1000 Phrasal Verbs In Context

1000 Phrasal Verbs In Context © Matt Errey 2007

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1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context F f (4/5)

fit together
To complete a jigsaw puzzle, you have to fit all the pieces together to
form a picture.

fit together

fit sth together

If the parts are made
properly, they’ll fit
together perfectly.

✍  see also:^ piece together,

put together

fix up
We bought an old house and fixed it up. We painted it and redecorated
it and now it looks lovely.

fix sth up

fix up sth

Wouldn’t fixing up our
old factory be cheaper
than building a new one?

✍  see also:^ do up^

fizzle out

The band was really popular for a few months, but interest in them

fizzled out when their good-looking singer left to form another band.

fizzle out

There used to be a lot of

interest in the company,

but it’s fizzled out now.

✍  see also: die out

flare up
It’s dangerous in parts of this city. Violence among drug gangs can
suddenly flare up and innocent people can get hurt.

flare up

We’ll need good security
at the concert as fights can
flare up at any time.

✍ 

flick
through

I don’t like it when bookshops seal their books. I like to flick through

the pages and have a good look before deciding to buy one.

flick through sth

I was flicking through our
annual report when I
came across this mistake.

✍  see also:^ go through, look

through

flood in
Thousands of cheap products have been flooding in from China and
they’re being sold in our department stores for huge profits.

flood in

Orders for the new best-
selling book have been
flooding in all week.

✍  see also:^ pour in^

focus on
The new government will focus on developing the country’s industrial
sector in order to create more jobs and boost the economy.

focus on sth

Our company has always
focused on producing
high-end products.

✍  see also: concentrate on

follow up
If you meet a potential client, make sure you get their business card and
then follow up the initial contact with a phone call the next day.

follow up sth

follow sth up

We’ll follow this report up
with occasional updates
on developments.

✍ 

fool around
Everyone in the office was telling jokes and laughing when the boss
came in and told us to stop fooling around and start doing some work.

fool around

This is a serious business
and we don’t have time to
fool around.

✍  see also: clown around,

kid around, play around

free up
We have to stop making some of our models for a while to free up
machines in order to fill a huge order for one particular model.

free up sth/sb

free sth/sb up

We need to free up staff
from other departments to
help us out.

✍ ^