Phrases & Expressions

To start doing a new activity or offering new products in addition to your main business.

• The bookshop branched out into online courses when sales of printed books started to fall.
• After ten years as a newspaper journalist, she decided to branch out into documentary film-making.

To take strong official action to stop or reduce an activity.

• Police are clamping down on drivers who use their mobile phones at the wheel.
• Universities have started to clamp down on students who use AI tools to write their essays.

To seem to have a particular quality, especially to people who do not know you well.

• His speech was well written, but he came over as nervous because he read it far too fast.
• In interviews, it is important not to come over as too rehearsed or robotic.

Of prices or numbers, to rise slowly and gradually, often without people noticing.

• Rents in the city centre have been creeping up for years, forcing many students to live further out.
• Check your bills regularly, because subscription costs tend to creep up without you realising it.

To take part in an activity in a casual way, without serious commitment or for very long.

• Before choosing a career in graphic design, she dabbled in journalism and marketing for a few years.
• Many people dabble in investing online without really understanding the risks involved.

To come or develop from a particular source.

• Many English words derive from Latin, often entering the language through French.
• Much of the public opposition to the new law derives from fears about rising prices.

To decorate or furnish a room or building in a particular way; mainly British.

• The hotel has been done out in a modern style, with bright colours and wooden floors.
• We did the spare room out in pale blue and turned it into a small office.

To spend too much time thinking or talking about something bad that has happened.

• My counsellor pointed out that dwelling on past failures was only making my anxiety worse.
• She tends to dwell on minor mistakes, which makes giving presentations far more stressful than it needs to be.

To put on smart clothes and make-up so that you look attractive, especially for a special occasion.

• We spent two hours getting dolled up for the party, and then it was cancelled at the last minute!
• You don't need to get dolled up – it's just a casual dinner with a few friends.

(British, informal) to catch an illness such as flu; usually said about other people, not yourself.

• My flatmate went down with a stomach bug the night before her driving test.
• Our goalkeeper has gone down with a virus, so he will miss Saturday's match.