Home > Phrasal Verb Dictionary: Letter L

Lag behind .- When you lag behind, you move more slowly than others.

• We seem to be lagging behind the rest of the country in these new initiatives.
• Women's wages still lag behind.

Lash out [Lash out, lash out at somebody].- Criticize When you lash out or lash out at somebody, you criticize or speak to them angrily. Hit out

• He lashed out at those making accusations against him.
• I started to get really angry and started lashing out at people.

Lap up [Lap something up].- Accept (attention, admiration, information, praise) When you lap something up, you believe or accept it with great pleasure.

• They lapped up all his lies.
• He told them the most ridiculous story I've ever heard but they lapped it up.

Lay down [Lay something down].- (the law, rules, conditions, price limits, speed limits, arms) When you lay something down, you establish what must be done.

• The Directives lay down the hygiene conditions under which wild game meat is to be obtained, processed and inspected, in order to prevent food poisoning.

Lay off [Lay somebody off].- Sack (workers, staff, men, employees) When you lay somebody off, you tell a worker to leave their job because there is no work for them to do anymore.

• The company is not doing well. We may have to lay some of our staff off.
• Larger companies are finding they have to lay off workers to meet their profit levels.
• They will have to lay off some of their staff.

Let down [Let somebody down].- Disappoint When you let somebody down, you disappoint them.

• You can rely on me; I'll never let you down.
• We're relying on you to do it. You won't let us down, will you?

Let down [Let something down].- (bucket, rope, plane, tyre, balloon) When you let something down, you lower it or deflate it.

• Hang on! I'll let down a rope so that you can come up.

Let your hair down: When you let you hair down, you relax and enjoy yourself freely.

Let in [Let somebody in].- When you let somebody in, you allow them to come into a place.

• Her father let me in.
• Let yourself in!
• Lock the door and don't let anyone in.

Let off [Let somebody off].- When you let somebody off, you give them a light punishment or no punishment at all.

• He was let off lightly.
• She was let off with only a reprimand.
• I'll let you off this time if you promise not to do it again.
• He was lucky to be let off with only a warning.
• She was let off with a fine.

Let off [Let something off].- (gun, rifle, bomb, fireworks, cracker, rocket, steam) When you let something off, you fire or make something explode. Go off

• They let off some fireworks to celebrate the occasion. 

Let on [Let something on].- (secret) When you let something on, you reveal a secret.

• I'm going to have a baby, but please don't let on, will you
• She let on that her husomebodyand was in trouble with the police.
• Don't let on about this. It must remain a secret.

Let out [Let somebody out, let something out].- 1 Release When you let somebody or something out, you release them; you allow them to leave a place, usually by unlocking the door.

• They're letting him out because he's been a model prisoner.
• Did you let the dog out? 

2 (scream, yell, sigh, cry, gasp) When you let something out, you make a loud sound.

• She let out a sigh of relief when she heard the news.

3 (dress, skirt, trousers) When you let clothes out, you make clothes wider.

• This skirt is too tight. I'll have to let it out at the waist.

4 (room, house) When you let a place out, you rent it.

• She lets out rooms to students.

Light up.- When you light up, you start smoking.

• Lighting up is increasingly regarded as an antisocial activity.

Light something up.- When something lights something else up, it makes bright or full of light.

• Fireworks lit up the sky in the middle of the event, which gave the night a special touch.

Line up [Line somebody up, line something up].- When you line somebody or things up, you put people or things in a row.

• Could you line up according to your age? The oldest should stand at the front, and the youngest at the back.

Live something down [Live something down].- When you live something down, you try to behave in such a way that people forget about some unpleasant thing you did in the past.

• Jake has spent his life trying to live down his father's reputation.

Live in.- (insep) When you live in, you live in the same place you work or study.

• Live-in nanny needed for family with 15 month old girl and newborn due in February.

Liven up [Liven something up].- (party, flat, kitchen, meeting) When you liven something up, you make it more interesting or exciting. Jazz up

• This party is a bit boring. But don't worry! It'll soon liven up once everyone has had a drink or two!

Live up to [Live up to something] .- (expectations, reputation, name, principles, promises, ideals) When you live up to something, you are or you do what people expect. Match up to

• The Government has failed to live up to its promises.
• I'm just dying to know if he lives up to his reputation.
• I think the movie was quite good although it didn't live up to my expectations.

Log off [Log off, Log off something].- When you log off or log off something, you exit a computer system.

• Before you log off, close any programs and documents you have open, ensuring that you save any changes you make.

Log on [Log on, Log on to something].- When you log on or log on to something, you enter a computer system.

• When I logged on, I was asked to change my password.

Look after [Look after somebody].- (insep) (children, baby, patient) When you look after somebody, you take care of them.

• The nurses in this hospital are great. They really look after their patients.
• One of the most difficult jobs in the world is looking after a new baby.

Look round, look around.- When you look round, you turn to look at something behind you or look in different differections.

• She looked around and saw him.
• I looked around the place but I didn't see it.

Look round, look around [Look round something, look around something].- 1 When you look round a place, you visit it.

• We can look around the castle later.

2 (job, flat) When you look round for something, you go to different places looking for it.

• Have you started looking arond for a job.

Look back.- When you look back, you try to remember the past.

• That was ten years ago and we'ver never looked back.

Look for [Look for somebody, look for something].- (insep) When you look for somebody, you try to find them.

• I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?

Look foward to [Look forward to something].- (insep) When you look foward to something, you can't wait for it to happen because you know you will enjoy it.

• I'm looking forward to the concert.

Look up.- (things, business, trade) When something is looking up, it's improving.

• I'm so glad that things are all looking up for you.

Look up [Look somebody up].- When you look somebody up, you contact them and pay them a visit after not having seen them for some time or because you happen to be where they live.

• Do look up and see us next time you are in the area.
• Look me up next time you are in town.

Look something up [Look something up].- (word, number, information, time) When you look something up, you find the information in a dictionary or reference book.

• Can you look up this word in the dictionary?
• We looked it up in our records but we weren't able to find where the ship was built.

Look up to [Look up to somebody].- When you look you to somebody, you admire and respect them.

• When I was a child I always looked up to my grandparents, who were wonderful people.

Lump together [Lump something together].- When you lump things together, you put them in one group or treat them in the same way.

• Sudan was created by lumping together different desert nations.

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