18 Phrasal Verbs Used in the News

18 Phrasal Verbs Used in the News (with Meanings & Examples)

If you read the news in English, you’ll quickly notice something interesting: journalists love phrasal verbs. Whether they are writing about politics, climate change, business, health, or sport, they often use short, powerful expressions like carry out, call off, look into, or take over to describe events clearly and naturally.

For English learners — especially at B1–B2 and Cambridge exam level — understanding these phrasal verbs is essential. They will help you understand news articles more easily, sound more natural and confident in speaking and writing and improve your Use of English, Reading, and Writing tasks.

In this lesson, you’ll learn 18 very common phrasal verbs used in news reports, each with a clear meaning and natural example sentences.

Let’s get started.

Break out

Meaning: to start suddenly (usually something bad or unexpected)

• A large fire broke out in the industrial area during the night.
• Protests broke out after the government announced the new law.

Bring up

Meaning: to mention or introduce a topic

• The journalist brought up the issue of rising prices during the interview.
• Public safety was brought up at the press conference.

Call off

Meaning: to cancel

• The concert was called off because of extreme weather conditions.
• Officials decided to call off the meeting at the last minute.

Carry out

Meaning: to perform or complete (a plan, test, investigation, etc.)

• The police will carry out a full investigation.
• Doctors carried out several tests to find the cause of the illness.

Cut down (on)

Meaning: to reduce

• The government plans to cut down on spending next year.
• The city is trying to cut down air pollution.

Deal with

Meaning: to handle or manage a problem or situation

• The authorities are trying to deal with the housing crisis.
• The company must deal with several legal complaints.

Figure out

Meaning: to understand or solve

• Scientists are trying to figure out what caused the explosion.
• The police finally figured out who was responsible.

Give up

Meaning: to stop trying

• The rescue team refused to give up the search.
• The government declared that it would not give up on the reform.

Go on

Meaning: to continue

• Talks will go on despite the disagreement.
• Life must go on, even after difficult events.

Look into

Meaning: to investigate

• The manager of the company promised to look into the complaint.
• The police are looking into the cause of the accident.

Make up

Meaning: to invent or create

• The story turned out to be completely made up.
• The suspect made up an excuse to explain his absence.

Pick up

Meaning: to increase, improve, or collect

• The economy is starting to pick up again.
• The investigation picked up new evidence.

Put off

Meaning: to postpone

• The election was put off until next year.
• The company put off the launch of the new product.

Run out of

Meaning: to have no more of something

• Hospitals are starting to run out of supplies.
• The city has run out of time to solve the problem.

Set up

Meaning: to establish or arrange

• The government will set up a new committee.
• A special fund was set up to help victims.

Take over

Meaning: to gain control of something

• The larger company plans to take over the smaller one.
• The army took over control of the area.

Turn down

Meaning: to reject or refuse

• The proposal was turned down by the committee.
• The actor turned down the offer.

Work out

Meaning: to find a solution or reach an agreement

• The two sides finally worked out a deal.
• Officials are trying to work out a long-term plan.

Final tip for learners

If you want to improve your real-life English, start paying attention to phrasal verbs in news articles, headlines, interviews and reports. You will see these expressions again and again — and soon, you’ll start using them naturally yourself.

Learn vocabulary related to media here

Phrasal verbs used in the news

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