act as

to perform in someone's place temporarily.    Mr. Brown will act as chairman until Mr. Smith returns.    From now on, I will be acting as your supervisor. 

act up

(1) to misbehave.  People who act up in public should stay at home.
(2) to operate or perform badly. My car is acting up; I should have someone look at it. 

add up

make sense:  His reasons don't add up, in my opinion.

agree on s.t.

have the same opinion about s.t.:  We agree on the importance of quality.

agree to s.t.

accept s.t. (suggestions, proposals, prices):  We agree to your price.

agree to do s.t.

promise to do s.t.:   We agree to supply the parts you need. 

agree with s.o.

have the same opinion as s.o.:   I agree with you.  I think you are right.

back down

to weaken one's own position:  They backed down from their original demands.

back out (of s.t.)

to fail to keep (e.g. an agreement):  They backed out of our agreement at the last minute.    They backed out at the last minute. 

back up s.t.

to support s.t.:  We can back up our arguments with hard data.

break down

(1)  to end because of failure:  Negotiations broke down and the strike continued.   
(2)  to divide into parts or categories:  Our product range can be broken down into five categories.

break off

to stop something (conversation, relationship) suddenly:  Our conversation was broken off by the accident outside.  Bob and Mary broke off their engagement.

break up

to end (meeting, relationship):  Our meeting broke up at lunch.  Bob and Mary broke up.  IBM is breaking up into smaller "Baby Blues". 

bring about

to cause:  Their problems were brought about by poor product quality. 

bring down

to lower (e.g., prices):  If we bring down prices, maybe sales will increase. 

bring out

to introduce or show (a product) for the first time:  They are going to bring out a new line of notebooks in the summer. 

bring up

to initiate a discussion about (a topic of conversation):  I would like to bring up the matter of staff reduction.   

build up

to strengthen or increase (e.g., strength, advantage, characteristic, reputation):  We have built up our ability to respond to the market.    

buy out

to purchase controlling interest in (another company):  Sylvania was bought out by Osram. 

call for

to require:  This situation calls for some creative thinking. 

call off

to cancel (e.g., an appointment, a business deal):  The meeting has been called off.

call on

(1)  to visit (e.g., customer, friend):  I called on my most important customer today.
(2)  to ask someone to speak (in a formal setting):  I would now like to call on Dr. Smith, who will tell us about the latest technical developments. 

care about

to have an interest in the wellfare of something of someone:  I care about the environment.

care for

(1)  to supply the needs for something or someone:  Would you please care for my plants while I'm on vacation? 
(2)  to have a hunger or thirst for:  Would you care for more coffee? 

carry on

to continue (an activity):  Sorry I disturbed you.  Please, carry on.    

carry out

(1)  to execute (duties, responsibilities):  He carried out his duties until he retired at the age of seventy-five.
(2)  to perform or conduct (research, experiments, tests):  We don't carry out such research.

catch on

(1)  to learn how (to do something):  It may seem complicated to you now, but you will soon catch on.
(2)  to become popular or fashionable:  I don't think your idea will catch on. 

catch up on

to bring oneself up to date on (events, developments):  After every vacation, I have a mountain of work to catch up on.    

catch up with

to achieve the same position as:  It is hard to catch up with the market leader if you are the fourth company to enter the market.    

check back

to contact again later:  Check back with me after you have read my report. 

come about

to be caused:  How did the misunderstanding come about?    

come across

(1)  to find by chance:  I came across my old skis in the garage yesterday. 
(2)  to be received by other people (e.g., ideas, presentations):  If he spoke better, his ideas might come across better.      also:  come over

come along

to develop:  Work on the construction is coming along nicely. 

come close to

to almost happen:  We came close to going bankrupt in 1985, but now we are in good shape. 

come out

(1)  to reach a final result:  How did the football match come out yesterday? 
(2)  to appear (e.g. in publications):  The International Herald-Tribune comes out six days a week. 

come over

see come across (2)

come to

to total (e.g. a list of numbers):  The bill comes to just over one hundred dollars. 

come under

to be placed in a category:  This cost of the seminar will come under "educational expenses".

come up

to be mentioned in a conversation:  Your name came up at the meeting this morning. 

come up against

to meet (problems, obstacles):  When he came into the discussion, we came up against  a brick wall of negativity.

come up with

to invent (e.g., an idea, a suggestion):  She came up with a brilliant idea for saving money.

