Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL: 180+ List with Meanings and Examples

Q: What is the difference between a phrasal verb and an idiom?

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle, such as give up. An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be guessed from its words, such as a piece of cake. Some phrasal verbs are idiomatic too, which is why their meanings must be learned.

Q: Can a phrasal verb have more than one meaning?

Yes. Take off can mean a plane leaving the ground, removing clothes or becoming successful. The sentence tells you which meaning is used, so always read the full sentence before choosing an option. Related topics: revise idioms asked in SSC CGL, one word substitution for SSC CGL, sentence improvement rules for SSC CGL and synonyms and antonyms for SSC CGL 2026 next.

Important Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL (Quick Answer)

Phrasal verbs for SSC CGL are two- or three-word verbs such as give up, put off and look down on, where a verb joins a particle (an adverb or preposition) and the meaning changes. SSC asks them in fill-in-the-blank, sentence improvement, error spotting, cloze test and "meaning of the phrase" questions in CGL, CHSL, MTS and CPO. This note lists 181 commonly used phrasal verbs, grouped by base verb, each with a clear meaning and an example sentence.

🔥 Key Exam Takeaway: Learn phrasal verbs by base verb (all the put verbs together, all the give verbs together). SSC options often use the same verb with different particles, such as put off / put on / put out / put up with, so you must know exactly what each particle changes.

All meanings below are written in simple English and were checked against the Cambridge Dictionary. Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning; this note gives the meanings most useful for exams.

What Is a Phrasal Verb? Meaning and Examples

A phrasal verb = verb + particle (and sometimes a second particle). The full phrase works as one verb with its own meaning.

Type	Pattern	Example	Meaning
Two-word	verb + adverb	give up	stop doing something
Two-word	verb + preposition	look after	take care of
Three-word	verb + adverb + preposition	put up with	tolerate
Three-word	verb + adverb + preposition	look forward to	feel happy about a future event

Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs

Kind	Rule	Correct	Wrong
Separable	The object can go between the verb and the particle	turn the offer down / turn down the offer	—
Separable + pronoun	A pronoun object must go in the middle	turn it down	turn down it
Inseparable	The object always comes after the whole phrase	look after the baby	look the baby after
Three-word	Never split	put up with the noise	put up the noise with

"To" + -ing After Phrasal Verbs (SSC Grammar Point)

In look forward to, object to, be used to and take to, the word "to" is a preposition, so it is followed by a noun or an -ing form: "I look forward to meeting you", not "to meet you". This is a very common error-spotting question.

How to Learn Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL Fast

Group by base verb. Learn the whole family of one verb in one sitting, as in the tables below.
Learn the particle's general idea. up often means complete or increase (use up, turn up the volume); off often means stop or cancel (call off, put off); out often means remove, end or become known (put out a fire, come out); down often means reduce or defeat (cut down, bring down). These are tendencies, not rules, so always check the meaning.
Learn with a sentence. Read the example aloud; the context fixes the meaning in memory.
Revise with opposites and look-alikes: put on / take off, turn up / turn down, bring up / bring down, look up to / look down on.
Test yourself weekly with the practice questions below and a full English sectional mock.

Phrasal Verbs List for SSC CGL with Meanings and Examples

Phrasal verbs with BREAK

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
break down	to stop working (of a machine); to lose control of your feelings and cry	Our car broke down on the highway.
break in / break into	to enter a building by force, to steal	Thieves broke into the shop last night.
break off	to end a relationship or talks suddenly	The two countries broke off trade talks.
break out	to start suddenly (war, fire, disease)	A fire broke out in the factory.
break up	to end a relationship; (of a meeting or gathering) to end so that people leave	The meeting broke up at noon.
break through	to force a way past something blocking you	The protesters broke through the barriers.

