20 Essential Business English Phrasal Verbs (With Examples)

Why business English phrasal verbs matter

Native English speakers use phrasal verbs constantly in workplace communication: meetings, emails, phone calls, and presentations. Non-native speakers who use them confidently sound more fluent and natural; those who avoid them sound formal and textbook-like.

This guide covers the 20 most important business English phrasal verbs, the ones you will hear (and need to produce) in real workplace English.

Quick answer: The 20 essential business English phrasal verbs are set up, call off, put off, push back, bring forward, take on, hand over, follow up, wrap up, roll out, get back to, go over, bring up, put forward, come up with, back down, give in, draw up, sign off on, and fall through. Each has a formal equivalent (see the comparison table below).

A learner who says "We need to postpone the meeting" is correct but sounds like a textbook. A fluent speaker says "We need to push back the meeting". Both communicate the same thing, but the phrasal verb signals that you are comfortable with informal-professional English, the register of most internal business communication.

Important note: Phrasal verbs are appropriate in emails, meetings, and calls among colleagues. In very formal contexts (legal contracts, board-level reports, investor communications), prefer the formal alternatives, and use the passive voice (The contract has been signed, Approval will be granted by Friday) when the actor is less important than the action.

Group 1: Meetings and Decisions

1. set up / set something up

Meaning: arrange or organise something Formal equivalent: arrange, organise, establish

• Can you set up a meeting for Thursday afternoon?
• We need to set up a system for tracking customer feedback.

2. call off / call something off

Meaning: cancel a meeting or event Formal equivalent: cancel

• The client called off the meeting at the last minute.
• We had to call off the product launch due to supply issues.

3. put off / put something off

Meaning: postpone to a later time Formal equivalent: postpone, defer

• We've put off the budget review until next month.
• Don't put off the difficult conversations; they only get harder.

4. push back / push something back

Meaning: delay or reschedule Formal equivalent: reschedule, defer

• Can we push back the deadline by two weeks?
• The launch has been pushed back to Q3.

5. bring forward / bring something forward

Meaning: move an event to an earlier time Formal equivalent: advance, reschedule (earlier)

• The board has brought forward the annual review to March.
• They want to bring forward the product launch.

Group 2: Projects and Tasks

6. take on / take something on

Meaning: accept new work or responsibility Formal equivalent: accept, assume responsibility for

• She has taken on three new clients this quarter.
• Are you sure you can take on another project right now?

7. hand over / hand something over

Meaning: transfer responsibility or documents to someone else Formal equivalent: transfer, delegate

• He will hand over his accounts to the new manager next week.
• Please hand over all the project files before you leave.

8. follow up / follow up on something

Meaning: check on progress or continue after an initial contact Formal equivalent: check on, pursue

• I'll follow up with the client tomorrow morning.
• Can you follow up on the proposal we sent last week?

9. wrap up / wrap something up

Meaning: finish or conclude Formal equivalent: conclude, finalise

• Let's wrap up this meeting; we've covered everything.
• We need to wrap up the project before the end of the quarter.

10. roll out / roll something out

Meaning: launch or implement gradually across a wider area Formal equivalent: launch, implement, deploy

• We plan to roll out the new software in phases.
• The training programme has been rolled out across all departments.

Group 3: Communication

11. get back to (someone)

Meaning: contact someone again with information or a response Formal equivalent: respond to, follow up with

• I'll get back to you with the figures by end of day.
• She promised to get back to me after checking with her team.

12. go over / go over something

Meaning: review or examine in detail Formal equivalent: review, examine

• Can we go over the contract before signing?
• Let me go over the main points from today's meeting.

13. bring up / bring something up

Meaning: introduce a topic in a discussion Formal equivalent: raise, mention, introduce

• He brought up the budget issue at the last minute.
• I need to bring up a concern about the timeline.

14. put forward / put something forward

Meaning: propose or suggest an idea formally Formal equivalent: propose, submit, present

• She put forward an interesting suggestion during the workshop.
• Several solutions have been put forward, but none approved yet.

15. come up with / come up with something

Meaning: produce an idea or solution Formal equivalent: devise, generate, produce

• We need to come up with a solution by Friday.
• The team came up with three viable options.

Group 4: Negotiations and Agreements

16. back down / back down from something

Meaning: withdraw from a position or demand Formal equivalent: concede, withdraw, retreat

• After an hour of negotiation, they finally backed down on the pricing.
• Neither side was willing to back down.

17. give in / give in to something

Meaning: stop resisting; agree after pressure Formal equivalent: concede, yield

• We eventually gave in to their terms on the delivery schedule.
• Don't give in to pressure; stand by your position.

18. draw up / draw something up

Meaning: prepare a document formally (contract, plan, report) Formal equivalent: prepare, draft, compose

• The legal team is drawing up the contract now.
• Can you draw up a proposal for the new service?

19. sign off on / sign off on something

Meaning: give final approval Formal equivalent: approve, authorise

• The director needs to sign off on all expenses over £5,000.
• Has the budget been signed off on yet?

20. fall through / fall through (no object)

Meaning: fail to happen; collapse (deals, plans) Formal equivalent: collapse, fail, be unsuccessful

• The deal fell through at the last stage.
• Our plans for expansion fell through due to funding problems.

Formal vs Phrasal: When to Use Each

Practice Exercise

Replace the formal word with the correct phrasal verb:

1. We need to postpone the deadline by one week. → push back
2. Can you arrange a meeting for next Tuesday? → set up
3. The project was cancelled due to budget cuts. → called off
4. She proposed a new strategy during the workshop. → put forward
5. The deal collapsed at the final stage. → fell through

Practise Business Phrasal Verbs Now

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