P

 

Pack (6)

Pack away
- Put something where it belongs
Pack in
- Stop doing something
- End a relationship
- Fill a venue
- Break down, stop working
Pack it in
- Stop doing something (used as an imperative)
Pack off
- Send someone away
Pack out
- Fill a venue
Pack up
- Stop doing something
- Finish work
- Break down, stop working
- Collect things and put them where you keep them

Pad (2)

Pad down
- Sleep somewhere for the night
Pad out
- Make a text longer by including extra content, often content that isn't particularly relevant

Pair (3)

Pair off
- Begin a romantic relationship
- Introduce people, hoping they will start a relationship
- Form pairs
Pair off with
- Form a pair with someone
Pair up
- Form a pair

Palm (1)

Palm off
- Get someone to accept something that isn't true
- Pretend something is better than it is in order to sell it

Pan (1)

Pan out
- The way a situation develops

Paper (1)

Paper over
- Try to conceal a problem without really fixing it

Pare (2)

Pare back
- If you pare something back, you reduce the size or numbers.
Pare down
- Reduce, decrease

Pass (12)

Pass around
- Give out to everybody there
Pass as
- Be believed to be something
Pass away
- Die
Pass by
- Go past without stopping
- Visit briefly
- Miss an opportunity
Pass for
- Be accepted as something, usually when not
Pass off
- Convince something that something is real
- Happen in a certain way
Pass on
- Give a message to someone
- Decline an invitation or opportunity
- Die
Pass out
- Faint, lose consciousness
Pass over
- Ignore someone and give a job, reward, etc, to someone more junior
Pass through
- Visit a place without stopping or only stopping briefly
Pass to
- Give ownership or responsibility to someone
Pass up
- Decline a chance

Patch (1)

Patch up
- Fix or make things better

Pay (4)

Pay back
- Repay money borrowed
- Take revenge on
Pay for
- Purchase
Pay into
- Deposit money
Pay off
- Completely repay a debt
- Produce a profitable or successful result

Peck (1)

Peck at
- Eat very small amounts

Peg (4)

Peg away
- Keep working at something
Peg down
- Fasten something to the ground
Peg it
- Die
Peg out
- Put washing outside to dry
- Die

Pencil (1)

Pencil in
- Make a provisional appointment

Perk (1)

Perk up
- Feel better or happier, make someone feel better or happier

Peter (1)

Peter out
- Lose impetus and stop

Phase (2)

Phase in
- Introduce gradually
Phase out
- Remove gradually

Pick (9)

Pick at
- Eat unwillingly
- Criticise
Pick off
- Target individuals to change a group
Pick on
- Bother, annoy, criticize or make fun of someone
Pick out
- Choose
- Identify from a picture
Pick through
- Search something that is disordered for something
Pick up
- Improve
- Learn quickly
- Collect
- Receive (a broadcast)
- Collect (a person). This differs from the 'collect a thing' meaning - as that means 'collect and bring back' whereas this means either (i) 'collect and drop off on your way' or (ii) 'collect and bring to the same destination'.
Pick up after
- Tidy a mess someone else has made
Pick up on
- Correct someone when they say something wrong
- Notice something that most people don't
- React to something
- Comment on something said earlier in a conversation
Pick yourself up
- Recover from a fall or problem

Pig (2)

Pig off
- Used to tell someone to get lost or leave you alone
Pig out
- Eat a lot

Pile (1)

Pile up
- Accumulate

Pin (3)

Pin down
- Get a fixed idea, opinion, etc, from someone.
- Discover exact details about something
Pin on
- Attach the blame to someone
Pin up
- Fix something to a wall, or other vertical surface, with a pin

Pine (1)

Pine away
- Suffer physically because of grief, stress, worry, etc

Pipe (2)

Pipe down
- Be quiet (often as an imperative)
Pipe up
- To speak, raise your voice

Pit (2)

Pit against
- Compete or force to compete
Pit out
- Go into the pits (car racing)

Pitch (3)

Pitch for
- Try to persuade someone to give your work, business, a job, etc
Pitch in
- Work together to help achieve an objective
Pitch into
- Criticise severely or attack someone

Play (13)

