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TOEIC Idioms and Phrasal Verbs List

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Published on: September 4, 2026

Phrasal verbs cause more trouble in TOEIC Listening than vocabulary does, because the individual words are easy and the combination is not. Put off has nothing to do with putting, and hearing both words correctly does not help you.

The list below covers the phrasal verbs and set expressions that recur in office dialogue and business correspondence, grouped by what they do rather than alphabetically.

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Key Takeaways

Phrasal verbs are concentrated in Listening Parts 2, 3 and 4 and in Part 7 emails and messages.
Recognition is all you need — TOEIC never asks you to produce a phrasal verb.
Many have a formal one-word equivalent that also appears on the test: put off / postpone, take on / hire.
Separable phrasal verbs can split around the object, so the two words may not be adjacent in the audio.
Part 2 indirect responses lean heavily on these expressions, which is why they cost marks there.

Scheduling and time

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
put off	Postpone	The meeting was put off until Thursday.
push back	Move to a later date	Can we push back the deadline a week?
move up	Bring forward	The launch was moved up to May.
run over	Last longer than planned	The presentation ran over by 20 minutes.
run late	Be behind schedule	I am running late for the 10 o’clock.
squeeze in	Fit into a full schedule	I can squeeze in a call at 4:00.
call off	Cancel	The site visit was called off.
hold off	Delay an action	Let us hold off on ordering.
set up	Arrange or install	I will set up the conference room.
come up	Arise unexpectedly	Something came up, so I cannot attend.

Work and tasks

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
take on	Accept work or hire staff	We took on three new accounts.
take over	Assume control of	Ms. Ito will take over the project.
carry out	Perform or execute	The audit was carried out in June.
follow up	Take further action later	Please follow up with the supplier.
go over	Review	Let us go over the figures again.
go through	Examine in detail	I went through every invoice.
sort out	Resolve	We sorted out the billing error.
work out	Calculate; end well	Work out the total including tax.
fill in	Complete a form; substitute	Fill in the top section only.
fill out	Complete a form	Fill out the expense claim.
hand in	Submit	Hand in your timesheet by Friday.
hand over	Transfer responsibility	He handed over the files.
back up	Support; save a copy	The data is backed up nightly.
catch up on	Do overdue work	I need to catch up on email.
keep up with	Stay level with	Production cannot keep up with demand.

People, hiring and staffing

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
take on staff	Hire	The plant is taking on staff.
let go	Dismiss	Two contractors were let go.
step down	Resign from a position	The director stepped down in March.
fill in for	Cover someone temporarily	I am filling in for Ms. Adeyemi.
bring in	Recruit externally	They brought in a consultant.
sit in on	Attend as an observer	May I sit in on the interview?
report to	Have as a manager	You will report to the regional head.
get along with	Have a good relationship	The team gets along well.
run by	Ask for an opinion	Run the draft by legal first.
check in with	Contact for an update	Check in with the warehouse.

Money, orders and stock

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
run out of	Exhaust a supply	We ran out of toner.
stock up on	Build up supply	Stock up on packaging before December.
put in an order	Order	I put in an order this morning.
pay off	Repay fully; be worthwhile	The loan was paid off in June.
write off	Cancel a debt or asset	The stock was written off.
add up	Total correctly; make sense	The receipts do not add up.
cut back on	Reduce	We cut back on travel spending.
cover the cost	Pay for	The warranty covers the cost.
charge for	Ask payment for	We do not charge for delivery.
break even	Neither profit nor lose	The outlet broke even in year two.

Travel and logistics

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
check in	Register on arrival	Check in at the front desk.
check out	Leave a hotel	Check out is by 11:00.
pick up	Collect	I will pick up the parts.
drop off	Deliver and leave	Drop off the samples at reception.
see off	Accompany a departing person	I saw the delegation off.
set off	Begin a journey	We set off at dawn.
stop over	Break a journey	We stop over in Doha.
get in	Arrive	The flight gets in at 6:40.
hold up	Delay	Traffic held up the delivery.
sign for	Confirm receipt in writing	Someone must sign for the package.

Equipment and problems

Expression	Meaning	Example in TOEIC register
break down	Stop working	The photocopier broke down.
act up	Work unreliably	The projector is acting up.
set out	Arrange or state clearly	The terms are set out in clause 4.
put together	Assemble or prepare	I put together a summary.
take apart	Disassemble	The unit was taken apart for repair.
turn out	Prove to be	It turned out to be a loose cable.
look into	Investigate	IT is looking into the outage.
deal with	Handle	Who deals with returns?
come across	Find by chance	I came across an older version.
throw out	Discard	Do not throw out the packaging.

Part 2 indirect responses built on these

You hear	Likely correct response	Why it works
When is the shipment arriving?	It has been held up at customs.	Answers “when” indirectly by explaining a delay
Could you review the contract today?	I am still catching up on email.	A refusal without the word no
Who is handling the Osaka account?	Ms. Rios took it over last month.	Names the person through a phrasal verb
Is the printer working now?	It is still acting up.	Answers no indirectly
Should we order more folders?	Let us hold off until the count is done.	A conditional refusal
Did the meeting finish on time?	It ran over by half an hour.	Answers no with the reason

Part 2 rarely gives you a direct yes or no. Learning these phrasal verbs is largely how you learn to recognise the indirect answers.

Formal equivalents that appear in Reading

Phrasal verb (spoken)	One-word equivalent (written)
put off	postpone
call off	cancel
take on	hire, undertake
carry out	conduct, perform
go over	review, examine
hand in	submit
find out	determine, ascertain
look into	investigate
set up	establish, arrange
cut back on	reduce, curtail
let go	dismiss, terminate
hold up	delay

The left column dominates Parts 2, 3 and 4; the right column dominates Parts 5, 6 and 7. Both halves of each row test the same idea, so learning them as pairs covers the whole test.

Separable and inseparable

Type	Behaviour	Example
Separable	Object can sit between the two words	put the meeting off / put off the meeting
Separable with a pronoun	Pronoun must split them	put it off (never “put off it”)
Inseparable	Two words stay together	look into the problem (never “look the problem into”)
Three-part	Never split	catch up on email, keep up with demand

This matters for listening rather than grammar: in “put the Thursday meeting off”, six words separate the two halves of the phrasal verb, and if you are waiting for them together you will miss it.

FAQ

Does the TOEIC test idioms?

It uses them rather than testing them directly. Phrasal verbs and set expressions appear inside Listening dialogues and Part 7 correspondence, so not recognising one costs you the question it sits in even though no question asks for its definition.

Where do phrasal verbs cost the most marks?

Part 2. The correct response is usually indirect, and the indirectness is very often carried by a phrasal verb — “it has been held up” instead of a date, “we are still going over it” instead of no.

Do I need to produce phrasal verbs?

No. TOEIC Listening and Reading is entirely multiple choice, so recognition is sufficient. Production only matters if you also take the Speaking and Writing tests.

Are phrasal verbs formal enough for business English?

In speech, yes — native colleagues use them constantly, which is why TOEIC dialogues do. Written business English prefers the one-word equivalents, which is why the same idea appears as “postpone” in a Part 7 email and “put off” in a Part 3 conversation.

How many should I learn?

The functional groups on this page cover the recurring set. Learning them as pairs with their formal equivalents is more efficient than adding rarer phrasal verbs, because each pair covers both halves of the test.

Related practice resources