Phrasal verbs with BRING

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
bring about	to cause something to happen	The new policy brought about major changes.
bring up	to raise a child; to mention a subject	She was brought up by her grandparents.
bring out	to produce and sell a new product; to make a quality noticeable	The company will bring out a new phone next month.
bring down	to reduce something; to make a government lose power	The bank brought down its loan rates.
bring in	to introduce a new law or system	The government brought in stricter traffic rules.
bring forward	to move an event to an earlier time	The exam has been brought forward by a week.

Phrasal verbs with CALL

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
call off	to cancel a planned event	The match was called off because of rain.
call on	to visit someone briefly; to formally ask someone to do something	The chairman called on the members to vote.
call for	to need or demand something	This situation calls for quick action.
call up	to phone someone; to order someone to join the armed forces	He was called up for military service.
call in	to ask someone to come and help	The bank called in experts to check the fraud.

Phrasal verbs with CARRY

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
carry on	to continue doing something	Carry on with your work while I am away.
carry out	to do or complete a task, plan or order	The police carried out a detailed search.
carry off	to succeed in doing something difficult; to win a prize	She carried off the first prize.
carry over	to continue or postpone something to a later time	Unused leave can be carried over to next year.

Phrasal verbs with COME

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
come across	to find or meet by chance	I came across an old photo in the drawer.
come up with	to think of an idea or plan	She came up with a smart solution.
come about	to happen	How did this mistake come about?
come down with	to become ill with a disease that is not serious	He came down with flu before the exam.
come into	to receive money or property after someone dies	She came into a fortune after her uncle died.
come off	to happen as planned or succeed; to come loose from something	The plan came off perfectly.
come round / come around	to become conscious again; to change your opinion	He came round an hour after the accident.
come through	to survive a difficult situation	She came through the surgery well.
come up	to be mentioned or to happen unexpectedly	The topic came up during the meeting.
come out	to become known; to be published or released	The results will come out next week.

Phrasal verbs with CUT

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
cut down (on)	to reduce the amount of something	You should cut down on sugar.
cut off	to stop the supply of something; to isolate a place or person	The electricity was cut off for unpaid bills.
cut in	to interrupt someone who is speaking	She kept cutting in while I was talking.
cut out	to stop doing or eating something; to remove	He has cut out junk food completely.
cut back (on)	to reduce spending or use	The firm cut back on travel costs.

Phrasal verbs with DO

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
do away with	to get rid of something; to abolish	The government did away with the old tax.
do up	to fasten; to repair and decorate a building	They are doing up their old house.
do without	to manage without something	We will have to do without a car this month.

Phrasal verbs with FALL

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
fall apart	to break into pieces; to fail completely	The old chair fell apart.
fall back on	to use something for help when other things fail	He has his savings to fall back on.
fall behind	to fail to do something fast enough or on time	She fell behind with her loan payments.
fall out (with)	to argue and stop being friendly	The brothers fell out over property.
fall through	to fail to happen	The deal fell through at the last minute.
fall for	to be tricked into believing something; to fall in love	Don't fall for such fake offers.

Phrasal verbs with GET

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
get along / get on (with)	to have a friendly relationship	He gets along well with his colleagues.
get over	to recover from an illness or a bad experience	It took her months to get over the loss.
get away with	to escape punishment for something wrong	He cheated and got away with it.
get by	to manage to live or do something with difficulty	They get by on a small income.
get rid of	to remove or throw away something unwanted	We must get rid of these old files.
get through	to pass an exam; to reach someone by phone	She got through the interview easily.
get across	to make people understand an idea	The teacher got her point across clearly.
get at	to suggest something indirectly	What exactly are you getting at?
get down to	to start doing something seriously	Let's get down to business.
get round / get around	to find a way of avoiding a problem or rule	They found a way to get round the rule.

Phrasal verbs with GIVE

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
give up	to stop doing something; to stop trying	He gave up smoking last year.
give in	to finally agree after refusing; to surrender	The management finally gave in to their demands.
give away	to give something free; to reveal a secret	Don't give away the ending of the film.
give out	to distribute; to stop working (of a supply or machine)	The engine gave out halfway up the hill.
give off	to send out a smell, heat or light	The machine gives off a lot of heat.
give way	to break under pressure; to let other traffic go first	The old bridge gave way under the weight.

