12 Workplace Phrasal Verbs for Business English (With Examples)

Why Phrasal Verbs Matter in the Modern Workplace

Open any work email, join any team meeting, and you will hear phrasal verbs everywhere. Colleagues say "let's wrap up", "I'll get back to you" and "we need to sort this out" because these expressions sound natural, friendly and efficient. Learning workplace phrasal verbs helps you understand your colleagues more quickly and communicate in business English with greater confidence.

This guide groups 12 useful phrasal verbs by everyday work situation, with clear meanings and example sentences. If you are new to the topic, you may also like our list of 50 common English phrasal verbs for daily conversation. For a definition of the term itself, see the Cambridge Dictionary entry for "phrasal verb".

1. Managing Projects and Tasks

Project work revolves around deadlines, documents and delays. These three phrasal verbs will help you describe progress clearly.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Wrap up	to finish or complete something	We aim to wrap up the audit by Friday.
Draw up	to prepare a document, plan or list in writing	The legal team will draw up the contract this week.
Push back	to move something to a later date	Management decided to push back the launch to March.

Tip: "push back" can also mean "to resist or object to something", as in "Staff pushed back against the new policy". The context tells you which meaning is intended.

2. Meetings and Discussions

Meetings are full of phrasal verbs, especially when people introduce topics, review plans and highlight problems.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Bring up	to mention a subject for discussion	Priya brought up the budget at the end of the meeting.
Run through	to go over something quickly or rehearse it	Let's run through the agenda before the client arrives.
Point out	to draw attention to a fact or mistake	He pointed out an error in the sales figures.

Most of these verbs are separable, so you can say either "bring up the issue" or "bring the issue up". If you use a pronoun, it must go in the middle: "bring it up", never "bring up it".

3. Emails and Communication

Written and spoken follow-ups are a daily task at work. These phrasal verbs keep your tone polite and professional. For more email phrases, read our guide to better ways to say "as per our conversation".

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Follow up (on)	to take further action after an earlier message or meeting	I'll follow up on your request tomorrow morning.
Reach out (to)	to contact someone, often to ask for help or information	Please reach out to the HR team if you have any questions.
Get back (to)	to reply to someone later	I'll get back to you with the details by noon.

4. Problem Solving and Collaboration

Good teams solve problems together. When something goes wrong, you can use these verbs to explain what you are doing about it. Colleagues who help without being asked are said to pitch in, and that spirit of teamwork is what these expressions describe.

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
Sort out	to resolve a problem or organise something	We need to sort out the scheduling conflict today.
Look into	to investigate something	The IT department is looking into the login error.
Figure out	to understand something or find a solution	Can you figure out why the totals do not match?

Conclusion: Sounding Natural at Work

Phrasal verbs are not just "extra" vocabulary. They are the everyday language of professional communication. Start with the twelve verbs above, practise one section each day, and use them in real emails and meetings. To keep building your workplace vocabulary, explore our Workplace English vocabulary guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are phrasal verbs too informal for business emails?

Not necessarily. Many phrasal verbs, such as "follow up on", "look into" and "draw up", are perfectly acceptable in professional emails. Very casual ones, such as "chicken out", are better kept for conversation. If you are writing to someone senior or in a formal setting, choose a single-word alternative like "investigate" or "prepare".

What is the difference between 'postpone' and 'push back'?

Both can mean to move something to a later date. "Postpone" is a single formal verb with only this meaning. "Push back" is a phrasal verb that sounds more conversational, and it can also mean "to resist or object", so the context matters.

How can I remember new workplace phrasal verbs?

Learn them in small groups by situation, such as meetings or emails, rather than from a long alphabetical list. Write your own example sentences about your job, and try to use one or two new verbs in real messages each week.