phrasal verb

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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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Origin of phrasal verb

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby phrasal verb

PHP, phr., phragmites, phragmoplast, phrasal, phrasal verb, phrase, phrase book, phrasemaker, phrase marker, phrasemonger

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use phrasal verb in a sentence

Thus the adoption of any particular verb is a matter of taste, not a question of absolute correctness.
Go Ahead, End With a Preposition: Grammar Rules We All Can Live With|Nick Romeo|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The term “gestation,” for instance, is derived from the Latin verb gestāre, used to describe a mammal carrying a burden.
The Artificial Womb Will Change Feminism Forever|Samantha Allen|August 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As with any emergent technology where an action is involved, the brand becomes the verb.
The Zen of Yo|Dale Eisinger|August 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The verb shovel is not a figure of speech; a garden shovel actually is used to serve the oysters.
A Briny, South Carolina Oyster Shack|Jane & Michael Stern|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Their Dutch nickname, putterje, comes from the verb putten, meaning to draw water from a well.
Face to Face With ‘The Goldfinch,’ the Painting from Donna Tartt’s Novel|Malcolm Jones|December 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The verb (—) in the Hebrew, when connected with the name of God in different other passages, has the same import.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
Here ends Chaucer's portion of the translation, in the middle of an incomplete sentence, without any verb.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
Observe that the word Christus has no verb following it; it is practically an objective case, governed by thanke in l. 168. '
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
Both in the present passage and in the Pardoner's Prologue the verb to erme is used with the same sb., viz.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
Ethel could not help saying, "How did you find out the meaning of that word, Tom, if you didn't look out the verb?"
The Daisy Chain|Charlotte Yonge

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012