20 Common Phrasal Verbs for the American Workplace

Phrasal verbs can be challenging for learners adapting to an American workplace. They combine a verb with a particle, such as "up" in "set up." This guide also includes related verb-preposition combinations, such as "look into," often taught alongside phrasal verbs.

In formal writing, you might use verbs such as investigate, cancel, or postpone. In American workplace conversations, you will also hear look into, call off, and put off. Both forms can be natural; the choice depends on the context.

This guide covers the most common phrasal verbs used in American offices, what they mean, and how to use them naturally.

Why are Phrasal Verbs Difficult?

Phrasal verbs are challenging because their meanings are often idiomatic. You cannot simply translate the verb and the preposition separately. For example, "run" means to move fast, and "by" means near. But if a coworker says, "Let me run this by the boss," they mean they want to share an idea to get feedback or approval. It has nothing to do with running!

Additionally, some phrasal verbs are separable (you can put an object between the verb and particle) and some are inseparable. We will see examples of both below.

20 Essential Office Phrasal Verbs

Here are 20 useful phrasal verbs and related expressions for American workplaces. Read their definitions, then practice a few in sentences related to your own work.

• Follow up (on) - To check the status of something.
• Reach out (to) - To contact someone.
• Burn out - To become exhausted from overwork.
• Call off - To cancel a meeting or event.
• Catch up (on) - To do work that you haven't had time to do.
• Chip in - To contribute money or help to a project.
• Draw up - To prepare a formal document or plan.
• Drop in - To visit someone informally without an appointment.
• Fill in (for) - To do someone else's work while they are away.
• Point out - To bring attention to a specific fact or detail.
• Put off - To delay or postpone something.
• Run something by someone - To share an idea with someone to get their opinion.
• Set up - To arrange or organize a meeting or system.
• Sign off (on) - To formally approve something.
• Take over - To assume control or responsibility for something.
• Wrap up - To finish or conclude a meeting or project.
• Back up - To make a copy of computer data.
• Bring up - To mention a topic in conversation.
• Look into - To investigate or research a problem.
• Sort out - To resolve a problem or organize something.

Separable vs. Inseparable

When using these verbs, you need to know if they can be separated by the object of the sentence.

Separable

If a phrasal verb is separable, you can put the object between the two words. If the object is a pronoun (it, them, him, her), it must go in the middle.

• Set up: Let's set up a meeting. / Let's set a meeting up. / Let's set it up. (Correct)
• Wrap up: We need to wrap up the project. / We need to wrap it up. (Correct)

Inseparable

With an inseparable expression such as "look into," the object follows the preposition. "Run something by someone" has a different pattern, shown below.

• Look into: I will look into the issue. (Correct) / I will look the issue into. (Incorrect!)
• Run something by someone: I need to run this by my manager. Put the idea after "run" and the person after "by".

Review our guide on word stress and sentence stress. Particles in expressions such as "set up" often receive stress, but stress depends on the sentence; prepositions such as "into" and "by" are not automatically stressed.

Frequently asked questions

Are phrasal verbs too informal for business emails?

Many phrasal verbs are natural in internal business emails. For formal proposals or legal documents, choose the wording that is clearest and suits the audience; a single-word equivalent is not automatically better.

How can I memorize so many phrasal verbs?

Don't try to memorize long lists at once. Focus on learning them in context. When you hear a new one in a meeting, write down the entire sentence, not just the verb. Practice using 2 or 3 new ones a week.

Can a phrasal verb have more than one meaning?

Yes! Many have multiple meanings. For example, "work out" can mean to exercise, or it can mean to solve a problem ("We will work out the details later"). Context is everything.

Practice these examples with Ledoly's American teachers.