phrasal prepositional verb

noun

A multi-word verb, consisting of a verb followed by an adverbial particle and a preposition, that has idiomatic meaning.

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Meanings

nounphrasal prepositional verb (plural phrasal prepositional verbs)

plural phrasal prepositional verbs

  1. grammarA multi-word verb, consisting of a verb followed by an adverbial particle and a preposition, that has idiomatic meaning.

    In every section of this invaluable work new light is thrown on ancient problems - phrasal verbs (bring up, put off), phrasal-prepositional verbs (catch up on, come up with) [...] duratives, sentence adverbs, and so on.

    1985, Robert Burchfield, The English Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 156
Cite this entry
APA

phrasal prepositional verb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phrasal%20prepositional%20verb

MLA

“phrasal prepositional verb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phrasal%20prepositional%20verb. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phrasal prepositional verb,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phrasal%20prepositional%20verb.

Source: phrasal prepositional verb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.