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Vocabulary : Phrasal Verbs : B : beat up

beat up

Meaning: to hurt someone by punching, kicking or hitting them with a hard object

Synonym: assault, attack

For example:

  • beat up sb When we were teenagers, we'd go to the bushes near the beach and beat up guys if we thought were gay. I feel so ashamed of myself when I think about this now.

  • beat sb up When Larry gets drunk, he goes home and shouts at his wife, and sometimes he even beats her up.

  • be beaten up Every day, people are beaten up and left bleeding in the streets. Why do people do this?

Quick Quiz:

If a woman is being beaten up by her boyfriend outside a nightclub, you'd expect other people to
  1. help the woman
  2. watch and cheer them on
  3. beat each other up as well

Grammar explanation: separable and non-separable phrasal verbs

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