About the book This little booklet lists the most commonly used phrasal verbs you will encounter in the first certificate of English exam. These phrasal verbs will come up in the listenings, the readings and the key word transformation exercises. Candidates will see their marks go up if they are able to produce some of them in the writing and speaking section of the exam. The book lists many examples in context to enable non native speakers to clearly understand their meaning. About phrasal verbs Phrasal verbs are used naturally by native speakers of English every day in conversation. There’s no getting away from the fact that they play an important role when it comes to crossing the bridge between basic knowledge of the language to English language mastery. Not only will you revise the meanings of each phrasal verb but you will also see grammar revision is continuously recycled throughout the book. Copyright © Annabelle Jenkins 2019 All rights reserved ISBN: 9781708547790 Contents Back … Back … Break … Bring … Bump … Call … Carry … Catch … Come … Cut … Deal … Do … Drag … Dress … Drop … Face … Fall … Get … Give … Go … Grow … Hang … Keep … Look … Make … Pay … Pick … Point … Put … Run … Save … Set … Shut … Sort … Speak … Stand … Start … Take … Turn … Try … Work … Back someone up There are only two people I can count on in life to back me up when I’m in trouble. That is, my best friend Jane and my brother Tony. What it means Back someone up means to offer your support and/or defense. There is also a secondary meaning to ‘back up’ as seen below. I need to back up my computer’s data. (Save the data in case of loss). Back out Just as we were about to sign the contract, my partner backed out . He was afraid to take on such a commitment. What it means Back out means to change one’s mind at the last moment and not do something originally planned/not go ahead with something, usually due to fear. Break down Sorry I’m late but the bus broke down and I had to walk the rest of the way. The printer has broken down again. Maybe it’s time to buy a new one. Amanda broke down when she was told that she’d been sacked from her job. Their marriage broke down so they decided to break up (go their separate ways/leave one another). What it means Break down means to stop functioning when it comes to mechanical, electrical or electronic devices or equipment. Similarly for people, it means to stop functioning for a period due to being terribly upset. For a relationship, it also means to stop functioning, deteriorate. Break into Someone broke into my house last night but made a hasty retreat when faced with my German shepherd. What it means Break into means to use force to enter a house or other premises to steal. Break out in I’m allergic to tomatoes. If I eat them I break out in a rash. What it means Break out in mean to develop a sudden skin condition causing spots or a rash usually due to an allergic reaction. Break out of A dangerous killer broke out of a state jail last night. Police say he may be armed and are warning the public to call the police and not to approach him should they come face to face with him. What it means Break out of means to use force to escape from a place such as a prison. This is the opposite of the phrasal verb ‘break into’. Break up After years of non-stop arguing, the couple finally decided it was time to break up . I didn’t get to know my father very well as I never lived with him. My parents broke up when I was just a baby. What it means Break up means to end a relationship. Bring up My mother brought me up to be a respectable, caring human being. We were brought up by my grandmother. Passive My grandmother brought us up . Active I’d rather forget the whole matter so please don’t bring it up again. What it means Bring up means to raise a child until he/she is an adult. Bring something up means to mention it during conversation. Bump into I bumped into a girl who used to be in my class at primary school. What a lovely surprise it was to see her after so many years. She still looked the same - as beautiful as ever. What it means Bump into means to meet someone unexpectedly, by chance. Call off The football match was called off due to the heavy rain. Past passive voice The bus strike has been called off . Present perfect passive voice Jack called off the wedding a week before he was due to get married. He was afraid of commitment. What it means Call off means to cancel an event or suchlike. Carry on She carried on talking although nobody was listening to her. My father carried on working past retirement age. What it means Carry on means to continue doing something. Catch up with I’m staying at home all day Saturday to try to catch up with the housework. The house is a complete mess. You go on ahead to the station and I’ll catch up with you in a few minutes. I’ve got a quick phone call to make. On the phone: I can’t speak now but I’ll catch up with you later. What it means Catch up with means to update on something you haven’t had time to do, reach someone who is ahead of you and also to exchange recent news with someone. Come across We came across a little old market stall in a side street in Rome. That’s where we bought those beautiful ornaments. What it means Come across means to find by chance. Come across as At first my new boss came across as overly arrogant but when I got to know her, I found out that she was a really nice person. What it means Come