Idioms that End with Prepositions

Definition: Idioms that end with prepositions are typically phrasal verbs and consist of a verb followed by either a preposition, a particle, or a particle with a preposition. This type of prepositional idiom is used like a normal verb (describing the action of a subject) and may come at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

Examples of common prepositional idioms.

Here are some of the most common prepositions found at the end of prepositional idioms:

• up
• down
• on
• off
• with

To determine the meanings of idiomatic phrasal verbs, we must memorize as many combinations as possible. The following sections contain examples of prepositional idioms that end with the most common prepositions.

This is not an exhaustive list, however: there are other prepositions that can be used to form phrasal verbs, and many more combinations than the ones listed below. Additionally, many phrasal verbs have several completely unrelated meanings, which we can only learn by encountering them in writing and speech. See the section on Phrasal Verbs to learn more about how they are formed, and see the section Common Phrasal Verbs to find more examples.

To learn more idioms, phrases, and phrasal verbs and their meanings, check out The Free Dictionary’s Collection of Idioms and Phrases at idioms.thefreedictionary.com.

Idioms that end with up

The table below shows various examples of prepositional idioms that end with the preposition up:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
act up	to misbehave	“The toddlers have been acting up lately.”
blow up	to explode; to detonate or make explode	“Demolition workers blew up an old building to make room for a new mall.”
bring up	to mention (in conversation)	“It’s a good idea to bring up your career goals during a job interview.”
come up	to happen (usually unexpectedly)	“Something came up yesterday, so I was unable to attend the event.”
give up	to stop (doing something); to quit	“Leah is trying to give upsmoking.”
hang up	to end a phone call	“Always hang up if a telemarketer tries to sell you something.”
make up	“make up” has two unrelated meanings: to create (something) through one’s imagination, or to come to terms or settle an argument (with someone)	“I made up a fairy tale to tell my children at bedtime.” “The siblings finally made up after two days of fighting.”
mix up	“mix up” has two similar meanings: to confuse, or to or assemble something out of order	“I always mix up the twins when I see them—one of these days I’ll learn to tell them apart.” “Someone must have mixed upthe photo albums, because these pictures are all out of order.”
show up	to come, arrive, or appear	“The groom waited all day, but the bride never showed up.”
shut up	to stop talking; to be quiet	“If you don’t shut up, I’m leaving!”
throw up	to vomit	“The girl became sick and threw up several times.”
turn up	to (re)appear; to be found	“I’m sure your diary will turn upsomewhere.”

Idioms that end with down

The table below shows various examples of prepositional idioms that end with the preposition down:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
break down	“break down” has two unrelated meanings: to stop functioning due to a mechanical failure, or to start crying or become overwhelmingly emotional (about something)	“My car broke down on the way here, so I had to walk the rest of the way.” “The boy broke down when he realized he’d failed the exam.”
die down	to lessen in intensity or become weaker	“The wind has died down a bit.”
let down	to disappoint	“I feel like I’ve let down my parents.”
pipe down	to be less loud	“Pipe down or I’m sending you to your room!”
play down	to make something seem less important than it truly is	“Successful people often play down their achievements to avoid sounding arrogant.”
step down	to resign or retire from a position	“A prominent political figure recently stepped down in response to a scandal.”
turn down	to reject	“She has turned down many marriage proposals.”
wind down	to relax	“Let’s wind down with some popcorn and a movie.”

Idioms that end with on

The table below shows various examples of prepositional idioms that end with the preposition on:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
catch up on	to get informed about something; to get up to date with something	“Helen plans to catch up on her reading tonight.”
count on	to rely or depend on	“I can always count on you to lend me a hand when I need it most.”
drag on	to continue for a long time and become boring or tedious	“The man’s speech dragged on for well over an hour.”
go on	to continue	“It might seem like the end of the world, but life still goes on after setbacks like this.”
grow on	to eventually become liked by	“This new flavor of ice cream has really grown on me.”
hang on	to wait; to be patient	“Could you hang on a moment?”
move on	to stop focusing on the past and continue with one’s life	“Gerald struggled to move on after losing the tennis match.”
pick on	to tease; to make fun of or bully	“You shouldn’t pick on your little brother.”
tell on	to report someone else’s wrongdoing to a person of authority	“She went to the teacher to tell on her friend.”
try on	to put on a garment or piece of clothing to see how it fits	“I’d like to try on this shirt, please.”