Phrasal verbs with GO

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
go through	to experience something difficult; to examine carefully	She went through a tough phase.
go off	to explode or ring suddenly; (of food) to become bad	The alarm went off at 6 a.m.
go on	to continue; to happen	The meeting went on for three hours.
go over	to examine or check something carefully	Go over your answers before submitting.
go ahead	to start or continue doing something	The project will go ahead as planned.
go back on	to fail to keep a promise	He never goes back on his word.
go down with	to become ill with something	Half the class went down with flu.
go in for	to take part in a competition; to do something regularly or enjoy it	She went in for the quiz contest.
go off with	to leave with something that is not yours	Someone went off with my umbrella.
go without	to manage without something you need	They went without food for two days.

Phrasal verbs with HOLD

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
hold on	to wait for a short time	Hold on, I will check the file.
hold up	to delay; to rob using a weapon	Traffic was held up by an accident.
hold back	to stop yourself from showing a feeling; to control or delay	She held back her tears.
hold out	to last; to continue to resist	The soldiers held out for two weeks.
hold off	to delay doing something	The bank held off raising rates.

Phrasal verbs with KEEP

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
keep up (with)	to move or progress at the same speed as others	He walks fast; I can't keep up with him.
keep on	to continue doing something	She kept on asking questions.
keep off	to stay away from something	Keep off the grass.
keep away (from)	to avoid going near something	Keep away from the edge.
keep back	to not tell everything you know	He kept back some important facts.
keep out	to stop someone from entering	The fence keeps out animals.

Phrasal verbs with LET

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
let down	to disappoint someone	I will not let you down.
let off	to not punish someone; to fire a gun or explode a bomb	The judge let him off with a warning.
let in on	to tell someone a secret	She let me in on the plan.

Phrasal verbs with LOOK

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
look after	to take care of	She looks after her old parents.
look down on	to think you are better than someone	Never look down on the poor.
look forward to	to feel happy about something that will happen	I look forward to meeting you.
look into	to investigate or examine	The police are looking into the case.
look up	to search for information in a book or online; to improve	Look up the word in a dictionary.
look up to	to admire and respect someone	Students look up to their teacher.
look out	to be careful; to watch out	Look out! A car is coming.
look over	to examine something quickly	Can you look over my essay?
look on	to watch something without taking part	The crowd looked on as the fire spread.

Phrasal verbs with MAKE

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
make out	to understand or see with difficulty	I can't make out what he is saying.
make up	to invent a story or excuse; to become friends again after a quarrel	She made up an excuse for being late.
make up for	to compensate for something bad or lost	He worked late to make up for lost time.
make off with	to steal something and hurry away	The thief made off with her bag.
make for	to move towards a place	They made for the exit when the alarm rang.

Phrasal verbs with PASS

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
pass away	to die (polite expression)	His grandfather passed away last year.
pass out	to faint	He passed out because of the heat.
pass on	to give something to another person	Please pass on this message to Ravi.
pass off as	to falsely present something as something else	He passed the copy off as the original.
pass over	to ignore someone for promotion; to leave out	She was passed over for promotion.

Phrasal verbs with PULL

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
pull down	to destroy a building	The old cinema was pulled down.
pull off	to succeed in doing something difficult	The team pulled off a great win.
pull out	to withdraw from an activity or agreement	The company pulled out of the deal.
pull through	to recover from a serious illness	The patient is expected to pull through.
pull up	to stop a vehicle; to criticise someone for a mistake	The taxi pulled up outside the bank.

