Problems & Solutions

Phrasal verbs for challenges and fixes

Introduction

Problems are inevitable, and so are the phrasal verbs we use to discuss them. Issues "come up," plans "fall through," and we must "deal with" whatever life throws at us. The good news? We can also "sort out" difficulties and "get through" tough times.

This chapter covers the phrasal verbs of problem-solving: identifying issues, handling difficulties, finding solutions, and recovering from setbacks.

Themes

All Phrasal Verbs in This Chapter (90)

• sort out To resolve or organize something
• deal with To handle or manage a situation
• come up To arise or occur unexpectedly
• work out To solve or calculate something
• fall through To fail to happen as planned
• get through To survive or complete something difficult
• break down To stop working (of machines)
• mess up To make a mistake or ruin something
• act up To behave badly or malfunction
• play up To cause problems or malfunction (British)
• blow up To explode; to suddenly become very angry
• screw up To make a serious mistake
• cock up To spoil something by doing it badly (British)
• run into To encounter problems unexpectedly
• back out To withdraw from a commitment
• pack in To stop working or break down; to quit
• turn out To have a particular result
• come apart To break into pieces; to fail
• give out To stop working; to distribute
• crop up To appear unexpectedly
• come undone To become unfastened; to fail or fall apart
• cave in To collapse; to yield under pressure
• slip up To make a small mistake
• backfire To have the opposite effect to what was intended
• break down To analyze into smaller parts
• play up To cause problems or behave badly
• paper over To hide problems without solving them
• wriggle out of To avoid responsibility through cunning
• work out To have a successful result
• sort itself out To resolve without intervention
• smooth over To make a problem seem less serious
• get out of To avoid a responsibility
• see to To deal with something
• get around To avoid or find a way past
• pin down To identify precisely
• come up For a problem to arise
• turn up For something to emerge
• spring up To appear suddenly
• flare up To suddenly become worse
• blow up To escalate dramatically
• build up To accumulate gradually
• pile up For problems to accumulate
• add up To accumulate into something significant
• run into To encounter a problem
• bump into To encounter unexpectedly
• stumble on To discover accidentally
• fall into To get into a bad situation
• get into To become involved in problems
• end up To finish in a situation
• wind up To end up in a state
• deal with To handle a problem
• cope with To manage difficulties
• grapple with To struggle with a problem
• wrestle with To struggle with something difficult
• contend with To deal with difficulties
• live with To accept an ongoing problem
• sort out To resolve a problem
• work out To solve a problem
• figure out To understand or solve
• talk through To discuss to resolve
• iron out To resolve difficulties
• clear up To resolve confusion
• patch up To fix temporarily
• cover up To hide or conceal
• brush aside To dismiss concerns
• shrug off To dismiss casually
• write off To abandon as a loss
• give up To stop trying
• back off To withdraw from a situation
• pull back To retreat or withdraw
• draw out To extend or prolong
• string along To delay or deceive
• get by To manage with difficulty
• muddle through To manage somehow
• get through To survive a difficult period
• come through To succeed despite difficulty
• stick it out To persevere
• sit out To wait through something
• wait out To wait for something to pass
• push through To succeed despite obstacles
• break through To overcome barriers
• get over To recover from
• turn around To reverse a bad situation
• nip in the bud To stop early
• root out To find and remove
• weed out To remove unwanted elements
• pile up To accumulate problems
• build up To accumulate gradually
• spiral out of control To become unmanageable
• blow over To pass without lasting effect