across as means to give the impression. Find out means to discover. Come about The idea to write a book came about when I was made redundant. What it means Come about means to transpire/emerge/ happen/occur. Come down with I think I’m coming down with a tummy bug. I think I’ll go and lie down to see if it passes. What it means Come down with means to have the beginnings of an illness. Come up with I’m going to have to come up with an innovative idea for my next book. We still haven’t come up with a solution to the problem. Hopefully soon the ideas will start flowing. What it means Come up with think of an idea or solution. Cut down on My mum thinks I should cut down on the number of hours I spend playing computer games. I’m on a diet so I’ve had to cut down on eating chocolate. What it means Cut down on means ‘reduce’. Cut out I’ve decided to cut out eating meat. I’m going to become a vegetarian. They’ve cut out a few sports from the school curriculum. Someone has cut a few pages out of my book. Who would have done such a thing? What it means Cut out means to stop doing something you’ve always done/remove, not do anymore/remove by cutting. Cut out for I’m not cut out for working with the public. I’m too shy. I prefer a job where I can work on my own. What it means Cut out for means to be suited for something/to be right for something. Cut up Cut the onion up before putting it in the pan of oil, then stir for a few minutes before adding the meat. What it means Cut up means to cut into small pieces. Deal with My husband’s job involves dealing with clients. I can no longer deal with the pressure at work. It’s causing me too much stress. What it means Deal with , in the above context, means ‘handle, manage’. Do with After all that hard work I could really do with a nice cup of tea. What you are saying has got nothing to do with the topic we are discussing. It’s completely off-topic. Please stay focused on the subject at hand. What it means Do with means feel the need for something. In the second example it means, related, connected, in the negative, not related, unconnected. Do without I’ve done without drinking coffee all week. I’m not going to torture myself any longer. Let’s go to the café. I could really do with a coffee right now. My mother and father did without to give my brother and I a good education. Now that we’ve both got good jobs we’re going to pay them back. What it means Do without means to deny oneself of something due to having to make sacrifices. Drag on That meeting today dragged on for hours. I couldn’t wait for it to end. What it means Drag on means to pass very slowly and boringly. Dress up We’re going to a fancy restaurant tonight so it would be a good idea to dress up . We can also use the reflexive ‘get dressed up’ . She always gets dressed up to go to work as her job involves meeting important clients. I dressed up as a witch for Halloween and my sister dressed up as a black cat. What it means Dress up means to put on nice clothes, and make yourself look good. Dress up + as means to wear fancy dress for example, at Halloween. Drop in If you happen to be in the neighbourhood next weekend, please drop in for a coffee and a chat. My mother drops in every Saturday morning. What it means Drop in means to pay a quick visit to someone. Drop off Can you drop me off at supermarket on your way to work today? I always seem to drop off while watching TV. I can never keep my eyes open for more than twenty minutes. What it means Drop someone off means to leave someone at a destination after taking them there by car or another vehicle. In the second example, drop off means to fall asleep. Drop out of I dropped out of university after one year. I wasn’t cut out for studying. Fred dropped out of the English course after just four lessons. What it means Drop out means to abandon a study course. Face up to You need to face up to your responsibilities in life. Jerry won’t face up to the fact that his wife wants to leave him. Some people prefer to take an escapist attitude and refuse to face up to problems which continue to pursue them. What it means Face up to means to confront an issue, accept it and deal with it instead of avoiding it. Fall apart We’re going to have to buy a new sofa. That old one is falling apart . Mary and Jerry’s marriage is falling apart so they have decided to file for divorce. What it means Fall apart means to break into pieces and for a relationship it means to deteriorate so much that nothing can be done to save it. Fall for She really fell for his sweet talk and it wasn’t long before he’d conned her out of all her money. My sister has fallen for a boy who works in the same office as she does. She never stops talking about him. What it means Fall for means to be deceived and also to become infatuated with someone, close to falling in love, as seen in the second example. Con someone out of something means to deceitfully extract a gullible person’s money or possessions by leading them to believe one thing for another. Fall out (with) “I’ve fallen out with my brother.” “Why?” “Because he refused to give me a lift to the station. I had to get a taxi and he knows I don’t have much money.” What it means Fall out means to no longer talk to someone because he/she either argued with you or did something that made you angry. The opposite of ‘fall out’ is ‘fall back in’. This means you start talking to someone again, you make peace with the