phrasal verb
noun Grammar.
a combination of verb and one or more adverbial or prepositional particles, as catch on, take off, bring up, or put up with, functioning as a single semantic unit and often having an idiomatic meaning that could not be predicted from the meanings of the individual parts.
Origin of phrasal verb
First recorded in 1875–80
Words nearby phrasal verb
php,
phr.,
phragmites,
phragmoplast,
phrasal,
phrasal verb,
phrase,
phrase book,
phrase marker,
phrase structure,
phrase structure tree
British Dictionary definitions for phrasal verb
phrasal verb
noun
(in English grammar) a phrase that consists of a verb plus an adverbial or prepositional particle, esp one the meaning of which cannot be deduced by analysis of the meaning of the constituents
``take in'' meaning ``deceive'' is a phrasal verb