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Phrasal verbs about crime are essential for learners who want to talk confidently about law, justice, and real-life situations reported in the news. These expressions are commonly used when discussing investigations, arrests, and criminal behavior, making them highly practical for everyday English.
In this lesson, you’ll learn common crime-related phrasal verbs, their pronunciation, meaning, grammar notes, and examples. You’ll also practice them through dialogues to help you use them naturally in context.
List of Common Phrasal Verbs with Crime
Crime-related phrasal verbs appear frequently in news reports, legal discussions, and descriptions of criminal activities. The following verbs describe criminal actions, police procedures, arrests, and investigations.
- Break into
- Break out of
- Bring in
- Cover up
- Get away with
- Hold up
- Lock up
- Rat out
- Run away
- Stake out
- Tip off
- Turn in
Crime Phrasal Verbs with Meaning and Examples
Each crime-related phrasal verb below includes its pronunciation, grammatical classification, separability status, meaning, and examples from law enforcement and criminal contexts. Understanding whether each verb is separable or inseparable is critical for accurate usage.
Someone broke into my car and stole the radio. The prisoner managed to break out of jail by digging a tunnel. The police brought in the suspect for questioning. The politician tried to cover up the scandal. He thought he could get away with fraud, but the police caught him.Break into
Break out of
Bring in
Cover up
Get away with
Crime investigation phrasal verbs describe both criminal actions and police procedures. These initial verbs focus on criminal acts—breaking into buildings, escaping custody, and evading capture. Understanding when verbs are separable versus inseparable is especially important for accurate reporting of crimes and legal situations.
The bank was held up by two masked robbers. The judge decided to lock up the criminal for ten years. He was afraid his partner would rat him out to the police. The suspect ran away from the crime scene. Detectives staked out the warehouse overnight.Hold up
Lock up
Rat out
Run away
Stake out
Law enforcement phrasal verbs focus on police procedures: surveillance, intelligence gathering, and bringing offenders into custody. These verbs describe the operational steps in criminal investigations and the path from crime to conviction.
Someone tipped off the police about the robbery. After weeks on the run, he finally turned himself in.Tip off
Turn in
Dialogue Examples: Crime Phrasal Verbs in Context
The following comprehensive dialogue demonstrates how crime-related phrasal verbs are used in realistic conversations about criminal investigations and police work. Notice how various phrasal verbs combine to create a complete narrative of a crime and its investigation.
- A
- How did the police catch the suspects in the end?
- B
- Someone tipped off the police about what they were planning to do.
- A
- Did the police act right away?
- B
- Yes, they staked out the area near the warehouse and watched quietly all night.
- A
- What happened when the suspects arrived?
- B
- The police followed them, stopped their car, and finally brought them in for questioning.
- A
- Were they charged with the crime?
- B
- Yes. Two of them tried to run away, but officers caught them before they escaped.
- A
- Did any of the gang members rat out the others?
- B
- One did. He agreed to testify in exchange for a lighter sentence.
- A
- Did police discover any other crimes?
- B
- Yes. They found evidence that these criminals had also broken into three other businesses.
- A
- Were they able to lock them all up?
- B
- The leader received a long sentence. The others received shorter terms because they didn’t cover up additional evidence.
- A
- What about the stolen goods?
- B
- Police recovered everything. No one managed to get away with anything in the end.
Common Mistakes with Crime Phrasal Verbs
Students often confuse which crime phrasal verbs are separable. Pay careful attention to these examples to avoid common errors:
❌ Wrong The police managed to bring the suspect in the station successfully.
✅ Correct The police managed to bring in the suspect for questioning.
“Bring in” is separable, but the meaning focuses on the action itself (arresting/taking to station), not requiring a destination object like “in the station.” The verb can also be separated with a pronoun: “bring him in.”
❌ Wrong The burglar tried to break my house into last night.
✅ Correct A burglar tried to break into my house last night.
“Break into” is inseparable and describes the action of entering by force. The target (house) comes after the entire phrasal verb, not between the parts. This verb cannot be separated regardless of the object type.
❌ Wrong The criminal managed to get the fraud away with before arrest.
✅ Correct The criminal managed to get away with the fraud before arrest.
“Get away with” is always inseparable and requires an object. This phrasal-prepositional verb cannot be split between the particle and preposition. You must keep all parts together: “get away with.”
Key Grammar Notes
👉 For more phrasal verb practice, explore business phrasal verbs and health-related phrasal verbs for additional context-based learning.