person. Ex. My brother and I fell back in after he apologized for not giving me a lift to the station. We can also say, ‘I fell back in with my brother’. Fall through Plans to build a new motorway fell through due to lack of funds. What it means Fall through means to be unsuccessful. Get away I grabbed a hold of the pickpocket on the bus who had stolen my purse. He did everything possible to get away but luckily a few of the other passengers helped me pin him down until the police arrived. I need to get away . Maybe next weekend I will go to my mother’s beach house for a few days. What it means Get away means to manage to escape. It also means to have a break away from your normal daily routine. Pin someone down means to use force to keep a person immobile on the ground. Get away with If he thinks he can get away with treating me so badly then he can think again. He got away with stealing the car. The police were unable to locate him. What it means Get away with something means to go unpunished or receive a lenient punishment for a wrongdoing. Get back “What time did you get back last night?” “I got back really late.” “Get back! ” said the fireman to the man who was approaching the flame filled building. What it means Get back means to return, and in the second example it is a command to move away in a backwards direction. Get down to “Now let’s stop the chit chat and get down to some work,” said the department manager. What it means Get down to means to begin to do something. Get on (with) I’ve never got on with my next door neighbour. She’s not the friendliest of people. My husband and I get on really well. We’re soul-mates. My grandmother is really getting on . She’ll soon be 94 years of age. “Get on with your work and stop chatting,” said the boss. What it means Get on with someone means to have a good, happy relationship. Get on with something means continue doing something. Get on also means to advance in years, that is, for a person. Get over I haven’t yet got over the death of my mother. I still find it hard to believe she’s gone. My father is only just managing to get over that bad dose of flu he’s had all week. I can’t get over the way he treats her. It’s a disgrace. What it means Get over means to recover from something/make a recovery be it an illness or an emotional turmoil. It also means, to find something hard to believe. Give away Mum has given away all the clothes we don’t wear anymore. She took them to a charity shop this morning. “Where’s that old stereo you used to have in your bedroom?” “I gave it away about a year ago. I never used it and it was just cluttering up my room.” What it means Give away means to donate or give as a gift. Clutter up means to occupy space and Give back Can you give me back that book I lent you? You’ve had it for about six months? What it means Give back means to return something to its owner. Give in Working in a cake shop is not easy for someone like me. I can’t stop eating all the cakes. I find it difficult to give in to the temptation of all those chocolate fresh cream cakes. Never give in when someone tries to put pressure on you. Always stand your ground. What it means Give in means to surrender/accept defeat. Give off That old gas cooker is giving off a very strange smell. Perhaps we should get it checked out. What it means Give off means to emit/release. Give up When faced with life’s adversities, never give up . I gave up smoking after twenty years. Now I’ve got so much more money. The very kind gentlemen gave up his seat to an elderly lady on the bus. What it means Give up means to quit/surrender. Give way The old bridge gave way under the weight of an articulated lorry that was driving over it. Luckily the driver of the vehicle was left unscathed. What it means Give way means to collapse. Go in for I don’t really go in for team sports. I prefer to do sports I can do on my own such as swimming. I don’t go in for men with huge muscles. What it means Go in for means to have a keen interest in something or someone. Not go in for = have no interest in. Go off I’ve gone off eating at the moment. I feel sick just at the thought of it. Don’t drink that milk. I think it has gone off . It smells terrible. My alarm clock went off this morning but I didn’t hear it ring. I was sound asleep. What it means Go off means to not like something or someone anymore. And in the second example it means to no longer be fresh, for food and drink. Go off , for any kind of alarm or bomb or suchlike, means to ‘activate’. Go with That bag does not go with your shoes. The colours clash. I’ve bought some new yellow cushions to go with our new sofa. What it means Go with means to match. Go through I’ve gone through so much misfortune in the last year or so. Let’s hope that next year is full of good fortune. What it means Go through means to have a bad experience, experience unpleasant things in your life. Grow into The trousers my sister bought for her young son are far too big but he’ll soon grow into them. What it means This phrasal verb means that when a person grows then an item of clothing which was too big will eventually fit the person due to him/her becoming bigger. Grow out of My son has grown so much in the last year that he has grown out of all his clothes and his shoes. I’m going to have to buy him new ones. He now takes bigger size in shoes and clothes. “Now that the baby has started walking, he’s opening all the cupboards