A phrasal verb is a verb that consists of two or three separate parts: 'come in', 'run away', 'look forward to', etc. With an idiomatic phrasal verb, the meanings of the separate parts tell us little or nothing about the meaning of the whole. For example, students may be fully familiar with the meanings of 'pick' and 'up' as individual words, but this knowledge does not help them when they want to know the idiomatic meaning of 'pick up' in, 'Business is picking up'. This dictionary has been written to help the learner with this type of idiomatic combination.

To be fluent in English, you have to be able to use phrasal verbs well. This dictionary has been written for intermediate and advanced students who want an easy-to-use reference book that deals with this area of the language. The emphasis is on idiomatic phrasal verbs, whose meaning and use are especially difficult for students.

The Useful Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs has about 2,500 entries, each containing a definition, note on grammatical usage and one or more examples to show how the phrasal verb is actually used. Many new phrasal verbs referring to the world of computers and the Internet – for example 'log in' and 'scroll down'– have been added for this edition.

Phrasal verbs are important in English but they are also quite difficult for students to learn. Learners of English need to be able both to recognize them in reading and listening, as well as to be able to use them in writing and speaking.