Category Archive

BAWL OUT Bawl out means to scold or reprimand someone. The boss bawled out Jack because he came to the meeting late again. Your wife is going to bawl you out if you come home drunk. How about you? Have you bawled out anyone recently? Has anyone bawled you out? Leave a comment below and let us know!

MULL OVER When you mull something over you consider it very deeply and carefully over a period of time. When I asked the boss for a day off, he said he needed to mull it over. I’m mulling over buying a new house. How about you? Have you needed to mull anything over recently? Leave a comment below and let …

FILL IN FILL IN has a number of different meanings, but for this lesson we will focus on the meaning which is “to inform.” Let me fill you in on what happened at the meeting yesterday. Can you fill me on on what you did in class? I was absent last week. How about you? Have you filled anyone in …

WEAR OUT Wear out means that you use something so much that you can’t use it anymore. You can also say that something is or got worn out. I wore out a pair of cheap sneakers. The handle on my knife is worn out. I should get a new one. How about you? Have you worn out anything recently? Leave …

Back Out The phrasal verb back out has a number of different meanings, but the one we are looking at today is “to not do something that you promised to do.” You can back out or back out of something Bob promised to take me to the train station, but he backed out at the last minute! Jim backed out …

WIPED OUT When you are wiped out, you are very tired or exhausted. Jim is wiped out because he went hiking last weekend. Everyone was wiped out after the meeting. I worked 70 hours last week. I am totally wiped out. How about you? When was the last time you were wiped out? Leave a comment below and let us …

CHECK OUT When you check something out, you look at it or investigate it in order to learn more about it. I want to check out the new pizza shop in my neighborhood. I hear some fire engines on the next block. Let’s go check it out. They just built a new roller coaster in the amusement park. Let’s check …

CRANK UP Crank up means to increase the volume and intensity of some equipment. Crank up the radio. I like this song. It’s cold in this room. Please crank up the heater. I always crank up the music when nobody else is home. How about you? What have you cranked up recently? Leave a comment below and let us know!

BUNDLE UP Bundle up means to dress very warmly before going outside on a cold day. You can bundle up or bundle someone up. I always bundle up when it’s cold. It’s -2C today. You need to bundle up today. Before taking her kids to school Jane bundles them up. How about you? When was the last time you bundled …

DRESS UP Dress up means to wear formal or fancy clothes. I dressed up to go out to dinner with my clients. In the 1950’s people used to dress up to go to a movie theater. How about you? When was the last time you dressed up? Leave a comment below and let us know!