20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

Hello English learners! Welcome to a new lesson. Today, we’re diving into the world of phrasal verbs for work—those handy little expressions that native speakers use all the time in offices, shops, factories, and everywhere in between. Whether you’re talking about starting a new job, leaving one, working under pressure, or just trying to get through Monday morning, there’s a phrasal verb that fits the moment. Learning these phrases will not only help you sound more natural and fluent but also make it easier to understand real-life conversations at work. So, grab a notebook and a cuppa—let’s get started! And don’t forget, there’s a quiz at the end to test what you’ve learned. 😉

Clock in / Clock out

Meaning: to record the time you start or finish work.

• She clocked in at 9 a.m. and clocked out at 5 p.m.
• Make sure you clock out as soon as you leave, or you won’t be paid for the full shift.

Take on (someone/something)

Meaning: to accept work or responsibility; to hire someone.

• The company is taking on new staff this summer.
• We can’t take on any more projects until we hire additional staff.

Knuckle down

Meaning: to start working hard.

• If you want to pass your exams, you’ll have to knuckle down.
• He finally knuckled down to finish the presentation the night before the meeting.

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

Burn out

Meaning: to become very tired or ill from overworking.

• He was completely burnt out after working 12-hour days for months.
• Teachers often burn out if they don’t get enough support or time off.

Lay off

Meaning: to dismiss workers due to a lack of work or cost-cutting.

• Hundreds of employees were laid off during the recession.
• The factory laid off half its workforce after the decline in orders.

Call in sick

Meaning: to phone your workplace to say you’re ill and can’t come in.

• She called in sick this morning with a sore throat.
• He called in sick three times last month – the boss is starting to notice.

Fill in for (someone)

Meaning: to do someone’s job while they’re away.

• Can you fill in for John while he’s on holiday?
• I’m filling in for Sarah while she’s on maternity leave.

Carry out

Meaning: to perform or complete a task.

• The technician carried out repairs on the machine.
• The team carried out several safety tests before launching the product.

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

Get ahead

Meaning: to make progress in your career.

• You need to work hard if you want to get ahead in this company.
• She’s always looking for opportunities to get ahead in her career.

Hand in (your notice/resignation)

Meaning: to formally quit your job.

• She handed in her notice after five years with the company.
• I’m thinking of handing in my resignation – I’ve had enough of the stress.

Step down

Meaning: to resign from a position of responsibility.

• The CEO stepped down after the scandal.
• The chairman is stepping down after 25 years of service.

Look over

Meaning: to check or review something.

• Can you look over this report before I send it?
• I’ll look over the budget proposal this afternoon and give you feedback.

Run by (someone)

Meaning: to share an idea for approval.

• I’ll run it by the boss and get back to you.
• Before we finalise the design, let’s run it by the marketing team.

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

Catch up on (something)

Meaning: to do work you haven’t had time to do yet.

• I need to catch up on emails after my holiday.
• After being off sick, I spent the whole day catching up on

Take over

Meaning: to assume control or responsibility.

• She took over as manager when James left.
• The new manager took over last week and has already made big changes.

Keep up with

Meaning: To stay at the same level or pace.

• It’s hard to keep up with all the new technology.
• He struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the office.

Zoom in on

Meaning: to focus closely on something.

• The report zooms in on staff morale.
• The training session zoomed in on how to improve customer service.

Put off

Meaning: to delay or postpone something.

• Let’s not put off the meeting again.
• They keep putting off the conference – it’s been postponed three times already.

20 Phrasal Verbs about Work

Knock off (work)

Meaning: to finish work (often used informally).

• What time do you usually knock off?
• Let’s knock off early today – we’ve all worked hard this week.

Pull together

Meaning: to work as a team.

• We’ll only meet the deadline if we all pull together.
• The whole team pulled together to finish the campaign before the deadline.

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