Phrasal Verb Nominatives

Backup = replacement; reserve
Blackout = loss of electricity
Blow-out = flat tire / loss
Blow-up = increased sized photograph
Breakaway = 1. to leave a group 2. geographical area
Breakdown = car or mechanical problems / engine stops working
Break-in = robbery / theft
Breakout = acne / prisoners escape from jail
Breakthrough = major advance in medicine or science
Break-up = end of relationship
Brush-off = end conversation / not take seriously
Build-up = accumulation of something
Burnout = exhaustion, physical or emotional
Buyout = the act or instance of buying out (takeover)


Carry-on = luggage suitable for being carried aboard an airplane
Castaway = survivor of a shipwreck
Changeover = change of station or means of transportation
Check-in = act of registering at a hotel
Checkout = cash register in store (grocery especially)
Check-up = health test at a doctor or dentist
Clean-up = general cleaning of a specific place
Close-down = end of operations
Comeback = return to a profession (entertainers, sports etc.)
Come-down = return to reality, depression
Come-on = words to charm or attract the opposite sex
Cop-out = compromise with a negative meaning (giving in)
Countdown = the count for a deadline; launching a spacecraft
Cover-up = attempt to hide facts and protect guilty parties
Cutback = reduction in funding or expenditures
Cut-off = the act or action of cutting off
Cut-out = what remains after something has been cut form something else


Dropout = someone who doesn't finish school
Fallout = secondary or lingering result; radioactive particles from nuclear explosion
Feedback = the return of input; whining, or whistling sound resulting from an amplified or broadcast signal
Flare-up = a sudden disturbance or outburst; a temporary increase in the symptoms of a disease or condition
Flashback = a past incident recurring vividly in the mind (usually vividly)
Follow-up = act of enquiring about previous contact.
Frame-up = action in which someone is framed (found to be guilty) for a crime they didn't commit
Getaway = brief vacation or holiday
Get-together = gathering
Giveaway = act of giving away prizes or gifts on large scale
Go-ahead = the OK; agreement to proceed
Go-between = intermediary, agent
Going-over = cleansing and / or checking to ensure proper working condition
Goings-on = news or event; happenings
Grown-up = adult; one who has reached age of consent
Handout = worksheet
Handover = exchange
Hang-out = gathering or meeting place
Hand-up = help

Kick-off = official start of game (American football or soccer)
Knockout = 1. Beautiful woman 2. Unconscious by blow or punch
Lay-off = reduction in workforce
Layout = drawings of (floor)plan
Let-down = disappointment
Let-up = reduction in intensity
Lift-off = leaving earth's surface
Line-up = 1. Group for witness of crime to see
Lock-up = holding cell; jail
Lookout = 1. Person who stands guard and sounds warning 2. Place offering view over large area (usually on mountain road)
Make-up = cosmetics for skin or face
Mix-up = confusion
Onlooker = person who watches an event or witnesses something (pedestrian)
Outbreak = start or first appearance of something (usually a disease)
Outburst = sudden loud sound
Outcast = someone shunned; not accepted in society
Outcome = result
Outcry = protest
Outfit = set of clothing
Outlay = initial expense
Outlet = 1. Place of release 2. Point of sales
Outlook = overall view of things in general
Output = production of product


Passer-by = someone who witnesses something by chance
Pay-off = desired or expected result of previous work
Payout = sum of money paid
Pickup = small truck with enclosed cab and open body
Pile-up = collision involving many vehicles
Play-off = a series of games after a season to determine a champion
Printout = printed record produced automatically (usually by a computer)
Pull-out = something that can be pulled out
Pushover = something accomplished easily / person or opponent easy to defeat or trick
Rip-off = usually a cheap imitation / theft
Runaway = person who has ran away from home
Rundown = an item-by-item report or review
Run-off = precipitation that reaches streams
Run-through = cursory reading, rehearsal or practice
Sell-out = the act of selling out of stock / person who sells out
Send-off = a party or celebration for the beginning of a new venture
Send-up = to make fun of someone
Setback = problem that needs solving; defeat, reverse
Set-up = preparation of machines; manner in which something is arranged
Shake-up = extensive reorganization of an organization
Show-off = someone who shows off; exhibitionist
Shutdown = closure or stoppage
Sit-in = act of occupying seats as form of protest
Slip-up = mistake; slip of the tongue
Smash-up = accident; car wreck
Splashdown = landing of a manned spacecraft in the ocean
Standby = reserve
Stand-in = substitute
Stick-up = a robbery at gunpoint
Stowaway = illegal passenger on a boat or plane
Switchover = change of shift at a factory


Takeout = prepared food to be taken home
Take-off = fake; plane or missile leaving earth
Takeover = a change in management or ownership
Tie-in = something that relates or connects (especially in a promotional campaign)
Tie-up = a mooring place for a boat; a traffic jam
Tip-off = warning; telltale sign; beginning of a basketball game
Touchdown = score (6 points) in American football
Tryout = audition
Turnabout = change of direction or momentum; reversal
Turn-off = something unpleasant
Turnout = crowd at an event, concert, game, etc.
Turnover = unwanted change of possession; pie-like pastry
Upbringing = way or method you were raised
Upkeep = maintenance
Uplift = air pressure to lift a wing, plane, bird, etc.
Upturn = increased economic activity
Walkout = unauthorized work stoppage
Walkover = easy opponent; small bridge over a road, ravine, etc.
Warm-up = practice
Washout = missing part of road (from water erosion)
Workout = series of exercises
Wright-off (rite-off) = loss of property (no longer taxable)
Write-up = published article about person, business, event etc.

To learn more about phrasal verb nominatives just click on the previous link.