Phrases & Expressions

To hit someone or something so that it falls to the ground.

• The car knocked him down at the crossing.
• A strong wind knocked down several trees in the park.

To make someone unconscious, especially in a fight.

• He knocked out his opponent.
• The fall knocked him out for a few seconds.

To stop employing someone because there is not enough work or money.

• The factory laid off 200 workers last month.
• He was laid off when the company lost its biggest client.

To move an event or a deadline to a later time.

• We had to push back the meeting.
• The launch date has been pushed back to next spring.

To get better after an illness, injury or difficult experience.

• He's recovering from surgery.
• She recovered quickly from the flu.

To increase the size, amount, or importance of something.

• We need to scale up production.
• Can you scale up this operation?

To be a short form of a word or name.

• What does NASA stand for?
• The letters "km" stand for kilometre.

To be easily noticed because of being different or better.

• She stands out in a crowd.
• His work really stands out.

To take control of something from someone else.

• After 11 hours of driving, I was getting tired — fortunately, my friend offered to take over.
• My new boss will be taking over some of my projects.

To enter a place by walking.

• She walked in and sat down next to me.
• He walked in unexpectedly.