Learning Business English is a great way to improve your career. In many offices around the world, people use phrasal verbs to communicate quickly and naturally. These small phrases can help you explain difficult ideas, lead meetings, and build better relationships with your colleagues.
This guide is your main resource for common business English phrasal verbs. Below, you will find several categories of business skills. Each section contains common phrasal verbs and links to a full article where you can learn more and see real examples. By mastering these phrases, you will feel more confident at work every day.
Themed Guides for Business Phrasal Verbs
For a deep dive into specific professional skills, explore our targeted support articles. Each guide features explanations, examples, and grammar tips.
- Business Emails and Writing – Learn to follow up and copy in colleagues professionally.
- Business Presentations – Master how to walk through data and point out key trends.
- Project Management – Discover phrases to draw up plans and carry out tasks.
- Negotiations and Sales – Learn to bring down prices and close on deals.
- Conflict Resolution – Find polite ways to deal with problems and work out solutions.
- Job Interviews – Prepare to talk through your experience and get across your value.
- Business Travel – Essential verbs for checking in and picking up clients.
- Marketing and Advertising – Learn to roll out campaigns and make your brand stand out.
- Customer Service – How to put through callers and look into issues.
- Socializing and Networking – Build relationships by striking up conversations and catching up.
- Finance and Budgeting – Manage money by cutting back on costs and adding up totals.
Why Phrasal Verbs Matter for Business and Work
Phrasal verbs are very common in professional environments. While some people think they are only for “casual” talk, native speakers use them in almost every meeting and email. Using these verbs helps you:
- Sound more natural during conversations.
- Explain complex ideas with simple words.
- Show confidence when speaking to managers or clients.
Professional speech builds trust. Using phrasal verbs makes you sound natural and approachable. If you only use formal verbs like “postpone” or “investigate,” you might sound too stiff or distant.
Phrasal verbs show that you understand the workplace culture. They are also very efficient. In fast-paced industries like finance or tech, these verbs help you describe complex actions using fewer words.
You can also learn more about communicating in writing with our guide to phrasal verbs for business emails.
50 Essential Business Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs combine a verb and a particle (like up, down, or out). Below is the list of 50 business phrasal verbs along with their meanings, examples, and detailed explanations.
1. Back out
- Business meaning: Withdraw from an agreement.
- Example: The investors decided to back out of the deal.
- Explanation: A vendor realizes they lack the staff to finish a project and cancels the contract last minute.
2. Bring up
- Business meaning: Introduce a topic.
- Example: Please bring up the budget during the meeting.
- Explanation: You notice the team is overspending on supplies and wait for a pause in the meeting to mention it.
3. Call off
- Business meaning: Cancel a planned event.
- Example: We had to call off the product launch.
- Explanation: A product defect is found, so the CEO cancels the celebration party to focus on repairs.
4. Carry out
- Business meaning: Perform a task or research.
- Example: We will carry out the analysis.
- Explanation: Your boss gives you a specific survey plan, and you follow every step exactly as written.
5. Check in
- Business meaning: Contact for an update.
- Example: I will check in with the client on Friday.
- Explanation: You sent a proposal days ago and haven’t heard back; you send a polite note to ask if they have questions.
6. Circle back
- Business meaning: Return to a topic later.
- Example: Let’s circle back to the pricing after lunch.
- Explanation: A client asks a hard question about prices. You don’t know the answer yet, so you move to the next point and will come back to it later.
7. Close down
- Business meaning: Finalize a deal.
- Example: We hope to close down the deal.
- Explanation: After months of talking, you finally reach the final signature stage of a business partnership.
8. Come up with
- Business meaning: Create a new idea.
- Example: We need to come up with a plan.
- Explanation: Your team needs a name for a new app; you spend the night brainstorming and share three options.
9. Copy in
- Business meaning: Add someone to an email.
- Example: Please copy in the director on your response.
- Explanation: A client complains, and you want your manager to see your professional response in the CC line.
10. Cut back
- Business meaning: Reduce spending.
- Example: The firm must cut back on travel costs.
- Explanation: Profits are low, so the CFO tells every department to stop spending money on luxury office snacks.
11. Deal with
- Business meaning: Handle a problem.
- Example: I will deal with the complaint.
