Phrases & Expressions

To be likely to behave in a particular way or happen frequently.

• Prices tend to rise during the summer months.
• She tends to arrive late when it rains.

To explain why something happens or what has caused it.

• Economists are still trying to account for the sudden fall in consumer spending last spring.
• Rising housing costs may partly account for the decline in the birth rate in many European countries.

To be delayed, especially by traffic or by a problem you did not expect.

• Sorry I'm late — I was held up in traffic on the bridge for almost an hour.
• The construction of the new hospital has been held up by a shortage of skilled workers.

To be placed far apart from each other over a wide area.

• Finding a meeting time that suits everyone is hard when team members are spread out across four time zones.
• In rural Scotland the population is spread out over a vast area, which makes public transport expensive.

To escape from a place such as a prison, especially by using force.

• A lion that had broken out of its enclosure was found asleep in the zoo café.
• The film tells the true story of soldiers who broke out of a prisoner-of-war camp in 1944.

To practise and improve a skill or knowledge that has become weaker because you have not used it.

• Many retired people join conversation clubs to brush up on languages they last studied at school.
• I'm going to spend the weekend brushing up on my grammar before the IELTS writing test.

To talk in a relaxed, friendly way for a long time.

• The two grandmothers chatted away in the corner while the children played in the garden.
• We were chatting away so happily that we completely missed our bus stop.

To give other people a particular impression of your character or attitude.

• In job interviews, try not to come across as arrogant, even when you are describing your achievements.
• Candidates who recite memorised answers often come across as unnatural in the IELTS speaking test.

To change your religion or beliefs and accept a new one.

• Her grandfather converted to Buddhism after spending several years living in Thailand.
• After reading about factory farming, he converted to vegetarianism and has not eaten meat since.

To write something again by hand, exactly as it appears somewhere else.

• Before printing was invented, monks had to copy out entire books by hand.
• I copied the recipe out from my grandmother's notebook before it fell apart completely.