13 Phrasal Verbs for Relationships

13 Phrasal Verbs for Relationships (with Meanings & Examples)

Love stories are rarely simple. People meet, fall in love, go out, drift apart, make up, break up… and sometimes start all over again. Luckily (or dangerously 😄), English has a rich collection of phrasal verbs to describe every stage of a relationship. If you are preparing for B2 First (FCE) or C1 Advanced (CAE) — or you simply want to sound more natural in everyday English — these expressions are essential. In this lesson, you will learn 13 common phrasal verbs for relationships, each with a clear meaning and natural example sentences.

Let’s start at the beginning… with asking someone out.

Ask out

Meaning: to invite someone to go on a date with you.

• I think Brenda likes you. Why don’t you ask her out?
• He finally asked her out after weeks of hesitation.

Break up

Meaning: to end a romantic relationship.

• Jim has been miserable since he broke up with his girlfriend.
• They broke up after five years together.

Cheat on

Meaning: to be unfaithful to your partner.

• She cheated on her husband with a colleague.
• They split up because he caught her cheating on him.

Drift apart

Meaning: to gradually become less close to someone.

• Over the years, they slowly drifted apart.
• They didn’t argue much — they just drifted apart.

Fall for

Meaning: to start loving someone or to become strongly attracted to them.

• He fell for her the moment they met.
• She fell for someone else, and the marriage ended.

Go out (with)

Meaning: to be in a romantic relationship with someone.

• We’ve been going out for three months.
• How long were you going out before you got engaged?

Grow apart

Meaning: to slowly stop sharing the same interests, feelings, or opinions.

• As they grew older, they grew apart.
• After a few years, they began to grow apart and eventually broke up.

Hook up (informal)

Meaning: to start a romantic or sexual relationship (often casually).

• She hooked up with a guy from work.
• So… how did you two hook up?

Lead on

Meaning: to make someone believe you love them when you don’t.

• He never intended to marry her — he was just leading her on.
• Don’t lead him on if you’re not serious.

Make up

Meaning: to become friends again after an argument.

• They argued, but they made up later that evening.
• When they fight, he usually buys flowers to make up.

Put up with

Meaning: to tolerate someone’s behaviour.

• She couldn’t put up with his lies any longer.
• I don’t know how you put up with his bad temper.

Settle down

Meaning: to start living a calm, stable life, usually with a partner.

• After years of travelling, they decided to settle down.
• Her parents were happy to see her settle down and start a family.

Split up

Meaning: to end a relationship or marriage.

• Have you heard? Jill and Mark have split up.
• They split up after six years together.

Mini summary

These phrasal verbs are extremely common in real English and are perfect for B2 & C1 speaking and writing. They help you sound natural and fluent because they appear all the time in films, series, and conversations.

Basically: if you don’t know these, your love life in English will be… complicated.

If you really want to learn English but don’t know how or where to start, don’t hesitate to contact us. Book an online English lesson with one of our certified and experienced English teachers and take a test and consultation! Click the button to learn more!