cut down

To cut down means to reduce the amount or frequency of something, especially a habit or activity that you do too much. It suggests making a gradual or deliberate decrease rather than stopping completely.

Type

Separable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'cut down' is used with a direct object (a noun), the object can appear either between 'cut' and 'down' or after 'down' — for example, 'cut down your expenses' or 'cut your expenses down.' However, when the object is a pronoun, it must go between the two parts: 'cut them down,' never 'cut down them.' When followed by 'on,' the phrase becomes 'cut down on' and is not separated.

Conjugation

Narrative

Maria had always driven everywhere — to the supermarket, to her sister's flat, even to the corner shop two streets away. B when petrol prices surged in the spring, she sat down with her monthly bank statements and felt a fa dread. She ma her usual routes and realized she was making over forty short car trips a week. She decided to cut down on unary journeys, re anything under two kilometres with walking or cycling. Three weeks in, she was sleeping better, spending less, a actually enjoying the route past the canal on Tuesday mornings. S , the car, she figured, could wait — she had learned to cu without really missing it.

Register

Neutral

In the early 1970s, the United States was consuming roughly a third of the world's oil while facing mounting economic strain. When OPEC im its oil embargo in October 1973, cutting supplies to the US and triggering panic at petrol stations, President Richard Nixon addressed the nation on November 7, 1973, and announced a package of ur measures. Americans were asked to lower thermostat settings, reduce highway speeds to 55 mph, and — crucially — cut down on car travel wherever possible. Me , airlines were directed to reduce flights; offices were told to dim their lights. The 55 mph speed limit became federal law in 1974 and remained in force until 1995. What began as a crisis response re American habits for a generation: carpooling grew, smaller cars gained popularity, and the idea that consumption could — and sometimes must — be deely reduced entered mainstream political life. The embargo lasted only five months, b its lesson endured. Noess , nations, like individuals, sometimes need a sharp external pressure before they genuinely commit to cuown on what they had always taken for granted.

To pick up means to collect or gather someone or something from a place, to gradually improve or increase in speed, activity, or quality, or to learn a skill or language through informal experience rather than formal study.

Type

Separable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'pick up' means to collect something or someone, it is separable, meaning a noun object can come between the verb and the particle: 'Pick the parcel up' or 'Pick up the parcel' are both correct. However, when the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle: say 'Pick it up,' never 'Pick up it.' When the meaning is 'to improve' or 'to learn informally,' no object is required.

Conjugation

Narrative

Marta had landed in Montreal with one connecting flight left and forty minutes to spare. She had me a few French phrases on the plane, b when the gate agent spoke quickly over the intercom, she understood almost nothing. She found a woman reading a map near the gate and asked for help. The woman laughed ki and slowed down. B the time Marta boarded her second flight, she had pi three new expressions and felt ge proud. She w them on the back of her boarding pass so she wouldn't forget them before landing. S , she worried she'd mix them up.

Register

Neutral

In the autumn of 1940, a young Charles de Gaulle had almost nothing — no army, no territory, no formal government. He had fled France after its fall to Nazi Germany and arrived in London with little more than a uniform and an idea. He spoke almost no English on arrival. Y over the following months, he ab the language through daily meetings with Churchill's staff, radio broadcasts, and street conversations around Westminster. By 1941, he was conducting interviews and negotiations in fu English. More critically, volunteers began joining his Free French Forces in small numbers, then larger ones — soldiers ar from French colonies, merchant sailors, resistance couriers. What had been a sy movement of one man and a borrowed BBC microphone slowly began to gather real momentum. Historians often mark late 1941 as the point when the Free French genuinely picked up strength, transforming from a symbolic gesture into a fi force that would matter at D-Day and beyond. Inrds , De Gaulle's story is a reminder that recovery — whether of a language, a cause, or a country — rarely happens all at once. You pi things piece by piece, until suddenly the momentum is undeniable.

To accept or agree to do a task, responsibility, or challenge that requires effort; or to hire someone for a job. For example, if you take on extra work, you agree to do it, and if a company takes on new staff, they employ them.

Type

Separable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'take on' means to accept a task or responsibility, it is separable: a noun object can appear before or after 'on' (e.g., 'She took the extra work on' or 'She took on the extra work'). However, when the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle: 'She took it on' — never 'She took on it'. When 'take on' means to employ someone, the same rule applies: 'They took him on last month.'

Conjugation

Narrative

Marcus had been a junior copywriter for two years when his agency landed a major pharmaceutical client. His creative director pulled him aside on a Tuesday morning and asked if he'd be willing to take on the account — sole point of contact, weekly client calls, full copy ownership. Marcus felt his stomach ti . He'd never managed a client relationship before. He spent that evening li everything he didn't know, then found a mentor in the agency's senior team. B Friday, he'd said yes. S , six months later, the re campaign won an award. Ev , Marcus still do himself before every client call, p as he was of the result. He had chosen to ta the account despite the doubt.

Register

Neutral

In January 1942, just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt co his advisers and made an exary commitment: America would produce 60,000 aircraft, 45,000 tanks, and 20,000 anti-aircraft guns within the year — figures that most industrial experts privately considered impossible. The country's factories were still largely configured for peacetime production. Roosevelt noess directed the full conversion of American industry, a challenge of st logistical complexity. Henry Kaiser, a businessman with no shipbuilding experience, responded by applying assembly-line methods to ship construction at his Richmond, California yards. By 1943, his workforce was completing a Liberty cargo ship in an average of just 42 days — down from 355. The industrial output the United States achieved by 1944 ex the combined production of Germany, Japan, and Italy. S , Roosevelt and the ordinary workers behind him demonstrated what it truly means to ta an en responsibility: not simply agreeing to it in word, b committing the resources, the ingenuity, and the will to see it through.

To increase gradually or develop something stronger over a period of time. It can refer to physical things, skills, confidence, pressure, or relationships that grow little by little.

Type

Separable phrasal verb.

Notes

When 'build up' is used with a noun object, the noun can appear either between the two parts or after 'up': 'She built up her confidence' and 'She built her confidence up' are both correct. However, when the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle: say 'She built it up,' never 'She built up it.'

Conjugation

Narrative

Marco had always been te of public speaking. In January, he signed up for a local toastmasters club, not to give speeches, but just to watch. By February, he was introducing himself. By April, he was delivering two-minute talks. His mentor, Dana, re him every week that there were no shortcuts — each s session was building up a layer of confidence he hadn't had before. By June, Marco stood in front of forty strangers and s for eight minutes without notes. S , he wasn't cured of fear, b he had bu enough courage to face it. Ev , his hands still shook a little.

Register

Informal

In 1934, a twenty-five-year-old Soichiro Honda was working as a mechanic in Hamamatsu, Japan, repairing cars and racing them on weekends. He had no university degree and almost no capital. Rahan launch a company immediately, he spent years studying engineering part-time at Hamamatsu Technical High School while running his repair shop. He exted with piston ring manufacturing in his own backyard, failing repeatedly — Toyota rejected his first prototypes as un . In quitting, Honda re his process, invested back into the workshop, and gradually won a supply contract with Toyota in 1941. After the war, in 1948, he founded Honda Motor Co. with that ha technical knowledge and a reputation earned one small improvement at a time. His story is a pr illustration of what bu means in practice: not a single breakthrough, b a deliberate, patient accumulation of skill, credibility, and resources over more than a decade before the world took notice.