Phrasal verbs beginning with letter F

Here is a list of phrasal verbs beginning with letter F.

Fade away

When noise, music or hope fades away, it becomes weaker and weaker. The phrasal verb die away means the same as fade away.

• After a while, the noise faded away.
• If you don’t want to fade away, you should start eating properly.
• Fashions fade away within days or weeks.

Fall apart

When a relationship or marriage falls apart, it fails.

• His marriage fell apart when his wife discovered that he had an affair with one of his colleagues.

When things fall apart, they disintegrate into pieces.

Fall back on

When you fall back on somebody / something you turn to them when you are in trouble because you have no other choice.

• If my acting career fails, I will fall back on my degree in finance.
• When you live in a foreign city on your own, it is great to have a good friend or a relative to fall back on.

Fall behind

When you fall behind, you fail to do something on time or fast enough.

• You have fallen behind with your schoolwork.
• I am desperate to find a new job. I have fallen behind with my mortgage payments.

Fall down

When you fall down, you fall accidentally.

• She tripped over the cat and fell down.

Fall for somebody

To fall for somebody is to fall in love with them.

• I don’t understand why she always falls for the wrong men.

Fall for

When you fall for something, you are deceived by it.

• She fell for his scheme and lost millions.

Fall off

When you fall off a bike or a horse, you fall from it.

• He fell off the horse and broke his back.

Fall out

When people fall out, they quarrel with one another.

• You shouldn’t have fallen out with Shyam over a silly misunderstanding.
• She fell out with her boyfriend when he said something nasty about her mother.

Fall over

When you fall over, you fall to the ground.

• Babies fall over a lot when they learn to walk.

Fall through

When a project or scheme falls through it fails.

• The deal fell through at the last minute.
• The sale fell through for reasons that are best known to the seller.

Fed up with

When you are fed up with something, you are tired of it. When you are fed up with somebody, you are no longer interested in them.

• I am fed up with you. Why don’t you learn to behave?
• I am fed up with the rampant corruption.

Fight off

When you fight an illness or an infection off, you are trying to get rid of it.

• When you have a cold, you should increase your intake of Vitamin C. It will help you fight off the infection.

Figure out

To figure something out is to understand it.

• I can’t figure out what she wants.

Fill in for

When you fill in for somebody you do their work temporarily.

• Who will fill in for you when you go on holiday?

Fill in

To fill in a form or a questionnaire is to complete it with correct information.

• Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb given in the brackets.

Fill up

To fill up a glass or a container is to make it full.

• Here is my glass. Please fill it up.

Find out

To find something out is to discover information.

• How will she react when she finds out what his true motive was?
• We must find out what he wants.