count on

(1)  to rely on:  Don't worry.  You can count on me.    
(2)  to consider as possible or likely:  We didn't count on him saying yes.               
also:  figure on 

cut back (on)

to reduce (e.g., spending, consumption):  We have to cut back on spending for travel.  
also:  cut down on

cut off

to stop a flow of something (e.g., resources, supplies, communication):   If you don't pay your bills, they will cut off your credit. 

cut out

to eliminate from one's life:  The doctor told me to cut out cigarettes. 

deal with

(1)  to work with or do business with:  We deal with Asian travel agencies.
(2)  to turn your attention to:  After I finish lunch, I will deal with your problem. 

do away with

to eliminate the need of:   When we installed the computer system , we did away with a lot of jobs. 

do over

to do again:  I have to do the letter over because I forgot the most important thing.

do  without

to function without:  You will have to do without a secretary for a while.

draw on

to benefit from or use as a resource (knowledge, experience):  We were able to draw on Bill's knowledge of the problem. 

draw out

(1)  to go longer than planned:  The meeting drew out until five o'clock.
(2)  to withdraw (e.g., from a bank account):  They drew out all their money. 

draw up

to write or formulate (e.g., a contract, an agreement):  We could draw up a contract right away.    

drop by

to pay a casual, spontaneous visit:  If you are ever in my neighborhood, drop by.          also:  drop in 

drop off

to decrease:  Sales have dropped off this quarter.     also: fall off

drop s.o. off

to deliver someone to a location by car:  I can drop you off at the train station. 

drop out of

to quit or withdraw from (e.g. competition, school):  He dropped out of the race.

fall back on

to rely on as safe and familiar:  IBM thought it could always fall back on its mainframe computers. 

fall behind

to lose position relative to a competitor:  We can't afford to fall behind in our domestic market. 

fall for

to be deceived by (e.g., a trick, a lie):  Don't fall for his stories. 

fall off

see drop off

fall through

to fail to materialize (e.g., business deal, agreements):  The deal fell through when he realized he could not get enough investors.

figure on

see count on  

figure s.t. out

to discover the reason for something:  I couldn't figure out why he didn't want to work with us.

fill in

(1)  to take someone's place temporarily:  I am filling in for John this week. 
(2)  to complete (e.g., questionnaires, forms, applications):  Please fill in the application for a visa.   
also:  fill out

fill s.o. in

to give someone the information he needs:  Since you missed the last meeting, John will fill you in on the latest developments. 

fit s.o. in

to schedule an appointment with someone:  I can fit you in on Monday morning.

get across

to succeed in communicating (e.g., an idea or a message):  We want to get our message across to the public. 

get ahead

to be successful or make progress (e.g., in a business or a profession).  If you want to get ahead, you have to be willing to work hard.

get along

(1)  to function at an acceptable level.  I cannot get along without my secretary.
(2)  to be on good terms.  I get along with my colleagues. 

get around to

to finally give something your attention or find time to deal with it.  I hope to get around to finishing that report this week. 

get at

to communicate, especially in an indirect way.  I could not understand what he was getting at. 

get away with

to escape the penalty for doing something wrong.  I can't believe he got away with that lie. 

get back to

to contact later.  I will get back to you after I get the information you need. 

get by

to survive on a limited supply of something (money, resources, etc.) or without someone or something.   I think we can get by without him until he returns.

get off

to go home at the end of the day.  I'll buy you a drink when we get off. 

get over

to recover from a surprise, disappointment, illness, etc.  I can't get over the fact that John won the lottery. 

get (s.t.) over with

to begin and finish something unpleasant.   Okay, let's get this meeting over with. 

get through to

(1)  to reach someone by telephone.  I couldn't get through to him yesterday. 
(2)  to make your point understood by someone.  I finally got through to him when I told him what it would cost. 

get through with

to finish.    When you get through with that job, come and see me. 

get to

to bother or disturb.  The way he always talks about himself really gets to me. 

give away

to give something without charge.  The prices are so low, they are almost giving them away. 

give in

to yield to someone.  They were so tired after three days of negotiating, they finally just gave in and agreed to everything. 

give up

to stop doing something because it seems impossible.  If they don't buy something soon, I am going to give up. 

go about

to approach or perform a job.    Tell me how you go about acquiring new business.

go against

to conflict with.  His reasoning goes against all logic. 

