wash up or wash down?
You say you ‘wash down’ things with a hose.
He’s washing down a horse.
You ‘wash down’ food with a drink....
He washed down his spaghetti with a glass of red wine.
Things carried by floods or rivers are ‘washed down’.
Branches and other debris have been washed down.
But things that end up on the shore of a large body of water have ‘washed up’.
I like to collect the shells that have washed up on the beach.
To ‘wash up’ is to do the dishes.
I don’t want to wash up tonight.
People at the end of their career and no longer good at what they did are called ‘washed up’.
Injuries left him washed up as a footballer at only 26.
wind up or wind down?
gradually slowing and coming to an end
The party is starting to wind down.
relax
I like to wind down after work by watching TV.
lower something
Wind down the car window to let some air in....
finish up in a place
You'll wind up in jail if you keep breaking the law.
turn the knob or handle on a device to make it work
I've got an old-fashioned watch that you need to wind up.
stop doing an activity
We had to wind up the game when it got too dark to see the ball.
close down an organisation
The business was wound up.
To wind someone up is to deliberately annoy them.
I love to wind up the teachers.
take up
start an activity
I've decided to take up swimming.
occupies; uses
The computer takes up too much space on the desk.
accept
I'm going to take up that job offer....
restart something that has been interrupted
I'll take up the story from where I left it last night.
remove from a surface
We took up the carpets and then polished the floorboards.
shorten a dress or pair of trousers
This dress needs to be taken up.
look up
To ‘look up’ is to see what is above you.
It also means to find a piece of information.
You can look up just about anything online. ...
To look someone up is to get into contact with someone you used to know.
You must look me up if you ever visit Sydney.
If things are looking up, they are improving.
Things are looking up since I got a new job.
sell up or sell out?
To ‘sell up’ is to sell your house or business.
We're going to sell up and spend some time travelling.
If something is sold out, there is nothing left for sale.
I couldn't get any of the tea that you like because it was sold out.
To ‘sell out’ is to betray your beliefs.
He sold out his ideals and became part of the government he said was corrupt.
blow up
To blow something up is to destroy it with an explosion.
He said he's going to blow up the bridge.
lose your temper...
She blew up and and shouted at him.
fill something with air
I have to blow up the balloons for the party.
make a larger copy of a picture
Can you blow up this photo?
الرئيسية 
