1000 Phrasal Verbs In Context

1000 Phrasal Verbs In Context © Matt Errey 2007

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1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context L l (1/8)

lap up
At first, movie stars lap up all the media attention, but after a while the
attention can get too much for them and they want more privacy.

lap up sth

lap sth up

Readers and critics really
like her books, and she’s
lapping all the praise up.

✍ ^

lash out
George lashed out at some reporters, yelling and pointing his finger at
them, saying the media was to blame for his unpopularity.

lash out

lash out at sb/sth

I said her design was dull,
and she lashed out angrily
and said I was ignorant.

✍ ^

latch onto

Judy latched onto Henry at the party and followed him wherever he

went. He couldn’t get rid of her!

latch onto sb/sth

Bob has latched onto this

new management theory

and always follows it.

✍ 

laugh off
It was another bad mistake and Marcel’s trying to laugh it off, but he
might be in serious trouble with his boss this time.

laugh sth off

laugh off sth

We all make mistakes,
and sometimes all we can
do is laugh them off.

✍

 see also: play down

launch into
Pierre launched into another long, boring speech on what’s wrong with
the world, but we had to sit through it because he’s our manager.

launch into sth

The president launched
into another attack on his
political opponents.

✍  see also: embark on

lay aside
Hector lost his job when he was 63, but luckily he’d laid enough money
aside to support himself until he started getting his pension at 65.

lay sth aside

lay aside sth

It’s important to lay aside
some money in case you
need it in the future.

✍  see also:^ put aside, put

away, set aside

lay down
Our boss is sick of staff coming in late. He’s laid down new rules and
from now on anyone who gets to work late will have to pay a fine.

lay down sth

lay sth down

Let’s lay some guidelines
down on how our staff
should relate to clients.

✍  see also:^ set down^

lay down
Union bosses encouraged the workers to lay down their tools and go on
strike for higher wages and better working conditions.

lay down sth

lay sth down

The rebel fighters agreed
to lay down their arms
and stop fighting.

✍  see also:^ put down^

lay into
(informal)

Jane got angry when she saw the mistakes in the design and laid into

her technical team.

lay into sb/sth

The coach laid into his
players after they lost. We
could hear him shouting.

✍ ^ see also: tell off^

lay off
The company isn’t doing so well and they’ll have to lay off some
workers in order to cut their running costs.

lay off sb

lay sb off

If they don’t do better
next quarter, they’ll have
to lay some staff off.

✍ ^