Health Phrasal Verbs (with Meaning and Examples)
Pass away
Meaning: Die
Example: His mother passed away last year.
Run over
Meaning: Hit by a vehicle
Example: Two children were run over and killed.
Break out
Meaning: Develop skin sores or irritation
Example: The measles caused me to break out in a rash.
Fight off
Meaning: Resist an illness
Example: I’m trying to fight off a cold.
Come to
Meaning: Become conscious
Example: When he came to, he was lying on the floor with his hands tied behind his back.
Pass out
Meaning: Faint, lose consciousness
Example: People everywhere were passing out from the heat.
Get over
Meaning: Recover from something
Example: It’s taken me ages to get over the flu.
Come down with
Meaning: Become sick (not seriously)
Example: I think I’m coming down with the flu.
Throw up
Meaning: Be sick, vomit
Example: The baby’s thrown up her dinner.
Come round
Meaning: Become conscious
Example: Your mother hasn’t yet come round from the anesthetic.
Work out
Meaning: Train the body through physical exercise
Example: I work out regularly to keep fit.
Warm up
Meaning: Begin a physical activity gradually
Example: It’s necessary to warm up before exercise to prevent injuries.
Block up
Meaning: Stop something from moving through something else
Example: My nose is blocked up.
Lay (Laid) up
Meaning: Unable to work, etc. because of an illness or injury
Example: She’s laid up with a broken leg.
Swell up
Meaning: Become large, inflated, or bulging
Example: The boy’s arm swelled up where the bee had stung him.
Clog up
Meaning: Become or cause to become obstructed
Example: High-fat foods can clog up our arteries.
Dose up (UK)
Meaning: Give medicine to
Example: You should dose up with vitamin C to fight colds off.
Lay low
Meaning: Render someone unable to move or leave their bed
Example: The flu usually lays people low for five to ten days.
Let up
Meaning: Become less strong or stop
Example: A cold continues at its peak for several days, then it gradually let up.
Shake off
Meaning: Shake something in order to get something off of it
Example: She has failed to shake off her stomach injury.