This lesson covers 30 C2 phrasal verbs on Money & Personal Finance. At Proficiency you must distinguish particles that change meaning subtly and match register across formal and informal contexts. Complete the runner, then use the glossary below to consolidate each verb. Detailed explanations appear in Review mode once you finish the set.
plough back sth or plough sth back
to put money that you have earned into a business, in order to make the business bigger or better
The company ploughed back its profits into new equipment.
work off sth or work sth off
to reduce the size of a debt, either by earning money to pay for it or by working for the person you owe money to
A weekend job helped her work off some of her debt.
clean out sb or clean sb out
informal if someone cleans you out, they take or use all the money you have, or if something expensive cleans you out, you spend all the money you have on it
The unexpected repairs cleaned out the family’s savings.
free up sth or free sth up
to make time or money available for a particular use by not using it in another way
Cancelling unused subscriptions freed up money for savings.
level off/out
if a rate or amount levels off, it stops rising or falling and it stays at the same level
Inflation levelled off after several difficult months.
chip in (sth) or chip (sth) in
slightly informal to give an amount of money, especially when a group of people are giving money to pay for something together
The investors chipped in enough money to keep the project running.
chip in
to contribute a share of money towards something
Everyone chipped in for the shared birthday gift.
fritter away sth or fritter sth away
to waste something [esp. money, time] by using it in a careless way for unimportant things
He frittered away his money on things he did not need.
slim down (sth) or slim (sth) down
to become smaller in size, often by employing fewer people, or to make something smaller
The owner slimmed down the business to reduce overheads.
carry forward sth or carry sth forward
to include an amount of money in a later set of calculations
The accountant carried the unused tax credit forward.
bail out sb/sth or bail sb/sth out
to help a person or organisation by giving them money
The government agreed to bail out the struggling bank.
cough up (sth) or cough (sth) up
informal to provide money for something, especially when you are not very willing to do this
The landlord demanded that tenants cough up the overdue rent.
gobble up sth or gobble sth up
informal to use a lot of something, especially money
The bank fees gobbled up a large part of the refund.
share out sth or share sth out
to divide something into smaller amounts and give one amount to each person or thing in a group
They shared out the inheritance equally.
stake sth on sth/doing sth
to risk losing money or harming something important [e.g. reputation] if a plan does not succeed
He staked his savings on the company’s success.
round down sth or round sth down
to decrease a number to the nearest whole amount
Round the total down to the nearest euro.
scrape by
to manage to live when you do not have much money
The student managed to scrape by on a small grant.
knock down sb/sth or knock sb/sth down
informal to reduce a price, or to persuade someone to reduce the price of something that they are selling
The seller knocked the price down after the buyer negotiated.
average out at sth
to have as the average number
Over the year, the monthly bills averaged out at the same amount.
overpriced adj
too expensive
The flat looked overpriced compared with similar homes.
cash in on sth
to make money from an event or situation, or to get some other advantage from it, often in an unfair way
The shop cashed in on the holiday rush.
push up sth or push sth up
to increase the amount, number, or value of something
High demand pushed up the price of tickets.
build up (sth) or build (sth) up
to increase in amount, size, or strength, or to make something increase in amount, size, or strength
They built up an emergency fund over several years.
square up
informal to pay someone the money you owe them
The friends squared up after splitting the restaurant bill.
rent out sth or rent sth out
if you rent out something that you own [e.g. house], you allow someone to pay you money so that they can use it
They rented out the spare room to earn extra income.
take over sth or take sth over
to get control of an area of land or a political organisation, usually by using force
The new owner took over the family business.
bump up sth or bump sth up
informal to increase the size or amount of something [e.g. price] by a large amount
The landlord bumped up the rent again.
round up sth or round sth up
to increase a number to the nearest whole amount
The cashier rounded the bill up to include a small tip.
put by sth or put sth by
to save an amount of money in order to use it later
My grandparents put by a little money every month.
upkeep n
keeping a building in good condition, usually by providing money to repair it
The upkeep of the old house consumed much of their budget.