- Explanation: A delivery arrives late and the vendor is angry; you step in to solve the problem personally.
12. Draw up
- Business meaning: Prepare a document.
- Example: The lawyer will draw up the contract.
- Explanation: You agree on the terms of a merger, so now you need the lawyers to write the formal legal papers.
13. Drop off
- Business meaning: Observe a decrease.
- Example: Sales usually drop off in the fourth quarter.
- Explanation: You look at a chart and notice that fewer people are visiting your website during the holiday season.
14. Fall through
- Business meaning: When a plan fails.
- Example: The partnership fell through at the last minute.
- Explanation: You planned to buy a small company, but the owners changed their minds at the very last second.
15. Fill in
- Business meaning: Substitute for a colleague.
- Example: I am filling in for Mark while he is away.
- Explanation: Your coworker is on vacation, so you answer their emails and handle their clients for the week.
16. Follow up
- Business meaning: Check progress.
- Example: I am following up on the email I sent yesterday.
- Explanation: You asked a vendor for a price quote and they forgot to reply, so you send a second reminder.
17. Get across
- Business meaning: Communicate an idea.
- Example: I need to get my point across.
- Explanation: You use slides and charts to make sure everyone understands your complex plan for a new factory.
18. Get ahead
- Business meaning: Become successful.
- Example: Learn new skills to get ahead.
- Explanation: You take a data science course on weekends so you can qualify for a promotion to a senior role.
19. Give in
- Business meaning: Yield to demands.
- Example: We will not give in to the price.
- Explanation: A customer refuses to buy unless you lower the price; eventually, you agree just to make the sale.
20. Go ahead
- Business meaning: Proceed with an action.
- Example: You can go ahead with the website update.
- Explanation: You were waiting for permission to build a new office; the board says “yes,” so you tell the web developer to start.
21. Go over
- Business meaning: Review details.
- Example: Let’s go over the report before the deadline.
- Explanation: Before sending the final budget, you check every single number to make sure there are no errors.
22. Hammer out
- Business meaning: Reach an agreement.
- Example: We managed to hammer out a deal.
- Explanation: Two teams disagree on a price, so you stay in a meeting room for five hours until everyone agrees.
23. Hand over
- Business meaning: Give responsibility.
- Example: I will hand over my tasks.
- Explanation: You got a promotion and spend a week teaching the new person how to do your old job.
24. Hold off
- Business meaning: Delay a decision.
- Example: We should hold off on hiring.
- Explanation: The economy is uncertain, so you wait a few weeks before choosing which candidate to hire.
25. Iron out
- Business meaning: Resolve small problems.
- Example: We need to iron out the last few details.
- Explanation: The big project is ready, but there are still three small bugs in the software that need fixing.
26. Join in
- Business meaning: Participate.
- Example: Please join in the session.
- Explanation: The marketing team is sharing ideas in the lounge; you pull up a chair and start sharing your thoughts too.
27. Keep up with
- Business meaning: Stay informed.
- Example: I try to keep up with trends.
- Explanation: Technology changes fast, so you read industry blogs every morning to stay updated on new tools.
28. Key in
- Business meaning: Enter data.
- Example: You must key in the numbers.
- Explanation: You have a stack of paper invoices that need to be entered into the company’s digital system.
29. Kick off
- Business meaning: Start a project.
- Example: We will kick off on Monday.
- Explanation: It is the first day of a big project; everyone is excited as you lead the very first official meeting.
30. Lay off
- Business meaning: Terminate employment.
- Example: The company had to lay off ten employees.
- Explanation: The company loses a major contract and no longer has enough money to pay the full staff.
31. Look forward to
- Business meaning: Anticipate positively.
- Example: I look forward to our call.
- Explanation: You just signed a new client and want to end your email on a friendly, professional note.
32. Look into
- Business meaning: Investigate an issue.
- Example: I will look into the delay.
- Explanation: A client says the website is slow; you don’t know why, so you promise to find the cause.
33. Map out
- Business meaning: Plan a strategy.
- Example: We have mapped out our goals.
- Explanation: You sit at a whiteboard and draw every step needed to reach your target for the next five years.
34. Measure up
- Business meaning: Meet a standard.
- Example: The results did not measure up.
