Learning & Education

Phrasal verbs for studying and understanding

Introduction

Learning is a journey with its own vocabulary. We "pick up" new skills, "figure out" problems, "catch on" to concepts, and "brush up on" forgotten knowledge. Phrasal verbs describe the cognitive processes of education.

This chapter covers phrasal verbs for learning: acquiring knowledge, understanding concepts, practicing skills, and the educational experience.

Themes

All Phrasal Verbs in This Chapter (70)

• pick up To learn something casually
• catch on To understand or become popular
• brush up on To review and improve forgotten skills
• look up To search for information
• go over To review or examine
• sink in To gradually understand fully
• brush up To improve or refresh knowledge or skills
• read up To learn about something by reading
• take in To absorb or understand information
• swot up To study hard, especially before an exam
• bone up To study intensively
• mug up To study quickly and intensively
• get the hang of To learn how to do something
• dawn on To suddenly realize something
• dip into To read parts of a book casually
• soak up To absorb information or atmosphere
• gen up To learn about something thoroughly
• wise up To become aware of the truth
• work through To deal with problems systematically
• think over To consider something carefully
• come across To find something by chance
• find out To discover information
• make out To understand or see with difficulty
• look into To investigate or research
• puzzle out To solve by thinking hard
• cotton on To understand or realize
• bone up on To study hard or review intensively
• swot up on To study hard (British)
• read up on To research by reading
• gen up on To learn about something (British)
• mug up on To study intensively (British)
• cram for To study intensively before an exam
• think through To consider carefully from start to finish
• run through To review quickly
• get through To complete or manage to finish
• plough through To work through something with effort
• wade through To progress slowly through something tedious
• come to To reach a point of understanding
• drill into To teach through repetition
• hammer into To teach forcefully through repetition
• drum into To teach by constant repetition
• get used to To become accustomed to
• grow accustomed to To gradually become used to
• try out To test something to see how it works
• test out To try something to check if it works
• play around with To experiment casually with
• tinker with To make small adjustments experimentally
• mess around with To experiment casually or waste time with
• delve into To research deeply
• dig into To research thoroughly
• pore over To study intently
• skim through To read quickly without details
• flick through To look through quickly
• leaf through To turn pages casually
• thumb through To browse pages with your thumb
• keep abreast of To stay informed about developments
• fall back on To rely on when needed
• draw on To use knowledge or experience
• build on To use as a foundation for more
• move on to To progress to the next topic
• go back to To return to an earlier topic
• zone out To lose concentration
• tune out To stop paying attention
• tune in To pay attention or listen
• zero in on To focus precisely on something
• home in on To move toward or focus on a target
• clue up To inform someone fully
• bring up to speed To update someone on current developments
• get through to To make someone understand
• cram in To study intensively in short time