, e.g. She waltzed through her final
examination with flying colours.
|
|
939
|
want for
|
To not have something desirable
or essential.
|
|
940
|
ward … off
|
To prevent someone or something
from harming one, e.g. He warded off every blow from his opponent in a
martial art contest.
|
|
941
|
warm to
|
To become more interested in or
enthusiastic about someone or something, especially someone whom one has
just met.
|
|
warm up
|
(Food, house, etc) to make warm
or warmer by reheating it.
|
|
|
To make engine, etc. reach a
required temperature for it to be operational, e.g. I usually warm up the
car before I drive it.
|
|
|
To prepare one’s body for a
physical activity, e.g. warming up before a race by doing light stretching
exercises.
|
|
warm up to
|
To become more interested in or
enthusiastic about someone or something, especially someone whom one has
just met.
|
|
942
|
warn against
|
To advise someone against doing
something because it may have bad or dangerous consequences.
|
|
warn … off
|
To advise or use threats to tell
or order someone to stay away or refrain from doing something.
|
|
943
|
wash … down
|
To clean something large with
plenty of water, e.g. spent the whole afternoon washing down the garage.
|
|
|
To drink something to facilitate
swallowing, e.g. medicine, or food such as steak and chips, washed down
with plain water or red wine.
|
|
wash ... off
|
To clean something such as dirt,
dust, stain, etc. from a surface with water, e.g. Jack washed the dirt off
his face and hair after he fell headlong into a muddy drain.
|
|
wash ... out
|
To cause the postponement or
cancellation of something, especially a sport event, because of heavy rain,
e.g. The outdoor jumble sale was washed out by a sudden downpour.
|
|
wash up
|
To do the dishes after a meal,
e.g. Now whose turn is it to wash up?
|
|
|
To clean one’s hands and face,
e.g. She habitually washes up before she says her prayers.
|
|
|
To bring something up to the
shore, e.g. The waves washed up the dead body of an unknown creature on the
beach.
|
|
944
|
waste away
|
To become progressively and
abnormally weaker and thinner.
|
|
945
|
watch for
|
To look out for something.
|
|
watch out
|
To be careful or to tell someone
to be careful, e.g. She ought to be careful when passing comments, which
are always highly critical of other people
|
|
watch out for
|
To keep looking and waiting for
someone or something.
|
|
|
To be alert, e.g. watch out for
strangers loitering close to one’s house.
|
|
watch over
|
To guard or protect someone or
something.
|
|
946
|
water … down
|
To make something less assertive
or controversial by modifying certain details, especially to achieve an
agreement.
|
|
947
|
wave … aside
|
To disregard someone’s opinion,
idea, etc.
|
|
wave … down
|
To hail the driver of a vehicle
to stop.
|
|
wave … off
|
To move one’s hand to signal
goodbye to someone as they leave.
|
|
948
|
wean … off
|
To make someone give up a habit
or addiction, e.g. Some infants are weaned off their mothers’ milk as early
as at four months.
|
|
wean... on
|
To be strongly influenced by
something from a very early age.
|
|
949
|
wear away
|
To erode something.
|
|
wear down
|
To gradually worsen the
condition of something or someone, e.g. The stair carpet has worn down in
places.
|
|
|
To overcome someone or something
by persistence, e.g. He is very secretive about his earnings, but gradually
his siblings wear him down.
|
|
wear off
|
To gradually lose the
effectiveness or intensity of something, e.g. pain, anaesthesia, the
effects of drugs or alcohol, novelty of a product, emotional feelings, etc.
gradually wears off.
|
|
wear on
|
(Time) to pass very slowly.
|
|
wear out
|
To tire someone out completely,
e.g. Chasing and catching butterflies the whole afternoon has worn me out.
|
|
|
To become damaged by constant
use, e.g. My right shoe wears out faster than my left shoe.
|
|
950
|
weed … out
|
To get rid of someone or
something that is longer effective.
|
|
951
|
weigh … down
|
(Load, feelings, etc.) to weigh
heavily on someone, e.g. an employed person weighed down with frustration.
|
|
weigh in
|
(Boxer or jockey) to be
officially weighed before or after a contest.
|
|
weigh on
|
To be depressing or burdensome
to someone, e.g. Her incurable illness is beginning to weigh on her.
|
|
weigh ... out
|
To measure an amount of
something by weight, e.g. The seller weighed out a kilogram of sugar and
handed it over to a customer.
|
|
weigh ... up
|
To consider carefully the
qualities, importance, etc. of something before making a decision.
|
|
952
|
wheel … out
|
To publicly introduce or display
someone or something for a specific purpose, e.g. A politician is very fond
of having famous personalities accompanying him in his election campaign.
|
|
953
|
whip through
|
To finish a job very quickly,
e.g. He whipped through the work faster than all the other workers
combined.
|
|
whip up
|
To deliberately excite,
stimulate a particular feeling or provoke a reaction in someone, e.g. to
whip up support for someone.
|
|
|
To make something very quickly,
especially a meal.
|
|
954
|
whisk … away/off
|
To take or remove something or
someone quickly from a place, e.g. On arrival at the airport, the foreign
head of state was whisked away.
|
|
955
|
whittle …away/off
|
To gradually make or become
smaller or less in amount, degree, value, size, or weight, e.g. to whittle
away the powers or list of someone or something.
|
|
956
|
wimp out
|
To cowardly refrain from doing
something.
|
|
957
|
win … around
|
To gain someone’s attention,
support, or love.
|
|
win … back
|
To regain what one had before,
e.g. to win back her love
|
|
win out/through
|
To manage to succeed or achieve
something by effort.