go ahead

to proceed.  When he asked for permission to hire another person, I told him to go ahead. 

go along with s.o.

to agree with someone's idea or opinion.  I go along with John on this matter. 

go beyond

to exceed.  His performance went beyond my expectations. 

go down

to reduce or be made lower.  Prices will go down soon, I hope.

go down well

to be received with enthusiasm.  My idea for improving production went down well at the meeting. 

go into

to discuss something in detail.  I'll tell you about the meeting later; I don't have time to go into it now. 

go off

(1)  to explode or be fired.  The gun went off just before the bomb went off.
(2)  to ring or sound.  My alarm clock goes off each morning at six. 

go on

(1)  to continue doing something.  Please go on with your work; I don't want to interrupt you. 
(2)  to be in progress.  Something unusual is going on next door. 

go over

see go through (2)

go through

(1)  to be approved in a bureaucratic process.   Your request for a transfer went through. 
(2)  to practice doing something before the real thing.  Let's go through our strategy for tomorrow's negotiation. 
(3)  to inspect the items in a container.  The customs official went through my bags. 
(4)  to live through a bad experience.  I wouldn't want to go through what they went through. 
(5) to exhaust or deplete some resource.  They went through their savings before he got well again. 

go under

to fail (e.g., a business).  Many small farms went under as a result of the drought. 

go up

to increase:  Prices of electronic gear will not go up again.    

go without

see do without

hold down

to keep (prices, costs) at a low level:  We have to hold our costs down. 

hold up

(1)  to be delayed:  John was held up in Chicago; his plane had problems.
(2)  to be robbed:  John was held up in Chicago; he lost all of his credit cards.

hurry up

to go faster:  Hurry up, Bob!  The taxi is waiting outside.

keep on   ...ing

to continue doing something:  Don't worry about the time; just keep on working. 

keep up with

(1)  to go at the same speed (as someone else):  We have to keep up with the competition. 
(2)  to remain informed about (events, developments):  Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all of the new technological advances. 

kick off

to give (a conference or an advertising compaign) an official beginning:  Let's kick off the meeting with a presentation of the new products.    

laugh at

to ridicule someone:  They laughed at Columbus, too.

laugh with

to enjoy something funny with (another person):  I like working with John; he is someone I can laugh with.

lay off

to terminate the job of someone:  They are going to lay off 14,000 workers.

lead off

to be the first person to speak in a formal setting:   John will lead off our discussion with a report on the latest sales figures. 

leave out

(1)  to exclude something (e.g. information):  You left out your address in the letter. 
(2)  to exclude someone:  I believe you left me out of your plan.    

let down

to disappoint someone:  They let us down when they decided not to support our strategy. 

let in on

to allow someone to know about something (e.g., information, a secret):  George will let you in on our plan. 

let out

to cause something (information or a secret) to become known before the proper time:   If we let out our real goal, we will lose the advantage of surprise. 

let up

to put less pressure (or fewer demands) on someone:    If we let up on them now, we will never get a good agreement. 

look after

see take care of

look ahead

to consider the future:  You must look ahead when making investments. 

look at

to watch something:  We looked at television last night.    

look back

to consider the past:  When I look back, I see the mistakes of a lifetime. 

look down on

to consider something (or someone) as inferior:  We mustn't look down on the production floor workers. 

look for

(1)  to search for something that is lost:  I am looking for my keys. 
(2)  to expect something to happen:  I look for the economy to improve soon. 

look forward to

to wait for something with a positive feeling:  I look forward to my new position. 

look into

to investigate (a situation):  The security guards are not happy about something; would you look into it, please? 

look on

to see something in a certain way:  I look on this as a real opportunity.    

look out

to be careful:  Look out!  That dog bites.

look over

to examine something quickly:  Would you look over my letter to see if it is all right? 

look through

see look over 

look to

to rely on someone for something:  They look to me for direction. 

look up

(1)  to find some information in a book:  If you don't know the meaning of a word, look it up in a dictioary.    
(2)  to be in the process of improving:  Business is looking up. 
(3)  to call someone when you are in his town:  If you are ever in Indianapolis, look me up.   

look up to

to admire or respect someone:  I have always looked up to people in positions of authority. 

make of

to interpret (a situation):  What do you make of their decision?   

make out

(1)  to write (a check):  Please make out a check for $100.
(2)  to understand (someone's thinking, someone's writing):   I can't make out what his intentions are.   

make up

(1)  t