and pulling everything out.” “Don’t worry. He’ll soon grow out of it .” What it means Grow out of is used when someone grows so much that their clothes and shoes become too small for them. Grow out of also means to stop a bad habit due to become older and more mature. Grow up We grew up in a small town in the North of England. I grew up in a very happy family environment. Oh grow up , will you? Stop behaving like a child. What it means Grow up means to grow from a child to an adult. It also has a second meaning as seen in the second example and that is, to become more mature and less childish in your ways, your behaviour. Hang on On the telephone: “Hello, can I speak to John please?” “Yes of course. If you can just hang on a moment while I get him for you.” What it means Hang on means to wait a moment. Hang up At the end of a telephone conversation, you hang up . That is, you end the call. Keep away “Keep away from the cooker or you might burn yourself,” said mum to my toddler brother. “Keep away ,” said the police officer to the curious onlookers, who’d gathered around the scene of the accident. “Keep away from that crowd of thugs who hang around the street corners,” said Betsey to her teenage son. “They’re a bunch of troublemakers and I don’t want you to get involved with them.” What it means Keep away means ‘not go near’. Hang around means to spend time with friends, doing nothing in particular. Keep to I’m finding it difficult to keep to this new diet plan. I’ve been on the diet for two days and I’m already desperate for a bar of chocolate. What it means Keep to means adhere to something. Keep up with It’s not easy to keep up with technology. It changes so fast. My sister is a fashion freak. She spends all her money on trying to keeping up with the latest fashion. Please slow down . You’re walking too fast and I can’t keep up with you. Since I lost my job I’m finding it extremely difficult to keep up with the monthly payments on the car I bought on hire purchase. If I don’t find another job soon, I may have to sell it. What it means Keep up with means to maintain the same pace/not remain behind. Slow down means to go more slowly, not go so fast. Look after I’m hoping that my sister can look after my two cats when I go on holiday in August. Can you look after my son on Saturday as I have to work? What it means Look after means to care for and/of attend to the needs of. Look forward to I’m looking forward to going on holiday. I really need a break from my everyday routine. I’ve been working so much of late. He’s looking forward to starting his new job in Australia. What it means Look forward to means to await someone or something with happiness and excitement. Look into “We are looking into the murder of Mr. Jones,” said detective Morris. On the phone to the order department: “Hello customer services, how can I help you?” “Hello, I’m phoning about an order I placed two weeks ago for a pair of trainers. They haven’t arrived yet.” “Can I have your order number?” “Yes of course. It’s TR10147Z.” “Okay. Thanks. Leave it with me and I’ll look into why you haven’t received it. I’ll get back to you in the afternoon.” What it means Look into means to investigate a matter. Get back to someone means to re-establish contact, usually telephonically. Look on The crowd looked on as the ambulance placed the injured man onto the stretcher. He’d just been run over by a lorry. What it means Look on means to watch without participating. Run over means to be hit by a moving vehicle causing injury and at times death. Look over My solicitor carefully looked over the contract before giving me the ok to sign it. What it means Look over means to examine closely. Look up After a year of decreasing sales, business is beginning to look up . I didn’t feel very well yesterday so instead of going to see the doctor, I made the mistake of looking up my symptoms on internet. According to the website I consulted, I was on death’s doorstep. What it means If something looks up it means it is showing signs of improvement. Look up also means to look among a list to find something. Look up to someone I look up to my boss. He’s a great man. My father always taught us to look up to our elders. What it means Look up to means to admire and respect. Make out I couldn’t make out what Mandy was saying on the phone this morning. It was an extremely bad line. The doctor’s handwriting is appalling. I can’t make out what he’s written on this prescription. Perhaps the pharmacist will be able to make it out . It was such a cloudy day yesterday that I couldn’t make out what it said on the road signs. What it means Make out means to be able to understand, distinguish, usually what someone is saying or something you see or read. Pay back I owe my dad over £1000. I’m going to start paying him back when I find a job. One day I will pay you back for all the help you have given me over the months. What it means Pay back means to return money you borrowed or you owe or to return a favour, or also a bad deed. You can pay someone back for the bad they do to you and this meaning would be ‘to get revenge’. Pick up Don’t waste money on a taxi. I will pick you up from the airport. My mother picks my children up from school every day. Without her help, I’d never be able to hold down a full time job. I think I’ve picked up the flu . I’ve been feeling feverish all morning. He picked up Spanish after living in Spain for a year. What