|
|
win … over
|
To gain someone’s support,
attention or favour
|
|
958
|
wind down
|
To relax after working very
hard.
|
|
|
To slowly lessen the activities
of a business or organization prior to its closure.
|
|
wind up
|
To close down a company or
organization.
|
|
|
To end something such as a
meeting, activity, etc.
|
|
|
To deliberately annoy or tease
someone.
|
|
|
To be in a bad situation one
created, e.g. to wind up in court over something one has committed.
|
|
959
|
wink at
|
To pretend not to notice
something bad or illegal, especially something one tacitly approves.
|
|
960
|
winkle … out
|
To obtain something from
someone, e.g. winkled secret information out of someone.
|
|
961
|
wipe … down
|
To completely clean or dry a
surface by rubbing with a cloth.
|
|
wipe … off
|
To subtract an amount from a
value or debt.
|
|
|
To clean or dry by rubbing with
a cloth, e.g. He wiped droppings of birds off the windscreen of his car
with a damp cloth.
|
|
wipe out
|
To completely destroy or
eliminate something, e.g. A gigantic swarm of locusts wiped out a huge area
of crops within hours.
|
|
|
To ruin someone financially,
e.g. His compulsive gambling over the years has wiped out his vast fortune.
|
|
|
To clean or dry something, e.g.
He wiped out the sweat on his forehead with a cloth.
|
|
wipe up
|
To dry or remove moisture, dirt,
etc. from the surface of something, e.g. My sick dog vomited on the floor
and I had to wipe it all up.
|
|
962
|
wise up
|
To become or make someone become
alert or aware of the unpleasant truth about a situation.
|
|
963
|
wish away
|
To desire something unpleasant
will not happen.
|
|
wish for
|
To secretly want or desire
something and hope it will be realized.
|
|
964
|
witness to
|
To state that something is true
or that one actually sees something happened, e.g. to be a witness to a
person’s good character or witnessed the accused loitering near the scene
of the murder.
|
|
965
|
work … in
|
To try to include something,
e.g. to put washing his car in his list of things to do.
|
|
work … off
|
To reduce one’s frustration by
venting it on others.
|
|
|
To discharge a debt by working.
|
|
work on
|
To be engaged in doing
something, e.g. He spent the whole night working on his research paper.
|
|
work out
|
To calculate something, e.g.
have to work out how much they can afford for a new house.
|
|
|
To think about something and
solve it, e.g. He managed to work it out without help from anyone.
|
|
|
To understand someone’s
character, e.g. No one seems able to work out why he behaves this way every
time he gets back from work.
|
|
|
To plan carefully about doing
something, e.g. I have worked out who is going to do what in this project.
|
|
|
To develop in a positive way,
e.g. Things begin to work out for them and they find they are happier
together.
|
|
|
To engage oneself in a programme
of regular exercises, e.g. He works out twice a week in a gymnasium.
|
|
work ... over
|
To beat someone up repeatedly.
|
|
|
To develop a state of
excitement, anxiety, etc. over something, e.g. He works himself up into a
state of anxiety about his forthcoming first job interview.
|
|
work up
|
To develop or improve something
by putting in hard effort, e.g. He intends to work up some findings to
support a ban on animal research.
|
|
|
To develop a feeling, e.g.
Whenever she thinks of him, it really works up her anger and hatred.
|
|
work up to
|
To proceed gradually towards
doing something, e.g. I don’t want to do it but I am still working up to it
because it has to be done.
|
|
966
|
worry at/out
|
To think at length about a
possible solution to a problem.
|
|
967
|
wrap up
|
To completely cover up something
with wrapping paper, cloth, etc., e.g. to wrap up a birthday present.
|
|
|
To put on warm clothes, e.g. If
we know it’s freezing in here, we would have wrapped up warm.
|
|
|
To be engrossed in something,
e.g. Work wraps up all his attention that he hardly has time to socialize.
|
|
|
To complete or finish something,
e.g. They wrapped up their week-long piece of research work with a
leisurely drink.
|
|
968
|
wriggle out of
|
To avoid doing something by
devious means.
|
|
969
|
write back
|
To reply to someone’s letter,
e.g. My grandpa is always prompt in writing back.
|
|
write ... down
|
To jot something down on a piece
of paper for later use, e.g. I wrote down her telephone number on my
business card.
|
|
write in
|
To write to an organization,
etc. for a purpose, e.g. to write in asking for more information, to
complain, to give one’s view or to comment as requested, etc.
|
|
write into
|
To include someone’s name in the
list of candidates in order to vote for them.
|
|
|
To include something in
something else such as a document, agreement, etc., e.g. I requested him to
have my occupation written into the document.
|
|
write off
|
To dismiss someone or something
as a failure, unnecessary, unimportant, etc., e.g. Some observers have
written it off as another white elephant.
|
|
|
To decide an asset no longer has
any value, e.g. The management agreed the machines that were badly damaged
in the fire should be written off.
|
|
|
To cancel bad debts or possible
bad debts, e.g. Some of the poor nations’ debts were written off as
apparently they were unable to settle them.
|
|
970
|
x out
|
To mark out a mistake in a piece
of writing.
|
|
971
|
yield … up
|
To gradually give out more
information, e.g. The ocean depths yield up more and more information as
exploration is stepped up.
|
|
972
|
zero in on
|
To focus all of one’s attention
on someone or something.
|
|
|
To aim a gun towards someone or
something.
|
|
973
|
zip up
|
To fasten a piece of clothing
with a zip, e.g. I have to change my trousers as I cannot zip up; the
zipper jammed.
|
|
974
|
zoom in/out
|
(Camera) to change from a
picture that is close to one that is distant or vice versa.
|
