Health & Wellness

Phrasal verbs for health situations

Introduction

Health vocabulary goes far beyond medical terms. We "come down with" colds, "get over" illnesses, "pass out" from exhaustion, and "work out" to stay fit. Phrasal verbs capture the physical experiences of daily life.

This chapter explores health-related phrasal verbs: getting sick, recovering, exercising, and maintaining wellbeing.

Themes

All Phrasal Verbs in This Chapter (57)

• come down with To become ill with something
• pass out To lose consciousness
• work out To exercise
• throw up To vomit
• burn out To become exhausted from overwork
• come around To regain consciousness
• fight off To resist an illness
• wear off To gradually diminish in effect
• pull through To survive a serious illness or difficulty
• break out To develop spots or rash suddenly
• flare up When a condition or problem suddenly becomes worse
• swell up To become swollen
• seize up When muscles or joints become stiff and painful
• keel over To collapse suddenly
• warm up To prepare for exercise; to become friendlier
• black out To lose consciousness temporarily
• ease off To become less intense; to relax effort
• come round To regain consciousness
• shake off To recover from illness; to escape
• come to To regain consciousness
• lay up To be confined to bed due to illness
• run down To be exhausted and susceptible to illness
• bring up To vomit
• come out in To develop spots or rash
• go down with To become ill with something
• pick up To catch an illness
• slim down To lose weight
• bulk up To gain muscle mass
• come over To suddenly feel
• go out To lose consciousness
• feel up to To feel well enough
• go through To undergo treatment
• pass on To transmit disease
• knock out To render unconscious
• spit out To expel from mouth
• choke on To have difficulty swallowing
• act up For a body part to cause problems
• puff up To become swollen
• dry out To become dehydrated
• burn off To lose through exercise
• tone up To improve muscle definition
• tire out To exhaust
• stress out To cause stress
• drop off To fall asleep
• drift off To fall asleep gradually
• sleep in To sleep later than usual
• stay up To remain awake
• sit up To stay awake late
• patch up To treat injuries
• bandage up To apply bandages
• stitch up To close a wound
• clean up To sterilize a wound
• operate on To perform surgery
• put under To anaesthetize
• bring round To revive
• heal up To recover completely
• sober up To become sober