Phrasal verbs with PUT

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
put off	to postpone; to discourage or make someone dislike something	The meeting was put off till Monday.
put up with	to tolerate	I can't put up with this noise.
put out	to extinguish a fire	The firemen put out the fire quickly.
put on	to wear; to gain weight	He has put on a lot of weight.
put across	to explain an idea clearly	She put her views across well.
put aside	to save money for later	He puts aside some money every month.
put down	to write down; to suppress by force	The army put down the revolt.
put forward	to suggest an idea or plan for discussion	He put forward a new proposal.
put up	to give someone a place to stay; to build	We put up our guests for the night.

Phrasal verbs with RUN

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
run out of	to use all of something so that none is left	We have run out of milk.
run into	to meet by chance; to face a problem	I ran into an old friend at the station.
run over	to hit and drive over someone with a vehicle	The dog was run over by a truck.
run away	to leave a place secretly or suddenly	The boy ran away from home.
run down	to criticise unfairly; to lose power (of a battery)	My phone battery has run down.
run after	to chase	The police ran after the thief.
run through	to repeat or explain something quickly	Let's run through the plan once more.

Phrasal verbs with SEE

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
see off	to go to a station or airport to say goodbye	We went to the airport to see him off.
see through	to understand someone's real intention; to continue until finished	I saw through his lies.
see to	to deal with something	I will see to the arrangements.

Phrasal verbs with SET

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
set up	to start a business or organisation	He set up a small shop.
set off	to begin a journey	We set off early in the morning.
set out	to begin a journey; to start doing something with a clear aim	She set out to become an IAS officer.
set in	to begin and seem likely to continue (bad weather, a problem)	Winter has set in early this year.
set aside	to save for a special purpose	Set aside some time for revision.
set back	to delay the progress of something	The floods set back the project by months.
set about	to start doing something	He set about cleaning the room.

Phrasal verbs with STAND

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
stand by	to support someone; to be ready for action	She stood by her friend in hard times.
stand for	to represent (as an abbreviation); to tolerate	What does RBI stand for?
stand out	to be clearly better or easy to notice	Her answer stood out from the rest.
stand up for	to defend or support	Stand up for what is right.
stand in for	to do someone's job for a short time	He stood in for the manager.

Phrasal verbs with TAKE

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
take after	to look or behave like an older family member	She takes after her mother.
take off	(of a plane) to leave the ground; to remove clothes; to become successful	The flight took off on time.
take over	to take control of something	The bank took over a small finance company.
take up	to start a new hobby or job; to fill time or space	He took up yoga last year.
take in	to deceive; to understand fully	Many people were taken in by the fake offer.
take on	to employ; to accept work or responsibility	The firm is taking on new staff.
take back	to admit that something you said was wrong	I take back what I said.
take down	to write down; to remove	The clerk took down my details.
take to	to start to like someone or something	The children took to their new teacher at once.

Phrasal verbs with TURN

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
turn down	to refuse an offer; to reduce volume	She turned down the job offer.
turn up	to arrive or appear; to increase volume	Only ten people turned up for the meeting.
turn out	to happen in a particular way; to be found to be	The rumour turned out to be false.
turn into	to change into something else	The caterpillar turned into a butterfly.
turn against	to stop supporting and start opposing	His friends turned against him.
turn to	to go to someone for help	She turned to her teacher for advice.

Phrasal verbs with WEAR

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
wear out	to become useless after long use; to make very tired	These shoes have worn out.
wear off	(of a feeling or effect) to slowly disappear	The effect of the medicine wore off.

Phrasal verbs with WORK

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
work out	to find a solution; to exercise; to end successfully	We worked out the answer together.
work on	to spend time improving or repairing something	She is working on her English.

