phrasal verb
noun Grammar.
a combination of verb and one or more adverbial or prepositional particles, as catch on, take off, bring up, or put up with, functioning as a single semantic unit and often having an idiomatic meaning that could not be predicted from the meanings of the individual parts.
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Nearby words
Origin of phrasal verb
First recorded in 1875–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for phrasal verb
phrasal verb
noun
(in English grammar) a phrase that consists of a verb plus an adverbial or prepositional particle, esp one the meaning of which cannot be deduced by analysis of the meaning of the constituents``take in'' meaning ``deceive'' is a phrasal verb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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