Alphabetical lists of commonly-used phrasal verbs in English. Alphabetical List - C
call after
Give a child the same name as someone else. "His name is Charles. He's called after his grandfather."
call at
Stop at a place briefly (harbour, port, station...) "The train calls at Newbridge and Glenville on the way to the capital."
call back
Return a phone call. "I'll call you back as soon as possible."
call for
Go somewhere to get someone. "I'll call for you at 8 o'clock. Make sure you're ready!"
Demand that something be done. "The opposition has called for an investigation into the misuse of public funds."
Be required or necessary. "The job calls for excellent computer skills."
Be an appropriate occasion for something. "The happy announcement calls for champagne."
call forth
Produce a reaction or result; evoke. "The politician's statement called forth a hostile reaction from the crowd." "That song calls forth sad memories."
call in
Make a telephone call to a place. "Caroline called in to say that her plane had been delayed and that she would arrive late."
Ask someone to come and do a job. "The dishwasher has stopped working. I don't know whether to call in an electrician or a plumber."
call in (on)
Stop and pay a visit to someone. "I'm going to call in on my parents on my way home from work this evening."
call off
Cancel. "The meeting was called off because of the strike."
call on/upon
Formally request or invite. "I now call upon the President to address the assembly."
call out
Shout something. "The child disappeared from the playground. His mother called out his name but he didn't answer."
call round
Go to a place to see someone. "The nurse said she would call round this afternoon to check on my mother."
call up
Phone someone. "The secretary called up all the area manageres to arrange a meeting."
Summon someone for military service. "My father was called up to active duty as soon as the war broke out."
calm down
Become more relaxed or less angry/upset. "He was angry at first, but he eventually calmed down."
carry on
Continue. "Charlie carried on gardening in spite of the rain."
carry out
Do something as specified (plan, order, threat...) "The plan was carried out to perfection."
Perform or conduct (test, experiment ...) "Tests are carried out to determine the efficiency of a new drug."
carry over
Postpone until later. "As regards holidays, can we carry over days from one year to the next?"
catch up on
Acquire information you have missed. "I must call my mother to catch up on the latest family events."
catch up with
Reach the same stage as someone else. "I've missed some classes so I'll have to work hard to catch up with the others."
check in
Register at a hotel or an airport. "For security reasons, you have to check in two hours before your flight."
check out
Pay one's bill and leave (a hotel) "Is Mr. Brown still at the hotel? No, he checked out this morning.
Investigate or verify something. "I don't know if the address is still valid. I'll check it out. "
cheer up
Put someone in a better mood. "I told her a joke to try and cheer her up.
chip in
Contribute to or participate in something done by a group. "Bob has decided to retire and we're going to buy him a present. Do you want to chip in? "
clam up
Refuse to speak. "When the police arrived, the boy clammed up."
clamp down on
Act strictly to prevent something. "The government decided to clamp down on smoking in public areas. "
close down
Stop operating (company, restaurant, cinema ...) "When the factory closed down, the employees lost their jobs."
come about
Happen or occur. "How did such a complicated situation come about?"
come across
Find by chance, encounter. "Julie came across some photographs of her grandparents in the attic."
Appear, seem, make an impression. "The candidate came across as a dynamic person during the interview."
come along
Go somewhere with someone. "I wanted to watch the parade and Alex decided to come along with me."
Tell someone to hurry. "Come along Emily. You don't want to be late for school!"
Arrive, appear. "Tony needs a job. If an opportunity comes along he's determined to seize it."
Improve, develop or make progress. "How's your mother coming along since she broke her leg?"
come apart
Separate into pieces. "I need to get my glasses repaired. They came apart when they fell off the table."
come before
Be more important. "She always says that her family comes before her career."
come by
To get, especially something that is difficult to obtain or find. "How did you come by such a beautiful location to build your house?"
come down with
Become ill with. "The architect planned to attend the inauguration but unfortunately he came down with the flu yesterday."
come forward
Present oneself; volunteer. "The police have asked any witnesses to come forward. "
come out
Become known. "The truth will come out sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."
come to
Regain consciousness. "She fainted when the news was announced but she came to quite quickly."
come to
Reach a total amount. "Let's see... two coffees and two orange juices, that comes to 7€ please."
come up against
Be faced with or opposed by. "The plan to demolish the old theatre came up against a lot of criticism."
come up with
Produce an idea or plan. "Sacha came up with a great idea for the party."
come upon
Find or discover. "The police came upon a stock of firearms in a disused mine."
conk out
Stop working. "The car conked out on the motorway."
Fall asleep (from exhaustion). "He was so exhausted, he conked out in front of the television. "
consist in
Have something as its principal or only feature. "The elegance of the building consists in its simplicity. "
consist of
Be composed or made up of. "The jury consists of five members."
count on
Rely or depend on. "I'm counting on the taxi driver to find the theatre."
cross out
Remove by drawing a line through. "In some exercises you are asked to cross out the incorrect word."
cut across/through
Go across to shorten one's route. "I usually cut across the park on my way to work."
cut back
Reduce or decrease. "It was decided to cut back production."
cut down
Strike down, cut at the base. "A number of trees were cut down before the construction work started."
Kill or cause to die. "He was cut down by pneumonia."
cut down on
Reduce in number or size. "The doctor told him to cut down on cigarettes."
cut in
Interrupt somebody speaking. "During his presentation of the project a journalist cut in."
cut off
Discontinue; interrupt. "The operator cut off our conversation before we had finished."
Be separated or isolated. "Our group was cut off from the others so we got lost!."
cut out
Remove using scissors. "She cut out a picture of the actor in a magazine."
Stop doing something. "I'm going to cut out eating sweet food."