Phrasal Verbs You Actually Need at Work

Why Context Beats Alphabetical Lists

A phrasal verb is a combination of a standard verb and one or two particles (prepositions or adverbs) that together create a new meaning. For example, "push" means to apply physical force, but "push back" in an office means to delay a deadline or to resist a proposal. Your brain remembers vocabulary much faster when words are tied to a specific setting. When you group expressions by daily tasks, you build a mental toolkit you can reach for immediately.

Grammar quick check: Some phrasal verbs are separable. You can say "push the meeting back" or "push back the meeting." However, if you use a pronoun like "it" or "them," the pronoun must go in the middle: "Let us push it back" (never "push back it").

10 Phrasal Verbs for Running and Joining Meetings

Meetings have a predictable rhythm: you schedule them, discuss topics, ask people to speak, and finish on time. Here are the ten verbs you will hear in almost every video call or boardroom.

Scheduling and Starting

• "Push back" (delay to a later time): "Can we push back our call by thirty minutes?"
• "Move up" (reschedule to an earlier time): "The client wants to move the presentation up to Tuesday."
• "Call off" (cancel completely): "They had to call off the workshop because the trainer was sick."
• "Kick off" (begin or launch): "Let us kick off the meeting by welcoming our new designer."

Managing the Conversation

• "Bring up" (introduce a topic for discussion): "I am glad you brought up the budget issue."
• "Go over" (review or examine in detail): "Let us go over the third-quarter numbers together."
• "Jump in" (join a conversation or interrupt politely): "Feel free to jump in if you have any questions."
• "Speak up" (talk louder or express an opinion openly): "Could you speak up a bit? Your microphone is quiet."
• "Run out of" (have no more of something, especially time): "We are running out of time, so let us make a decision."
• "Wrap up" (finish or conclude): "Let us wrap up here and continue the discussion on Monday."

10 Phrasal Verbs for Clear Workplace Emails

In written communication, phrasal verbs help you sound natural and polite without being overly formal or stiff. If you want to explore the broader structure of professional messages, read our guide on writing emails in English. Meanwhile, these ten verbs will handle most of your daily inbox tasks.

Requesting and Sharing Information

• "Follow up" (check on previous communication or take further action): "I am writing to follow up on my email from last week."
• "Reach out" (contact someone to ask for help or information): "Please reach out to the IT team if your password fails."
• "Look into" (investigate or research a problem): "Thank you for reporting the bug; we will look into it right away."
• "Fill in" (give someone information they missed, or complete a form): "Sara was on vacation, so could you fill her in on the new policy?"
• "Point out" (draw attention to a specific fact or error): "Thanks for pointing out the typo on slide four."

Confirming and Coordinating

• "Get back to" (reply to someone later with an answer): "I do not have those figures now, but I will get back to you by Friday."
• "Copy in" (include someone on an email using the CC field): "Please copy in the regional manager when you send the contract."
• "Send out" (distribute to a group of people): "HR will send out the updated holiday schedule tomorrow."
• "Sign off on" (give official approval): "We cannot publish the report until the director signs off on it."
• "Hand over" (transfer responsibility for a task to someone else): "Before my parental leave, I will hand over my accounts to David."

10 Phrasal Verbs for Projects and Problem-Solving

When you are managing deadlines, workloads, and unexpected obstacles, these ten verbs allow you to describe progress and setbacks accurately.

Planning and Workload

• "Set up" (organize, arrange, or install): "We need to set up a testing environment for the new software."
• "Take on" (accept extra work or responsibility): "I cannot take on any new projects this month."
• "Carry out" (perform or complete a planned task): "The engineering team will carry out safety checks tonight."
• "Map out" (plan in detail how something will happen): "We spent the afternoon mapping out our marketing strategy."
• "Scale back" (reduce the size, cost, or ambition of a plan): "Due to budget cuts, we had to scale back the summer campaign."

Fixing Problems and Finishing

• "Hold up" (cause a delay): "A customs inspection is holding up our shipment."
• "Run into" (experience an unexpected difficulty): "We ran into a few technical issues during the update."
• "Figure out" (find the solution to a problem after thinking about it): "Did you figure out why the spreadsheet was showing an error?"
• "Sort out" (organize or resolve a messy situation): "Accounting is trying to sort out the invoice discrepancy."
• "Catch up" (reach the same stage as others after falling behind): "I worked late on Thursday to catch up on my reports."

Quick Practice Drill: Replace the Formal Verb

Knowing what a phrasal verb means when you read it is passive knowledge. To turn it into active vocabulary, practice swapping stiff, formal verbs for natural phrasal verbs. Read the five sentences below and replace the bracketed words with one of the thirty phrasal verbs from this article. Make sure you use the correct verb tense.

1. The supplier called to say that bad weather is [delaying] the delivery.
2. Could you [investigate] why the client was charged twice?
3. We had to [cancel] the team dinner because too many people were traveling.
4. I will [reply to] you as soon as I confirm the dates with my manager.
5. Let us [conclude] the meeting now so everyone can grab lunch.

Answers: 1. holding up, 2. look into, 3. call off, 4. get back to, 5. wrap up. If you got at least four right, you are ready to start using these in real conversations. To make sure you remember both the spelling and the pronunciation of these phrases, you can practice them with our flashcards, dictation, and conjugation tools.

Your Next Step for This Workweek

Trying to use all thirty phrasal verbs tomorrow will only make you feel self-conscious. Instead, follow this four-step checklist over the next five days to build your confidence naturally:

• Step 1: Pick just three phrasal verbs from this page that match your actual job tasks this week.
• Step 2: Write each of those three verbs on a sticky note and attach it to the bottom of your computer monitor.
• Step 3: Use one of the verbs in an email or team chat message before Wednesday.
• Step 4: Say at least one of the verbs out loud during a meeting before Friday, then pick three new verbs for next week.

Building workplace fluency happens through small, consistent habits rather than weekend cramming sessions. If you want to create a sustainable routine that fits around your job, take a look at our self-study language learning program, where you can practice real-world English at your own pace.