Phrasal verbs that start with A


Here is a list of phrasal verbs that start with A.


Abide by

to obey or behave according to a rule, an order, a decision or law etc.:
  • She agrees to abide by the regulations.

Abound in (with)

to have something in large quantities: 
  • These orchards abound with different varieties of apples.

Accord with

to agree with:

Account for

to explain the reasons for an event:
  • How do you account for the project failure?

Accustom yourself to

to become familiar with the different condition and be able to accept it:
  • I have to accustom myself to the changes in our education system.

Act on (upon)

to do something in accordance with advice, suggestion or information received: 
  • You have to act on your parents’ advice.

Act up 

1. Informal. to make trouble; to misbehave (especially a child): 
  • When babies act up, they might be hungry or bored. 
2. to not work correctly (machine):
  • My old phone is acting up again. 
3. to hurt (body):
  • My joints act up when the weather changes.

Act for (on behalf of)

to deal with employer’s business in a court of law:
  • The company should hire a barrister to act on its behalf.

Add in

to include one thing in another; to make something part of something: 
  • The service costs are added in the bill.

Add on

to add an extra part; increase:
  • I want to add on a balcony to the house.

Add up

1.Informal. to make sense (Note: used in negative sentences). 
  • The story of the horrible crime just doesn’t add up.                           
2. .Informal. to increase in amount over a period of time: 
  • Heating bills add up in the middle of winter.
 3. to find a total number of something:
  • Use this spreadsheet to add up your outgoings.

Adhere to

1. act according to a law, rule, terms of agreement etc.:
  • I cannot adhere to my diet on weekends. 
2. to be loyal to your beliefs:  
  • I always adhere to the values of my religion.

Adjourn to

to go somewhere for drink usually after the meeting ends: 
  • Let’s adjourn to the bar.

Not agree with

to make someone feel unwell (for food):
  • Sushi doesn’t agree with my stomach.

Alight on

to see, find or notice by chance:  
  • My eye alighted on a cute girl in the crowd.

Align yourself with

to agree with someone’s or something’s aims and support them:
  •  African Americans align themselves with the Democratic Party.

Allow of

If a fact or rule allow of something, it means it makes it possible: 
  • The evidence allows of several interpretations.

Allow for

to include someone or something when making a plan for something:
  • You have to allow for current traffic conditions.

Allude to

to refer to something in an indirect way; hint at. 
  • He alluded briefly to financial problems in discussion.

Amount to

to total; to add up to:
  • Advertising costs amounted to $50 thousand last year.

Angle for

to try to obtain something indirectly:
  • He was angling for business in China.

Answer for

1.  to say that you have confidence in someone’s ability, or that someone can be trusted:
  •  I’ve always answered for his ability.
 2. to accept the blame for something:
  • He will answer for his violent behavior.

Answer to

to receive orders from someone: 
  • You have to answer to the General Manager.

Answer back

to reply rudely to criticism: 
  • You have to teach respect the kid who answers back.

Appertain to

Formal. to be connected to someone or something: 
  • All these records appertain to the history of the government.

Argue with

Informal. to deny a statement (used in negative sentences):
  • You can’t argue with the facts.

Argue into 

to persuade:
  • I was unable to argue him into buying a new laptop.

Arrive at

to reach a conclusion after a discussion:
  • Did you arrive at an agreement at the meeting?

Ask back

to invite someone to come back to a similar event:
  • I will never ask him back after his aggressive behavior.

Ask for

1. to request to speak to someone:
  •  Rebecca was asking for you this morning. 
2. to request something:
  • He asked for a special wine.

Ask out

to invite someone to a place such as a restaurant or cinema, especially on a date: 
  • Jose is too shy to ask a girl out.

Ask after

to ask about the health of someone:
  • Sarah always asks after my children.

Ask around

to ask a lot of people in order to find out about someone or something:
  • I need your help to ask around for this guy.

Attend to

to deal with something or satisfy the needs of someone:
  • They have important matters to attend to.

Avail yourself of

Formal. to use an opportunity, advice etc. to one’s advantage:
  • You should avail yourself of the opportunity to visit the Statue of Liberty.

Average out at

to come to an average amount:
  • Weekly food cost for my family averages out at $178.


A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

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