Other Common Phrasal Verbs List (A to Z)

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example sentence
back out (of)	to decide not to do something you agreed to do	He backed out of the deal at the last minute.
bank on	to depend on something happening	Don't bank on getting a refund.
blow up	to explode; to suddenly become very angry	The bomb blew up near the bridge.
brush up (on)	to improve a skill you have not used for a while	I need to brush up on my maths.
calm down	to become calm after being angry or excited	Calm down and tell me what happened.
count on	to depend on someone	You can count on me.
deal with	to take action to solve a problem	The bank deals with customer complaints quickly.
drop out (of)	to leave a course or competition before finishing	He dropped out of college.
figure out	to understand or solve something	I can't figure out this puzzle.
fill in	to write information in a form; to do someone's work for a short time	Fill in the application form.
hand over	to give control or responsibility to someone	He handed over charge to his successor.
lay off	to stop employing workers because there is no work	The factory laid off 200 workers.
live up to	to be as good as expected	The film did not live up to our expectations.
pick up	to learn something without trying; to collect someone; to improve	She picked up French while living in Paris.
point out	to tell someone about a fact or mistake	She pointed out an error in the report.
rule out	to decide that something is not possible	The police have ruled out foul play.
show off	to behave in a way meant to impress others	He likes to show off his new car.
step down	to leave an important job or position	The CEO stepped down after the scandal.
sum up	to give a short summary	Let me sum up the main points.
think over	to consider something carefully before deciding	Think over the offer before you reply.
try out	to test something to see if it works	Try out the new app before buying it.
wind up	to bring to an end; to close a business	The company was wound up last year.

Confusing Phrasal Verbs Asked in SSC (Look-alike Pairs)

Pair	Difference
put off vs put out	put off = postpone; put out = extinguish a fire
put up vs put up with	put up = give someone a place to stay, or build; put up with = tolerate
look up to vs look down on	admire and respect vs think you are better than someone
give in vs give up	give in = finally agree or surrender; give up = stop doing or trying
call off vs call on	cancel vs visit briefly / formally ask
break down vs break out	stop working, or lose control of feelings vs start suddenly (war, fire, disease)
turn up vs turn down	arrive / increase volume vs refuse / reduce volume
take after vs look after	resemble an older relative vs take care of
set up vs set in	start a business vs begin and seem likely to continue (bad weather)
pass away vs pass out	die (polite) vs faint
run into vs run over	meet by chance vs hit someone with a vehicle
come across vs come about	find by chance vs happen
bring up vs bring about	raise a child / mention vs cause to happen
get over vs get through	recover from vs pass an exam / reach by phone

Common Mistakes in Phrasal Verb Questions for SSC

Wrong	Right	Why
I look forward to meet you.	I look forward to meeting you.	"to" here is a preposition, so use -ing
He gave up it.	He gave it up.	A pronoun goes between a separable verb and its particle
Please look the children after.	Please look after the children.	look after is inseparable
We ran out milk.	We ran out of milk.	The full phrase is run out of
She takes after with her father.	She takes after her father.	take after has no extra preposition
I can't put up this noise.	I can't put up with this noise.	tolerate = put up with

Most Important Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL: Top 25 for Quick Revision

Phrasal verb	One-line meaning	Phrasal verb	One-line meaning
bring about	cause	put off	postpone
bring up	raise a child / mention	put out	extinguish
call off	cancel	put up with	tolerate
carry out	perform, complete	run out of	have none left
come across	find by chance	set up	establish
do away with	abolish	stand by	support
fall through	fail to happen	take after	resemble
get over	recover from	take over	take control
give in	surrender, agree	turn down	refuse
give up	stop	turn out	prove to be
go through	experience; examine	wear off	slowly disappear
look down on	think less of	look into	investigate
make up for	compensate

Phrasal Verbs Questions for SSC CGL with Answers

Q1. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. The match was ______ because of heavy rain.

(a) called off
(b) called on
(c) called for
(d) called up

Answer: (a) called off. Call off means to cancel a planned event. Call on means to visit or formally ask, call for means to need, and call up means to phone or order into the army.

Q2. Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined phrasal verb. I cannot put up with his rude behaviour any longer.

