Table of Contents

Phrasal Verbs That Start With “D”

Phrasal Verbs That start with’D’
Phrasal Verbs That start with’D’
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Damp down To make something less intense or strong. They tried to calm down the anger over the announcement.
Damp down To reduce the intensity of a fire. They tried to decrease the flames before the fire spread.
Damp off When a plant is affected by fungal parasites due to excess moisture. The seedlings withered in the spring due to excessive moisture.
Dash down To quickly write something. He quickly scribbled down a memo and sent it to everyone.
Dash off To leave a place quickly. It’s getting late – I need to leave quickly and go home.
Dash off To do something quickly, especially writing. He hurriedly completed the report in just a couple of hours.
Dawn on To finally understand something after not realizing it before. The truth only became clear to me much later.
Decide on To make a choice or selection. After much consideration, he finally settled on a flat near his workplace.
Decide upon To make a decision or choice. She spent a lot of time thinking before finally deciding upon a house near her office.
Die away To gradually become quieter or less intense. The sound of the music died away as the concert ended.
Die back When the above-ground parts of a plant die, but the roots remain alive. The plant’s leaves died back during the winter, but it grew again in spring.
Die down To gradually become less intense or widespread. The initial excitement died down after a few days.
Die for To strongly desire something. I’m really longing for the weekend after this hectic week.
Die off When a large number of a species dies, often leading to extinction. Many species of plants and animals died off due to habitat destruction.
Die out When a species becomes extinct. The dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.
Dig in To start eating with enthusiasm. We eagerly dug in when the food was finally served.
Dig in To create a defensive position, especially in military contexts. The soldiers quickly dug in to protect themselves from enemy fire.
Dig into To search deeply or investigate thoroughly. She delved into her research, uncovering new insights.

 

Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Dig out Find something you haven’t used in a while. When I cleaned my room, I found my old toys under the bed.
Dig out Take something or someone out of a place. We had to take the buried treasure out of the sand at the beach.
Dig up Discover something hidden or secret. We found a dinosaur bone hidden in the backyard during our dig.
Dig up Take something out of the ground. Dad dug up potatoes from our garden for dinner.
Dig up Make a hole in the ground. Workers dug up the road to fix a broken pipe.
Dine out Eat dinner at a restaurant. We went to a restaurant to eat dinner instead of cooking at home.
Dine out on Tell a story that people enjoy hearing. Grandma loves to tell the story of when she met a famous singer.
Dip in Put something briefly in a liquid. The baker dipped the cookie dough in chocolate.
Dip into Read parts of a book. I like to read parts of my favorite storybook before bedtime.
Dip into Take a little bit of money from savings. Mom took some money from her savings to buy a new bicycle for my sister.
Dip out Leave quickly and quietly. When the movie got boring, I left quietly to play outside.
Disagree with Make someone feel sick. Eating too much candy can make your stomach feel sick.
Dish out Serve food. Mom served dinner to us at the table.
Dish out Give something, usually too much. The teacher gave us too much homework for the weekend.
Dish out Criticize others without taking criticism. Billy likes to criticize others but can’t handle criticism himself.
Dish up Serve food, especially nicely prepared. Grandma served us delicious apple pie for dessert.
Dive in Start doing something with enthusiasm. When it’s time to play, I start playing with excitement.
Dive in Start eating eagerly. As soon as dinner is served, I start eating with excitement.
Dive into Quickly reach inside something. Sarah quickly reached into her backpack and took out her new coloring book.
Divide up Share something with others. After baking cookies, Mom shared them with all of us so we each got some.
Divvy out Distribute something among people. The teacher gave out art supplies to each student so we could all draw.
Divvy up Split something fairly among friends. When we found candies, we split them equally among us so nobody felt left out.
Do away with Get rid of or remove something. The school decided to get rid of homework on weekends.
Do in To tire or exhaust someone. After running a marathon, I was so tired that I fell asleep quickly.
Do out of Prevent someone from having something. His mean actions prevented me from winning the competition.
Do up Fasten or close something. Before riding my bike, I always fasten my helmet to keep me safe.
Do up To make something look nice or new again. Dad helped me make my old bike look shiny and new.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Do with To desire or request something, often after “can” or “could”. I could do with a cold beer right about now.
Do without To manage or cope without something. There’s no sugar, so you’ll have to do without.
Dob in To report someone to authorities. He dobbed me in to the teacher.
Dob in To contribute money. Everyone dobbed in some cash to help.
Dob in To pressure someone into doing something. He needed some help, so he dobbed us in.
Dole out To give out or distribute. They were doling out leaflets in front of the station.
Doss about To spend time being unproductive. I couldn’t focus on my work and dossed about all night.
Doss around To spend time being unproductive. I spent the afternoon dossing around instead of doing chores.
Doss down To sleep temporarily somewhere other than home. Feeling tired, I dossed down on his sofa for the night.
Double as To have a second function or purpose. My study doubles as a spare bedroom when we have guests.
Double back To go back the way you came. When he saw the police, he doubled back and went home.
Double over To bend over at the waist, typically due to pain. She doubled over in pain after being hit in the stomach.
Double up To bend over at the waist, typically due to pain. He doubled up in pain after being hit in the stomach.
Double up To share accommodation due to limited space. We had to double up because we didn’t book enough rooms.
Double up as To have a second function or purpose. The display screen doubles up as a solar panel, providing energy.
Doze off To fall asleep unintentionally. The movie was so boring that I dozed off halfway through.
Drag on To continue for an unnecessarily long time. The meeting dragged on for two and a half hours, making everyone restless.
Draw back To retreat or move backwards. He drew back in fear when the dog barked loudly.
Draw down To reduce levels. The administration wants to draw down troop numbers as soon as possible.
Draw down To obtain or get funding. The college aims to draw down extra funding for its IT provision.
Draw down To deplete by consumption or heavy spending. Gas reserves were drawn down during the recent cold spell.
Draw even To equalize one’s competitive position. The exhausted horse managed to draw even at the finish line.
Draw in To get dark earlier, typically in reference to evening. The nights are drawing in now that it’s winter.
Draw in To arrive at a station, typically referring to trains. The train drew in, and we disembarked at the next station.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Draw into Get involved in something bad or not nice. I didn’t want to join their argument because I didn’t want to get pulled into it.
Draw on Use up time slowly. The longer the class went on, the more bored the students became.
Draw on Take a breath from a cigarette or a cigar. He took a puff from his cigarette and coughed.
Draw out Make something last longer than it should. The boss made the meeting last a long time by talking a lot.
Draw out Help someone who is quiet become more talkative. At first, he was shy, but the teacher encouraged him to speak up.
Draw up Write down rules or plans. Our lawyer wrote down all the rules in a contract.
Draw up Stop a car or a bus. The police car stopped next to him at the traffic lights and told him to pull over.
Dream of Think about something you want but probably won’t get. I wish I could go to space, but I know it’s just a dream.
