phrasal verbs

brush up (on) sth

to improve your skills in something: I'm trying to brush up on my French before I go to Paris.

come round

to change your opinion of something, often influenced by another person's opinion: He'll come round to my point of view, given a bit of time.

come up with

to suggest or think of an idea or plan: She's come up with some amazing scheme to double her income.

face up to sth

to accept that a difficult situation exists: She's going to have to face up to the fact that he's not going to marry her.

figure out

to finally understand something or someone, or find the solution to a problem after a lot of thought: [+ question word] I can't figure out why he did it. I find him really odd - I can't figure him out at all. Can you figure out the answer to question 5?

hit upon

suddenly have an idea, discover something by chance

make out

to see, hear, or understand something or someone with difficulty: The numbers are too small - I can't make them out at all. I can't make out your writing.

mull over/thing over

to think carefully about something for a long time

piece together

learn the truthabout sth by considering all the separate bits of information you have

puzzle out

solve confusing or complicated problem by thinking carefully about it

read up (on, about)

get information on a particular subject by reading a lot about it

swot up on

to learn as much as you can about a subject, especially before an exam: She's at home, swotting up on her maths.

take in

understand and remember something that you hear or read, accept sth as real or true, trick someone into believing something that is not true

think through

to carefully consider the possible results of doing something: It sounds like a good idea but we need to think it through.

think up

invent or imagine something, especially an excuse