100 most frequently used idioms - part 4

(English Idioms & Sayings) 75 -100 of 100 most frequently used idioms

rule out (someone or something)

- to decide against or eliminate someone or something
The police ruled out the man as a possible bank robber.
We decided to rule out Monday as the day to have our meeting.

run into (trouble/problems/difficulty/an issue)

- to experience something, to encounter something
The mechanic ran into trouble when he was fixing my car.
I ran into some interesting facts when I was researching my essay.

set up (something)

- to establish something, to provide the money for something
The newspaper company provided the money to set up the new travel magazine.
The company set up a unique situation to test the new product.

show up

- to appear, to arrive, to be present
"What time did your friend show up for the party?"

so far

- until now
So far no one has entered the speech contest at the television station.

so to speak

- as one might or could say, this is one way to say something
We had a good time at the restaurant, so to speak, although the service was not very good.

sort of (something)

- to be almost something, to be similar to something, to be not quite something
"Did you finish cleaning the kitchen?"
"Sort of, but not really."

stick with (something)

- to continue doing something, to not quit something
My brother has been able to stick with his trumpet lessons since he was a child.

take advantage of (someone or something)

- to use someone or something for one's own benefit
We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the beach.

take care of (someone or something)

- to look after or give attention to someone or something
You should take care of your health or you will become sick.

take out (something)

- to remove something from somewhere, to extract something
The teacher told us to take out our books.
I took out some onions from the refridgerator.

take over (something)

- to take control of something, to take command of something
The large company wants to take over some of the small companies in our area.

take place

- to happen, to occur
The soccer game took place on the coldest day of the year.

to the extent that

- to the degree that, in so far as
I plan to provide information about the new company policy to the extent that I am familiar with it.

turn in (something)

- to give something to someone, to hand something to someone
I arrived at school early so that I could turn in my essay.

turn out

- to be found or known, to prove to be true
It turned out that more people came to the party than we expected.

up to

- until
Up to last week I had never been inside a bowling alley.
There were probably up to thirty people at the meeting.

up to (someone) to decide/do (something)

- to be responsible to choose or decide something
It is up to the company president to decide when the meeting will start.

used to

- accustomed to
My friend is not used to living in such a big city.

with respect to (something)

- referring to something, concerning something
I do not know what the company will do with respect to the old computer system.

work out (for the best)

- to end successfully
I hope that everything will work out for my friend when she moves to London next week.


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