- attend to
treat / tend
The nurse attended to Mr Jones by adjusting his drip. - bend down
bend to the ground
Paula bent down and picked up the stethoscope. - bend over
bend at the waist
Could you bend over and then straighten up, please? - black out
become unconscious / faint
Roger blacked out and collapsed into his armchair. - block up
obstruct
His arteries had blocked up, inhibiting blood flow. - break down
digest / stop functioning
She was having difficulty breaking down solid food. - break out in
suddenly be covered in sth
Alan broke out in a rash due to an allergy. - breathe in / out
inhale / exhale
Breathe in slowly, hold it, then breathe out. - bring up
regurgitate / mention
I’ve been bringing up phlegm all morning. - build up
accumulate
You must build up immunity by eating healthily. - burn out
become exhausted
Jason burnt out due to his excessive work schedule. - burn up
consume, e.g. calories
How many calories have you burnt up today? - calm down
become calmer / pacify
You need to calm down and listen to the doctor. - care for
treat / tend
My dad cares for his wife, who has Alzheimer’s. - carry out
perform, e.g. a procedure
They’ll carry out the tests first thing in the morning. - check on
monitor
I’ll be back in an hour to check on your progress. - chill out
unwind
Just chill out for a few days and try to get some rest. - clear up
disappear
I’m so glad your rash is clearing up. - clog up
become blocked
Her pores are clogged up with dead skin. - come down with
develop, e.g. an illness
Alan came down with the flu last week. - come on
start, e.g. a cold
Amy could feel that a cold was coming on. - come round / to
become conscious
Let me know when grandma comes round. - conk out
fall asleep
Look – Jenny’s conked out. She must’ve been exhausted. - cough up
expectorate
My father has been coughing up blood for a while now. - cut out
eliminate, e.g. sugar
You need to cut out sugar as far as you possibly can. - dose up
give / take medication
Oliver is in bed dosed up on painkillers. - drop off
fall asleep
Your daughter dropped off at about eight o’clock. - eat away at
erode
Yes, the cancer has been eating away at your bones. - ebb away
get weaker gradually
His life is slowly ebbing away before our very eyes. - fall apart
break into pieces
Since dad died my life has fallen apart. - fall down
collapse
Uncle Jim fell down and broke his back. - fall over
stumble / trip
I was jogging, then I fell over and landed on my hand. - fatten up
increase weight
We need to fatten you up before you leave hospital. - fight off
battle
Theresa is currently fighting off leukaemia. - fill up
become full
We’ll have to fill up two test tubes with your blood. - flare up
return
It appears that her eczema has flared up badly again. - follow up on
take further action
Call back next week so we can follow up on your results. - get around
move / be mobile
Grandpa is finding it hard to get around at the moment. - get over
recover / overcome
Fantastic that you have managed to get over your illness! - get up
rise
Can you get up and walk to the wall and back, please. - give up
quit
Don’t give up! You’ve nearly finished your treatment. - go away
disappear
I was really hoping it would go away without medication. - go through
experience / suffer
It’s a shame she had to go through such pain, isn’t it? - grow up
become an adult
When I grow up I want to be a surgeon, like you! - gulp down
swallow quickly
If you gulp down the medicine quickly, you won’t taste it. - hold out
offer, e.g. yr hand
Hold out your hand and try to grab the rail. - hook up
connect
They hooked dad up to the life support machine. - keel over
collapse / fall down suddenly
All of a sudden Alison keeled over and hit the floor. - kneel down
go down on one or both knees
Auntie was kneeling down but couldn’t get up again. - knock out
become unconscious
The combination of pills knocked him out completely.