Idioms that end with off

The table below shows various examples of prepositional idioms that end with the preposition off:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
back off	to withdraw or retreat	“Some salespeople don’t know when to back off.”
brush off	to ignore something; to pretend something important is not important	“You can’t just brush off what happened between you two.”
call off	to cancel	“Employees were forced to call offthe strike.”
drop off	to take to and deposit at some location	“Dustin usually drops off his shirts at the dry cleaner before work.”
kick off	to begin	“They say the festival should kick off around noon.”
lay off	to terminate employees	“Oil companies have had to lay offmany workers.”
nod off	to doze; to fall asleep	“I always nod off during long ceremonies.”
pull off	to successfully complete a difficult task	“Penny pulled off the challenging dance routine.”
show off	“show off” has two distinct meanings: to display something one is proud of, or to act as if one is superior to others	“Parents love to show off their children’s artwork.” “That girl is always showing off.”
take off	“take off” has two related but distinct meanings: to become successful or popular (usually for businesses), or to depart or go into the air (e.g., an airplane)	“My online business really took offafter it was mentioned on the news.” “The plane took off an hour late.”
wear off	to lose effectiveness; to stop having an effect	“I think the pain medicine is starting to wear off.”

Idioms that end with with

The table below shows various examples of prepositional idioms that end with the preposition with:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
come down with	to become sick; to fall ill	“Dimitri came down with a terrible cold.”
come up with	to think of, suggest, or develop (an idea)	“Scientists are trying to come up with a solution to climate change.”
do away with	to stop or abolish; to get rid of	“Some people want to do away withtaxes.”
get along with	to have a good or friendly relationship with someone	“They don’t seem to get along with each other.”
get away with	to avoid punishment for a wrongdoing	“The criminals didn’t get away with the robbery.”
go through with	to undertake or complete (usually an undesirable or difficult action)	“Will your family go through with the move to Texas?”
keep up with	to stay up to date; to stay informed about	“I can’t keep up with celebrity gossip.”
put up with	to tolerate	“She shouldn’t put up with her brother’s pranks anymore.”

Idioms that end with other prepositions

Numerous other prepositions can be used with verbs and adverbs to create idiomatic phrasal verbs. The table below shows various examples of idioms that end with some of these less commonly used prepositions:

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
come across	to find something unexpectedly; to meet or see someone unexpectedly	“He came across a bizarre inscription on the base of the statue.” “You might come across some of my relatives if you move to London.”
come to	to regain consciousness	“Minutes passed before he came to.”
get at	to mean or to express	“What is he trying to get at?”
get by	to barely manage to deal with a problem or extreme situation	“The hiker managed to get by on a single bottle of water.”
get over	to recover from or successfully deal with something (usually an illness or difficult situation)	“She’s finally getting over her cold.” “He can’t get over his self-esteem issues.”
go through	to experience (something difficult)	“Dad is going through a mid-life crisis.”
hang out	to socialize or get together (with someone)	“Do you want to hang out this weekend?”
root for	to cheer for someone; to support or take sides with someone	“You’d better root for me if I make it to the semi-finals.”
sink in	to become clearly and gradually understood	“He let the college’s rejection sink inbefore deciding to reapply the following year.”
stick around	to wait, stay, or remain (in a place)	“Is she sticking around for the next act?”
tag along	to accompany	“My little sister likes to tag along when I go out with my friends.”

Quiz

1. Which of the following prepositions is not commonly found at the end of prepositional idioms?

a) off
b) up
c) with
d) amid

2. Which of the following sentences contains an idiom that ends with a preposition?

a) “Oranges are out of season right now.”
b) “The cat jumped off the tree branch.”
c) “I’d like to travel to China one day.”
d) “He likes to wind down with a glass of wine.”

3. Which of the following sentences does not contain an idiom that ends with a preposition?

a) “We should probably do away with these old plates.”
b) “Come to my birthday party tomorrow.”
c) “Never turn down a chance at love.”
d) “Action movies are starting to grow on me.”

4. Which of the following sentences uses an idiomatic phrasal verb incorrectly?

a) “I came around an interesting book recently.”
b) “Did the two of you make up yet?”
c) “He has no choice but to call off the trip.”
d) “The neighbor’s dogs are acting up again.”

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