The American Heritage Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs

The ability to understand and use phrasal verbs—verbs that are followed by one or more particles, acting as a complete lexical unit—is essential to the full comprehension of English. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs lists and defines thousands of phrasal verbs, such as look up as used in the sentence “She looked up the word in the dictionary.” Extremely useful to both learners of English as a second language and native speakers of English, this completely new reference work draws on the authority of The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, while incorporating new material for thorough, up-to-date coverage of phrasal verbs. Each fully defined phrasal verb is entered in an A–Z format and is followed by helpful example sentences that place the verb in context and show how the verb fits into the sentence structure. For example, at button up, meaning “to fasten all the buttons on a garment,” full sample sentences illustrate two acceptable constructions, “button the sweater up” and “button up the sweater.” Grammatical information is conveyed by straightforward examples instead of confusing codes and abbreviations. The principal conjugations and pronunciations of each verb are included, and all information is presented in a clear, contemporary, and accessible format, a hallmark of the American Heritage® Dictionaries.