64 Verbs I

to double-croaa: to che at sb you

have just committed a crime with *
to dl
down: to beG(1ffl8 les I~ense
(without n eoe~ari
ly disappearing)
shadow/to tall: to follow and
watch sb closely
In this new novel, Pete double­
crosses his er in crime and W will have to wait for the storm The police have been shadowing/
runs off with 1 e money. tQ" die down before we attempt to tailing her for a week.
to rIG; 0 III~ally arrange the res
scue them. to stalk: to follow and try to get near
an election
~ out: to end and disappear in a person or animal in order to
The O~position leadtJr clalme8 a weak and disappointing way attack them
that the election was ri~ rpe protest against the new tax The cat was hiding in the long
tq 1WInd,1.' 0 pet money from sb by soon fizzled out as the grass, stalking a mouse.
d~ceMng tfiem
government would not bow to the

He mana to swindle the shop

out of £3,000 in three months.
protestors'demands.
to peter out to gradually disappear
*
to banish: to send sb out of their
native country as a punishment
and come to an end for sth they have done

to carve: to cut *

meat into slices

The rain eventually petered out.
to wear off: to stop having an effect
For her part in the plot, the King
banished her from England.
He put a huge turkey on the table.
"Will you carve?" he asked. You'll be fine for a couple of hours, to evacuate: to have to/ to force sb to
but when the anaesthetic wears leave a building or area because it
to mow: to cut grass off you will be in some pain. is dangerous
Your lawn needs mowing. Once the hurricane warning had
to slash: to cut sth violently with a
knife
*
to bug: to put very small listening
devices somewhere so as to listen
been given, it took the authorities
three hours to evacuate the
to and/or record conversations village.
He looked at his car. Someone
had slashed the lyres. Be careful what you say, as the to evtct: to force sb to leave the flat
room may be bugged. or house they live in because they
to trim: to make sth neat by cutting
have broken a law or the contract
away untidy pieces to eav sdrop: to intentionally listen
to the private conversations of They were evicted when they
Your hair needs trimming.
other people didn't pay the rent.
You mow the lawn and 1'1/ trim the
He stood outside the room
to expel: to dismiss sb from school
hedge.
eavesdropping on their
permanently because they have

to plummet: to fall dramatically (e.g.

conversation.
done sth very bad
She was expelled from school for
for prices) to overhear: to unintentionally hear
sb talking to sb else
playing practical jokes on the
The price of oil continues to teacher.
plummet and has now reached an As I walked past his office, I
all-time low of 50 cents a barrel.
to plunge: (i) to fall dramatically (for
overheard him tell his secretaI}'
that he was thinking of resigning. *
to climb: to steadily increase (for
money and temperature)
prices and temperatures) (ii) to to tap: (a telephone): to put a very
small listening device in so as to By mid-afternoon, the temperature
d ive into water (iii) to move
listen to telephone conversations had climbed to 37 °.
forwards and then fall a long way
down Suspicious noises led me to to ro cket: to increase dramatically
believe that my phone was being (for prices)
The temperature plunged to a
record low. tapped. House prices have rocketed by
65% in the last ten months.
He plunged into the sea and swam
towards the shore. *
to dig up: to find sth which has
remained hidden for a long time
to soar: to increase dramatically (for
prices and temperatures)
The car crashed through the
barrier and plunged over the cliff. We know she had cosmetic Soaring inflation has made it
surgeI}' about ten years ago. See impossible for people to manage.
to slump: to suddenly or dramatically
what you can dig up about that.
fall (for prices and business)
We were doing vel}' well for the
first three months of this year and
to stumble on : to find by chance
A man who was out walking his
*

to curb: (for inflation, the rising tide of

inner-city violence, the spread of a
then, for no discernible reason, dog stumbled on the treasure. disease, etc) to do sth to stop sth
our sales slumped. bad from continuing/getting worse
 A further 100 tax inspectors have He c ~ up the letter and The po lice combed the entire
been appointed to help curb flung t in he fire. area for clues.
increasing instancesof taxevasion. to hutl: to ~ row sth violently and to fish around In: to look for sth
to hamper: to make movement or with great force, often because using your hands and not your
progress difficult you are angry eyes
Rescue efforts have been He was sent off for hurling mud at She fished around in her handbag
hampered by bad weather. the referee. for her keys.
to hinder: to prevent or delay to pelt: to throw sth at sb and hit to cour: to make a thorough search
progress them with it [Note: to pelt down of a place or sth
He is hindered by his shyness. = to rain heavily] I scoured the entire house looking
They pelted each other with for my watch.
*

to chuck: (informal) to throw

snowballs. to sift through: to examine sth (e.g.
evidence) thoroughly
He screwed up the note and
chucked it in the bin. *
to comb: to search a place
thoroughly or look at information
The organisers are still sifting
through the competition entries.
to fling: to throw sth somewhere or carefully
at sb with great force

2. Now complete the sentencesbelow with an appropriate

C Practice verb (in the correct tense orform) from exercise 1.
1. The words in the groups are connected because they are
She was very late. She was flustered. She grabbed
similar in meaning. Label the groups using the verbs
whatever clothes and toiletries were nearest at hand
from the list below to show what theirsimilarities are.
and,
flingingthem into her SUitcase, she rushed
cut- follow - find - fall-listen- increase - stop­ door .
out of the
cheat - disappear - force to leave- throw - lookfor 2 The old lady was swindled out of her life savings by
a man pretending to be an investment consultant.
1 listen. bug - eavesdrop - overhear - tap 3 We were evicted from our last flat for not paying the rent.
4 Take an umbrella with you; it's pelting down outside.
2 cut slash - trim - carve - mow
5 It was a schoolboy, out on a walk, who the
3 disappeat peter out - fizzle out - wear off ­ stumbled on
die down prehistoric cave.
4 force to. leave evict - expel - banish - evacuate 6 The price of oil plummeted to an all-time low yesterday
5 fling - hurl - chuck - pelt when it was announced that a new engine had been
throw developed which could run on water.
6 scour - sift through - comb ­
look for fish around in 7 Driving rain and poor visibility hindered/ rescue
fall plummet - plunge - slump efforts to such an extent that the search
hampered off
was called
until the weather cleared up.
stop hamper - hinder - curb
cheat rig - swindle - double-cross 8 A further 100 police officers have been drafted into the
stalk - tail - shadow high crime areas of the city in an attempt to curb ..
follow the rising tide of armed robberies.
stumble on - dig up
find rocket - soar - climb 9 We can't go sailing until this storm dies down/ .
10 One of my Sunday chores was tomow the lawn.
increase
11 Rescuersscoured through the rubble looking for
survivors from the earthquake.
12 In the last three years house prices have rocketed by
an incredible 300%.
13 I was walking past John's office and I overheard him
saying to George that Mr Jenkins is retiring.
14 As the fire swept towards the town, thousands of
people had to be from their homes.
evacuated