Phrasal Verbs 7 – up (1)
Learn phrasal verbs with 'up' for approaching, starting, growing, finishing, and more – with workplace examples
Approaching and Keeping Pace
Several phrasal verbs with up describe how you move toward someone or stay at their speed.
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| come up to / go up to / walk up to | approach someone | A colleague came up to me after the meeting and asked about the new policy. |
| catch up with / catch someone up | move faster to reach the person ahead | Go ahead to the conference room. I’ll catch up with you after I print the handouts. |
| keep up with | stay at the same speed or level | The team is moving fast on this project. I can barely keep up with them. |
Notice that keep it up means “continue doing well”:
- *Your performance reviews have been excellent. Keep it up!*
Starting Something New
When you set up an organisation, a system, or a website, you create it from scratch. When you take up a hobby or activity, you begin doing it. And when you fix up a meeting or event, you arrange it.
- The HR department set up a mentoring programme for new hires.
- After years of sitting at a desk, James took up running to stay healthy.
- Can you fix up a call with the client for Thursday afternoon?
Growing Up and Bringing Up
Grow up means to become an adult. Bring up a child means to raise that child.
- She grew up in a small town but moved to the capital for work.
- He was brought up by his grandparents after his parents passed away.
In a work context, you sometimes hear bring up used informally to mean “raise a topic” (though that is a different sense):
- I’d like to bring up the budget issue during tomorrow’s stand-up.
Cleaning and Tidying
Three verbs with up all mean to make a place clean or organised: clean up, clear up, and tidy up. A fourth, wash up, refers specifically to washing the dishes after a meal.
- The team room is a mess after the workshop. Who’s going to tidy up?
- Please clear up your desk before you leave for the day.
- Nobody likes washing up after the office potluck.
Finishing, Stopping, and Ending
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| end up (+ place / -ing) | arrive at a result you did not plan | We missed the last train and ended up taking a taxi home. |
| give up | stop trying | The problem looked impossible, but don’t give up — keep testing. |
| give something up | stop doing something you do regularly | She gave up freelancing and took a full-time position. |
Composing and Filling
Make up can mean “form” or “compose.” Be made up of means “consist of.”
- Interns make up about 15% of our summer workforce.
- The committee is made up of representatives from every department.
Take up space or time means to use or fill it:
- The old filing cabinets take up half the storage room. We should digitise those records.
Appearing and Using
Turn up (or show up) means to arrive or appear, often when someone was expected:
- We booked a meeting room for ten people, but only six turned up.
Use something up means to consume all of it so nothing remains:
- We’ve used up the entire training budget for this quarter.
Quick Self-Check
I'm not ready yet. Go ahead and I'll _____ you in a few minutes.
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The IT department _____ a new ticketing system to track support requests.
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The flight was cancelled, so we _____ spending the night at the airport.
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Remote employees _____ nearly 40% of the company's total workforce.
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We've _____ all the printer paper. Could you order more?
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Related Courses
Master phrasal verbs with up and down: physical movement, destruction, reduction, and common workplace expressions
Common phrasal verbs with up — bring up, come up with, make up, cheer up, blow up, split up, do up, look up, put up with, hold up, mix up