Showing 50 of 2,452 (page 31).
Peg out
Put washing outside to dry
“I PEGGED the washing OUT after it stopped raining.”
Pen in
Confine people or animals to an area and prevent them from leaving
“The police PENNED the protesters IN.”
Pen up
Keep people or animals in a restricted area and prevent them from leaving
“The journalists were PENNED UP in an area that was fenced off from the spectators.”
Pencil in
Make a provisional appointment
“I'll PENCIL Thursday night IN, but if anything comes up, give me a ring.”
Pep up
Make something more interesting
“Her talk PEPPED us UP.”
Perk up
Feel better or happier, make someone feel better or happier
“She was ill in bed with flu, but she PERKED UP a bit when some friends dropped by.”
Peter out
Lose impetus and stop
“Everyone was keen at first, but the enthusiasm PETERED OUT when they saw how long it would take.”
Phase in
Introduce gradually
“They are PHASING IN the reforms over the next two years.”
Phase out
Remove gradually
“They have introduced a compact edition of the newspaper and are PHASING OUT the broadsheet edition over the next few months.”
Phone in
Telephone your place of work to pass on information
“She PHONED IN sick this morning.”
Pick apart
Criticise, find fault
“The critics PICKED the film APART.”
Pick at
Eat unwillingly
“I wasn't very hungry so I just PICKED AT my food.”
Pick off
Target individuals to change a group
“There were many rebels against the policy, but the government PICKED OFF the leaders.”
Pick on
Bother, annoy, criticize or make fun of someone
“My friends always PICK ON me because I don't sing well.”
Pick through
Search something that is disordered for something
“The police have been PICKING THROUGH the wreckage for clues.”
Pick up after
Tidy a mess someone else has made
“I always have to PICK UP AFTER him because he leaves things all over the office.”
Pick up on
Correct someone when they say something wrong
“He's very quick to PICK UP ON new trends.”
Pick yourself up
Recover from a fall or problem
“It took him a long time to PICK HIMSELF UP after his wife left him.”
Pig off
Used to tell someone to get lost or leave you alone
“He told them to PIG OFF and leave him in peace.”
Pig out
Eat a lot
“The food was great, so I really PIGGED OUT.”
Pile in
Enter a place quickly, in a disorganised way
“The coach stopped and we all PILED IN.”
Pile into
Enter a place quickly, in a disorganised way
“We PILED INTO the shop when it opened.”
Pile on
Add or give more or something
“It wasn't very serious, but they PILED ON the guilt.”
Pile out
Leave a place quickly, in a disorganised way
“The train eventually arrived and we all PILED OUT.”
Pile up
Accumulate
“Work just keeps on PILING UP and I really can't manage to get it all done.”
Pin down
Get a fixed idea, opinion, etc, from someone.
“I've asked him to set a date, but he's a hard man to PIN DOWN and won't give a definite answer.”
Pin on
Attach the blame to someone
“The police tried to PIN the crime ON him.”
Pin up
Fix something to a wall, or other vertical surface, with a pin
“How's she PINnING UP after the news?”
Pine away
Suffer physically because of grief, stress, worry, etc
“He's been PINING AWAY since his wife died and is a shadow of his former self.”
Pine for
Want or miss something or someone
“The dog's PINING FOR his owner.”
Pipe down
Be quiet (often as an imperative)
“The lecturer asked the students to PIPE DOWN and pay attention.”
Pipe up
To speak, raise your voice
“At first, no one answered, then finally someone PIPED UP.”
Pit against
Compete or force to compete
“The war PITTED neighbour AGAINST neighbour.”
Pit out
Go into the pits (car racing)
“He PITTED OUT in the twentieth lap.”
Pitch for
Try to persuade someone to give your work, business, a job, etc
“He PITCHED FOR the job, but they gave it to someone else.”
Pitch in
Work together to help achieve an objective
“We were behind schedule, but the others PITCHED IN and we got it done in time.”
Pitch into
Criticise severely or attack someone
“The shareholders PITCHED INTO the management about their pay rises at the meeting.”
Plant out
Put a young plant that has been grown in a pot or greenhouse into the ground
“They need to be PLANTED OUT in the spring.”
Plant up
Fill an area with plants or seeds
“They PLANTED UP the flower beds with geraniums.”
Plate up
Put food onto a plate to serve
“PLATE UP and drizzle with salsa verde.”
Play about
Be silly
“Please stop PLAYING ABOUT.”
Play along
Pretend to agree or accept something in order to keep someone happy or to get more information
“I disagreed with the idea but I had to PLAY ALONG because everyone else liked it.”
Play around
Be silly
“The children were PLAYING AROUND and being annoying.”
Play at
Pretend to be something
“He just PLAYS AT being a lawyer- he never wins a case.”
Play away
Be sexually unfaithful when away from home
“He travels abroad a lot and his wife thinks he PLAYS AWAY.”
Play back
Listen to or watch something you've recorded
“We PLAYED the recording BACK to see if it was OK.”
Play down
Try to make something seem less important
“The Government has tried to PLAY DOWN the importance of the minister's resignation.”
Play off
Play a game to decide who the winner is
“As both teams had the same points, they PLAYED OFF to decide the winner.”
Play on
Continue playing a sport though there might be a reason to stop
“It looked like a foul, but the referee told them to PLAY ON.”
Play up
Behave badly
“The children PLAYED UP all evening and drove the babysitter mad.”