Play along
- Pretend to agree or accept something in order to keep someone happy or to get more information
Play around
- Be silly
Play at
- Pretend to be something
Play away
- Be sexually unfaithful when away from home
Play back
- Listen to or watch something you've recorded
Play down
- Try to make something seem less important
Play off
- Play a game to decide who the winner is
- Make people compete against each other so that you benefit
Play on
- Continue playing a sport though there might be a reason to stop
- Continue playing music
- Exploit a weakness
- Pun
Play out
- Progress, often till it finishes
- Pretend that something is real and reduce its effect
- Play something to the end
Play up
- Behave badly
Play up to
- Flatter someone
Play upon
- Exploit a weakness
Play with
- Touch and move something to occupy your hands
- Not eat much of a meal
- Consider something, but not seriously

Plead (1)

Plead out
- Plead guilty to get a reduced sentence or fine

Plough (5)

Plough back
- Re-invest money you have made into a business
Plough into
- Collide into at speed
Plough on
- Continue doing something you don't want to
Plough through
- Eat a big meal
- Read something that is difficult or takes a lot of time
- Move through somewhere where there is little space or there are obstacles
Plough up
- Break the surface of soil

Plow (5)

Plow back
- Re-invest money you have made into a business
Plow into
- Collide into at speed
Plow on
- Continue doing something you don't want to
Plow through
- Eat a big meal
- Read something that is difficult or takes a lot of time
- Move through somewhere where there is little space or there are obstacles
Plow up
- Break the surface of soil

Plug (1)

Plug in
- Connect machines to the electricity supply

Plump (1)

Plump for
- Choose

Point (1)

Point out
- Make someone aware of something

Polish (2)

Polish off
- Finish, consume
Polish up
- Improve something quickly

Pony (1)

Pony up
- Pay for something

Poop (2)

Poop out
- Get too tired to do something
Poop out on
- Fail to keep an appointment

Pop (4)

Pop in
- Visit for a short time
Pop off
- Talk loudly, complain
- Go out for a short time
Pop out
- Go out for a short time
Pop up
- Appear, like windows and boxes opening on a computer screen.
- Appear unexpectedly

Potter (2)

Potter about
- Spend time doing little things for pleasure
Potter around
- Spend some time doing little things for pleasure

Pour (2)

Pour down
- Rain hard
Pour forth
- Emerge from a place in large numbers

Prattle (1)

Prattle on
- Talk too much

Press (2)

Press ahead
- Continue with something
Press on
- Continue with something

Price (1)

Price up
- Charge more for something

Print (1)

Print out
- Make a hard copy of a computer document

Prop (1)

Prop up
- Support something, both physically and financially, politically, etc.

Psych (2)

Psych out
- Work out or anticipate someone's intentions
- Make someone less confident
Psych up
- Prepare someone mentally

Pull (16)

Pull ahead
- Overtake, move in front
Pull apart
- Destroy an argument, theory, etc
- Stop people or animals fighting
- Make someone unhappy or upset
Pull away
- When a vehicle moves from a place
Pull back
- Score a goal or point when losing
- Move away from a place, especially when talking about soldiers
- Move away from someone
- Decide not to do something or not to be involved with it any longer
Pull down
- Demolish
- Make someone depressed
- Earn
Pull for
- Support
Pull in
- When a train arrives at a station
- Attract
- Stop a car by the side of the road
- Areest or take someone to a police station for questioning
Pull off
- Manage to do something difficult or tricky
- Start moving (vehicles)
Pull on
- Put clothes on
Pull out
- Start moving (train)
- Move into traffic
- Withdraw
- Remove soldiers from an area
Pull over
- Stop by the side of the road
- Make a vehicle stop
Pull through
- Recover from and illness or problem
Pull to
- Close a door or window that has been left open
Pull together
- Work together as a team
Pull up
- Slow and stop a car
- Inform someone that they are wrong
Pull yourself together
- Become calm or regain control of your emotions

Push (1)

Push in
- Get in a queue without waiting

Put (16)

Put across

- Communicate, convey a message

Put away

- Put something back in the correct place
- Put someone in prison

Put back

- Rearrange something for a later time

Put by

- Save for the future

Put down

- Kill an animal because it's old, ill, etc.
- Stop holding (but withdraw support gently)

Put down for

- Commit to make a payment

Put down to

- Give as an explanation

Put in

- Install

Put in for

- Make a request

Put off

- Postpone
- Stop liking something or somebody

Put on

- Get fat
- Deceive, lie
- Start wearing

Put out

- Broadcast
- Disturb or trouble someone
- Extinguish a cigarette, fire, etc.

Put through

- Connect someone by phone

Put towards

- Make a financial contribution

Put up

- Allow someone to stay at your house for a night or a few days.
- Increase prices, taxes, duties, etc.

Put up with
- Tolerate