(a) understand
(b) tolerate
(c) report
(d) change

Answer: (b) tolerate. Put up with means to accept something unpleasant.

Q3. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. She ______ her mother; both have the same smile.

(a) takes after
(b) looks after
(c) takes over
(d) looks into

Answer: (a) takes after. Take after means to look or behave like an older family member. Look after means to take care of.

Q4. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error. I am looking forward / to meet you / at the conference / next week.

(a) I am looking forward
(b) to meet you
(c) at the conference
(d) next week

Answer: (b) to meet you. In look forward to, "to" is a preposition, so it must be followed by an -ing form: "to meeting you".

Q5. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. The firemen took two hours to ______ the fire.

(a) put off
(b) put out
(c) put on
(d) put up

Answer: (b) put out. Put out means to extinguish a fire. Put off means to postpone.

Q6. Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined phrasal verb. The rumour turned out to be false.

(a) was proved to be
(b) was refused
(c) was repeated
(d) was hidden

Answer: (a) was proved to be. Turn out means to happen in a particular way or to be found to be.

Q7. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. We have ______ sugar; please buy some on your way home.

(a) run into
(b) run over
(c) run out of
(d) run after

Answer: (c) run out of. Run out of means to use all of something so that none is left.

Q8. Select the most appropriate option to fill in the blank. The government decided to ______ the old law that no longer served any purpose.

(a) do away with
(b) do up
(c) go through with
(d) make up for

Answer: (a) do away with. Do away with means to get rid of or abolish something.

Q9. Select the most appropriate meaning of the underlined phrasal verb. The deal fell through at the last moment.

(a) was signed
(b) failed to happen
(c) was made public
(d) became more expensive

Answer: (b) failed to happen. Fall through means a plan or deal does not happen.

Q10. Select the most appropriate option to replace the underlined words. The police are investigating the matter.

(a) looking into
(b) looking after
(c) looking up to
(d) looking over

Answer: (a) looking into. Look into means to investigate or examine the facts. Look over means to examine quickly, which is not the same as investigating.

Phrasal Verbs for SSC CGL FAQs

How many phrasal verbs should I learn for SSC CGL?

There is no fixed list. A set of about 150 to 300 common phrasal verbs, like the 181 in this note, covers most of what appears in SSC English. Focus on the common base verbs (put, take, give, get, come, go, look, turn, bring, set) and their look-alike pairs.

Are phrasal verbs asked in SSC CGL Tier 1?

Yes. They appear inside fill-in-the-blank, cloze test, sentence improvement and error-spotting questions, and sometimes as direct "meaning of the phrase" questions. The number varies from shift to shift.

What is the best way to remember phrasal verbs?

Learn them in families by base verb, always with an example sentence, and revise look-alike pairs side by side (for example put off and put out). Short daily revision works better than one long session.

What is the difference between a phrasal verb and an idiom?

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle, such as give up. An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be guessed from its words, such as a piece of cake. Some phrasal verbs are idiomatic too, which is why their meanings must be learned.

Is there a phrasal verbs PDF for SSC CGL?

This page is a free, printable list: use your browser's Print option and choose "Save as PDF" to keep a copy for offline revision.

Can a phrasal verb have more than one meaning?

Yes. Take off can mean a plane leaving the ground, removing clothes or becoming successful. The sentence tells you which meaning is used, so always read the full sentence before choosing an option.

Practice Next: SSC CGL English Mock Tests

SSC CGL English Comprehension Sectional Mock Test 01
SSC CGL English Comprehension Sectional Mock Test 02
SSC CGL Cloze Test Mock Test 01
Check dates and eligibility: SSC CGL 2026 and SSC CHSL 2026.
Preparing for bank exams as well? Read Word Swap Questions for Bank Exams.
More study material: all BookOfExams notes.

🚀 Final Exam Tip: When two options share the same verb, focus on the particle. In SSC, the particle is usually the whole question.

Best of luck with your preparation!

Related: fillers for bank exams.