it means If you pick someone up , it means you collect a person, often by car to accompany to his/her destination point. Pick up also means to contract an illness or ailment and it means to acquire a language, usually passively. Point out He pointed out all the mistakes I’d made in my essay. I would never have noticed the typos in the book I’d written if my editor hadn’t pointed them out to me. I couldn’t see the cough medicine on the shelf until the pharmacist pointed it out to me. What it means Point out means to indicate/call attention to/highlight. Point out also means to indicate by pointing one’s finger towards something or someone. Put away Can you put those books away ? They’re making the living room look so untidy. What it means Put something away means to put it in its proper place. Put down Because of his own insecurities, my ex-boyfriend used to always put me down in front of others. Needless to say, that’s why he’s my ex. He’d tell me I was brainless or I was too fat or I spoke too much. There was no end to his criticism. The worst day of my life was the day I had to take my precious cat to the vet to have him put down . I still cry when I think back to that awful day my little Fluffy went to heaven. What it means Put somebody down means to criticize and ridicule someone. Put an animal down means to give it an injection when it’s too sick to continue living and its time has come to leave planet earth. In a different context, ‘put the cat down’ would mean to place it down on the floor, but that is the literal meaning of ‘put down’ which is no longer a phrasal verb but a verb + a preposition. Put off My mum is trying her best to put me off my new boyfriend just because she doesn’t like him. We’ve put the picnic off until next Sunday due to the bad weather. What it means Put someone off someone or something means to cause someone to dislike something or someone. Put something off means to postpone it, change it to a later date. Put out The heavy rain put out the fire we’d lit in the garden to burn the mountain of leaves and twigs. “Please put out your cigarettes. This is a no-smoking area,” said the security guard on duty at the airport. The man threw the cigarette to the ground and put it out by stamping on it. What it means Put out means to extinguish, usually a fire, a cigarette or a candle. Put up If you happen to come to England, don’t worry about booking a hotel. I will put you up . I’ve got a spare room in my flat. The bakery has put its prices up . The bread costs a few pence more per loaf, and it’s also added a few pence onto all its cakes. What it means Put someone up means to let someone stay at your home. Put prices up means to increase/raise prices. Put up with It’s not easy to put up with my mother who is always complaining about everything. I’m thinking about moving out soon. What it means Put up with somebody or something means to tolerate. Move out , on the other hand, means to leave the house you live in, to go to another house. The opposite of move out is move in . You move out of one house and move in to another one. Run out of I’m beginning to run out of patience waiting for the bus to arrive. I’ve been waiting at the bus stop for over an hour. We’ve run out of milk so we’ll have to drink our coffee black. The car came to a halt on the motorway because I’d run out of petrol. What it means Run out of means to finish something/have no more of it. Save up I’ve been saving up for months to buy a new computer. By the end of next month I should have enough money put aside to get the one I’ve had my eye on for months. After years of sacrifices, my brother has finally saved up enough money to put a deposit down on his dream flat in the city centre. What it means Save up means to put money aside. You can also save up other things besides money. Many years ago lots of people saved up stamps as a hobby. This means they had a collection of stamps that they kept in a ‘stamp album’ and they added more on a regular basis. Set off Shall we set off early tomorrow to avoid the heavy traffic? The fire alarm was set off by a little bird that landed on it. What it means Set off means to begin a journey, and in the second example it means to trigger, cause to ring. Shut down The little grocery store round the corner will soon be shutting down . Mr. Rogers, the owner, told me that the new hypermarket has taken most of his business away from him. He cannot compete with their prices. What it means Shut down means to cease to operate/to be no longer be in business. Close down has the same meaning as shut down . Sort out The couple decided to see a marriage counselor to sort out their marital problems. That pile of paperwork is mounting up on my desk. Tomorrow I’m going to sort it all out. It’s in such a mess that I can’t find anything I’m looking for. “Dad, that boy at school has been bullying me again.” “Don’t worry. I’ll be down at the school tomorrow to sort him out .” What it means Sort out means to find a solution to a problem, issue/put things in order, usually by dividing into categories, deal with a person who is causing trouble. Speak up On the phone: “Can you speak up please? I can’t hear you. It’s a very bad line.” What it means Speak up means to speak in a louder voice/raise the volume of your voice. Stand for “What does MP stand for ?” “That’s easy. It stands for member of parliament.” USA stands for ‘the United States of America.’ I’m not going to stand for my daughter’s behaviour any longer. I’m going to put my foot down from now on. What it means Stand for means represent when using acronyms. It also means ‘tolerate’ as in the second example. ‘Put one’s foot down’ is an idiomatic expression which means ‘to try to put a stop to something that you cannot tolerate.’ Stand out The tourist guide gave us all a bright yellow t-shirt to wear so we would stand out among the crowd of tourists in St. Peter’s Square. What it means Stand out means to be noticeable/conspicuous among a crowd/many people. Stand up for We need to stand up for our rights. Stand up for yourself and don’t allow others to walk all over you. What it means Stand up for means to defend. Start off I started off as a shelf-stacker at the local supermarket and after a year I ended up becoming the manager. What it means Start off basically means to begin but usually with a series of events or actions that follow. End up means ‘in the end’. Take after My brother takes after my dad. As well as being kind and smart, he, like my dad, is also a well-balanced individual. What it means Take after means to have the same characteristics as an older relative. Take back “These trousers don’t fit me. They’re far too small.” “If I were you I would take them back and change them for a bigger size. Either that or just ask for a refund.” “I’m just going out for an hour or so.” “Where are you going?” “I’m going to take this book I borrowed back to the library. I shouldn’t be long.” What it means Take something back means to return something. Take in All these phrasal verbs are quite hard to take in . My new trousers are a bit too wide. I’m going to ask my mother to take them in . She’s better at sewing than I am. What it means Take in means to mentally absorb. Take in also means to make a garment smaller. Take on The store where I work is taking on new staff to cover for the Christmas period. Why don’t you apply for a job there? I can’t take on anymore work until I finish this backlog. I’m literally rushed off my feet at the moment. What it means Take on staff means to recruit, employ. Take on work means to accept work. Take over New proprietors have taken over the little newsagent’s on the corner. Jenny loves the sound of her own voice. She always takes over every conversation. She doesn’t let anyone finish what they are saying. What it means Take over means to take control/ possession of. Take out We took out an insurance policy on our new home against fire, flood or burglary. My son took out a bank loan to buy his first car. What it means Take out means to begin an insurance policy or a bank loan. Take up After my father retired, he took up golf. He’d always wanted to play golf but didn’t have the time as he worked very long hours. I’d like to take up yoga once I find the time. We’re going to have to eat those two water melons you bought. They are taking up the whole fridge. There’s no room left to put any more food. The sleeves on my new jacket are a bit too long so I’ll need to take them up . Now where did I put my sewing kit? What it means Take up means to begin a new hobby or pastime. It also means to occupy space or time and another one of its meanings is to shorten a garment that is too long. Turn down I had to turn the job offer down . The salary was far too low. What it means Turn down means to not accept. At a lower level of English, you’ll have seen that ‘turn down’ also means to lower the volume, such as on the radio or TV. At the FCE level you begin to see other meanings of phrasal verbs. Turn into After I married my boyfriend he turned into a really nasty person. What it means Turn into means to transform. Turn over Can you turn over the TV and see what’s on the other channel? This program is boring me to tears. What it means Turn over the TV means to change channels. Turn out It was raining on Sunday morning but later on it turned out to be a lovely day. What it means Turn out means the end result/in the end. Turn up Only five people out of twenty turned up for work this morning. Most phoned in to say they were ill. I had an appointment with Matthew this morning but he didn’t turn up . After waiting for over an hour, I ended up going back home. A: “I’ve been looking for a flat for months but I still haven’t found one that suits me.” B: “Don’t worry. I’m sure it won’t be long until something turns up .” What it means Turn up means to arrive at an appointment and also ‘to appear/make an appearance’. Try on I should have tried on that pair of trousers before buying them. They’re a bit too tight. What it means Try on means to put an item of clothing on you to see how it looks, usually before deciding to buy it. Try out Thinking up creative ideas and not trying them out , implies you are not a lateral leader. I can’t wait to go to bed tonight to try out my new mattress. That old one was so uncomfortable. My husband is the chef in the family. He’s always trying out new recipes and getting us to try out his latest dishes. What it means Try something out means to test something to see how effective it is. Work out We’re trying to work out where we went wrong in bringing up our son. He’s a rowdy so and so. Nothing like my husband or I. After a sedentary week in the office, I go to the gym on Saturdays and work out for two hours. What it means Work out means to try to understand by thinking deeply. Work out also means to do physical exercises.