Dream up Think of a new idea or a cool plan. They thought up a great idea for a game and everyone loved it.
Dredge up Find old information about someone. The newspaper found out about his old relationship with a coworker.
Dress down Wear clothes that aren’t fancy or formal. On Fridays, we can wear comfortable clothes to work.
Dress down Get in trouble for doing something wrong. I got in trouble for being rude to my friend.
Dress up Wear really nice clothes. There’s no need to wear fancy clothes because it’s just a casual party.
Drift apart Slowly stop being friends with someone. We used to be close, but now we don’t talk much anymore.
Drift off Start to fall asleep without realizing it. I started to fall asleep in class, but the bell woke me up.
Drill down Look really hard for something on a computer. I had to look very carefully on the computer to find the right information.
Drill down through Look really hard and find the most important things. We had to search through lots of books to find the answer.
Drill into Make someone remember something by repeating it a lot. My teacher made me learn all the times tables by saying them again and again.
Drink up Finish a drink quickly. Drink up your milk before it gets warm.
Drive away Make someone or something leave a place. The mean dogs scared away the cats from the yard.
Drive back Push someone or something away. The police made the crowd move back so they could do their job.
Drive by Do something while you’re in a car. The robbers drove by the bank and threw out the stolen money.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Drive off Go away quickly in a car. She slammed the car door and drove off without saying a word.
Drive out Make someone leave a place. The soldiers made them leave their homes.
Drive up Make something go higher, like prices. When there’s not enough stuff, prices go up.
Drive up Arrive at a place in a car. They came in their car just as we were about to leave.
Drone on Speak for a long time in a boring way. The teacher talked and talked, and we got really bored.
Drop around Visit someone without telling them first. We went to see them without saying we were coming.
Drop around Bring something to someone’s house. I took the book to her house.
Drop away Go down little by little. The number of people started going down after a while.
Drop back Go to the back of a group. I was at the front, but I got tired and went to the back.
Drop by Visit someone for a short time. He came to see me for a little while on his way home.
Drop in Visit someone without planning it. I went to her house without telling her first.
Drop off Take someone or something to a place and leave. I took my sister to school and left her there.
Drop off Fall asleep suddenly. I was so tired that I fell asleep very quickly.
Drop off Become less than before. The number of people buying tickets went down.
Drop out Leave school or a club. She stopped going to school and started working.
Drop over Visit someone for a short time. I’ll come to see you for a bit when I’m on my way back.
Drop round Visit someone without planning it. We went to their house without saying anything first.
Drop round Bring something to someone’s house. I took the cookies to her house so we could eat them together.
Drop someone in it Make someone get in trouble. I told them about what he did, and he got into trouble.
Drop through Not happen, not work out. The plan they made didn’t happen the way they wanted.
Drown in Cover something with too much liquid. They put too much sauce on the pasta, and it was all wet.
Drown out Make a sound louder than another. The music was so loud that we couldn’t hear the phone ringing.
Drum into Make someone learn something by repeating it. They repeated the rules many times so we would remember them.
Drum out Make someone leave their job. They made the boss leave because he lied.
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
Drum up To gather more support or interest for something. Let’s drum up support for our school play by telling everyone how fun it’s going to be.
Dry off To make something or someone dry quickly. After playing in the rain, we used towels to dry off and warm up before going inside.
Dry out To stop using drugs or alcohol when you’re addicted. When someone has a problem with drugs or alcohol, they may go to a special place to dry out and get help.
Dry out To make something completely dry. Mom put the clothes outside to dry out in the sun after washing them.
Dry up To make a river, lake, or pond lose its water. When there’s not enough rain, the small pond in the park can dry up, and the fish might not survive.
Dry up To stop getting something, like money or support. If people stop buying your lemonade, your money might dry up, and you won’t be able to buy more supplies.
Dry up To suddenly forget what you were going to say. During his speech, Tim dried up and couldn’t remember the rest of his lines.
Dry up To dry dishes, plates, or utensils after washing them. After dinner, we washed and dried up all the dishes before putting them away.
Duck out of To avoid doing something you don’t want to do. I wanted to duck out of cleaning my room, but Mom said I had to do it before playing outside.
Duff up To hit someone many times and make them hurt. The bully duffed up the smaller kids on the playground, and they had to go to the nurse’s office.
Dumb down To make something simpler and easier to understand. The teacher had to dumb down the math problem so everyone in class could solve it.
Dump on To treat someone badly or unfairly. It’s not nice to dump on your friends when they make mistakes.
Dump on To say mean things about someone. Tommy shouldn’t dump on his sister just because she beat him at basketball.
Dump on To share your worries or problems with someone. When you’re feeling upset, it’s okay to dump on your mom or dad and ask for help.
Dwell on To spend a lot of time thinking or talking about. Instead of dwelling on your mistakes, focus on how you can do better next time.
Dwell upon To think or talk about something for a long time. Sarah tends to dwell upon her favorite book series and talk about it with her friends all day.

 

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Dictionary Of Phrasal Verbs

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