- Explanation: You expected to sell 1,000 units but only sold 500; the performance was lower than the target.
35. Pass out
- Business meaning: Distribute items.
- Example: I will pass out the agenda to the group.
- Explanation: At the start of a meeting, you walk around the table and give a printed document to each person.
36. Phase in
- Business meaning: Introduce gradually.
- Example: We will phase in the policy.
- Explanation: You start a new rule in one small department first before moving it to the rest of the company.
37. Point out
- Business meaning: Highlight a fact.
- Example: I want to point out an error in the report.
- Explanation: You are reading a report and notice a wrong date; you politely tell the author so they can fix it.
38. Pull out
- Business meaning: Withdraw from involvement.
- Example: The partner had to pull out of the project.
- Explanation: A partner company has financial trouble and decides they can no longer help with your project.
39. Put off
- Business meaning: Postpone a task.
- Example: Never put off a client meeting.
- Explanation: You have a crisis today, so you move your employee’s performance review to next Friday.
40. Reach out
- Business meaning: Contact someone.
- Example: You should reach out to them.
- Explanation: You see a potential customer on LinkedIn and send them a message to introduce your services.
41. Run by
- Business meaning: Ask for an opinion.
- Example: I need to run this idea by my manager.
- Explanation: You have a risky idea for an ad; you check with your manager first to make sure they approve.
42. Run out of
- Business meaning: Finish a supply.
- Example: We have run out of funds.
- Explanation: You spent your entire budget on TV ads and now have no money left for social media posts.
43. Set up
- Business meaning: Organize an event.
- Example: Please set up a call for Tuesday.
- Explanation: You find a time that works for five different people and send out the calendar invitations.
44. Sign off
- Business meaning: Give official approval.
- Example: The CFO will sign off on the budget.
- Explanation: You finished the financial plan and now need the CFO’s signature to begin spending.
45. Step down
- Business meaning: Resign from a position.
- Example: The CEO decided to step down this year.
- Explanation: A leader chooses to leave their job for personal reasons, even though they weren’t fired.
46. Take on
- Business meaning: Accept responsibility.
- Example: I am happy to take on this job.
- Explanation: Your boss asks if you can handle a new client, and you say yes even though you are busy.
47. Take over
- Business meaning: Assume control.
- Example: Sarah will take over the team.
- Explanation: The old manager leaves the company, and Sarah is promoted to be the new leader.
48. Touch base
- Business meaning: Make brief contact.
- Example: Let’s touch base tomorrow for an update.
- Explanation: You have a very quick two-minute phone call just to make sure everyone is ready for the presentation.
49. Work out
- Business meaning: Find a solution.
- Example: We need to work out the logistics.
- Explanation: You are moving to a new office and spend hours planning exactly how to move the computers.
50. Write off
- Business meaning: Accept a financial loss.
- Example: The bank had to write off the bad debt.
- Explanation: A customer goes bankrupt and owes you money; you realize you will never get it and delete the balance.
How to Use These Verbs in Different Scenarios
In Business Meetings
In a meeting, you want to sound active and collaborative. Use verbs like kick off to start the talk or point out to highlight a risk. If the conversation is difficult, suggest that the team works out a solution together. This language builds a better team environment. For a deeper dive into professional discussions and virtual calls, read our full guide on phrasal verbs for business meetings.
In Professional Emails
Emails should be short and clear. Use reach out to start the conversation and follow up to check on progress. Ask a manager to sign off on a proposal. Clear language helps you get faster responses and avoids confusion.
In Negotiations
During a negotiation, phrasal verbs help you stay firm but polite. You might tell a partner that you cannot give in on the price. If a deal is at risk, you might mention that you do not want the other party to back out. This shows strength while maintaining a professional relationship.
Take the Next Step in Your Career
Mastering these 50 phrasal verbs is a great way to improve your Business English. You are moving past basic English and learning how to communicate like a leader. Consistency is the key to success. Start using one or two of these verbs in your next meeting and watch your confidence grow.
Learning phrasal verbs is a great way to start sounding more professional. However, mastering a workplace language often requires a more structured study plan.
To help you build a complete professional vocabulary, we have found 7 must-read business English books for professionals. These resources provide deep lessons on grammar, email writing, and meeting etiquette.
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