- 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.
- lay up
have to stay in bed / confine
Ben was laid up in bed for a month after his fall. - let off
fart / break wind / expel gas
Who’s let off again? - lie down
recline
Could you just lie down on the couch, please? - lift up
raise / elevate
So, lift up your left leg. Thank you. And the right. - liven up
galvanise / excite
We’re trying to liven her up, but she won’t move. - loaf around
idle / do nothing
Lily’s been loafing around all day at home. - look after
protect / mind
The nurse has been looking after us really well. - look at
examine
I just need to have a look at your ankle, John. - look down
lower yr head/eyes
Look down at the floor then look at me. - look for
search / hunt
We’ve been looking for your notes all morning. - look over
check / review
I just need to look you over from head to toe. - look round
turn yr head
Could you look round for me? That’s fine. OK. - look up
raise yr head/eyes / research
If you look up, we’re going to check your sight. - minister to
treat / tend
Nurse Angela ministered to her charge all night. - nod off
fall asleep, especially unintentionally
Sorry, I just nodded off for a few minutes there. - open up
make an opening / become more open
We’ll make an incision and open up your chest. - pack up
stop functioning
Sadly his heart packed up and he died. - pass away
die (euphemism)
Your uncle passed away at ten o’clock last night. - pass out
become unconscious / faint
When I got back he was passed out on the bed. - patch up
repair temporarily
They patched up my arm, but I’ve got to go back. - perk up
improve condition
Looks like Tom’s perked up a bit today. - pick up
contract / improve / lift
She picked up TB while travelling in Malawi. - prop up
support / help sby to sit up
We’ll prop you up here; can you move the pillow? - pull through
recover (after a bad illness)
We’re so thankful that you pulled through. - put on
fake sth, e.g. an illness / wear
It turned out that she had been putting it on! - rub down
massage / dry
Have a quick shower, then rub yourself down. - run around
run in different directions
Dr Neilson has been running around all day. - seize up
become stiff suddenly / freeze
And then my calf muscle suddenly seized up. - sew up
suture, e.g. a wound
We clean the wound then sew it up. - shake off
get rid of, e.g. an infection
I’m having a hard time shaking off this virus. - shut down
stop functioning
His liver shut down on the way to hospital. - shut up
be quiet
Just shut up and take your pills! - sit down
be seated
OK, sit down and I’ll outline today’s procedures. - sit up
sit with a straight back
Would you sit up straight, please, Mrs Felton. - slim down
reduce weight
It is obviously in your best interests to slim down. - stand up
rise / get to yr feet
Rob stood up and left the consulting room. - stress out
worry / aggravate
My daughter was stressing out all evening. - strip down to
remove some clothing
Please strip down to your underwear. - strip off
remove clothing
I’m not happy to strip off in front of three doctors. - swell up
become swollen / expand
My foot swelled up and became very painful. - take off
remove, e.g. clothing
When they took off the bandage, I nearly cried. - tend to
treat / usually be/do
The RN was tending to Mrs Peel when I arrived. - throw up
vomit
Joey was throwing up all night. - turn over
change position to the opposite side
Please turn over and show me where it hurts. - turn round
move to face the opposite way
Turn round and open your shirt a little. - wake up
become conscious
When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed! - waste away
deteriorate
Sadly, no one knew and he simply wasted away. - watch over
guard / hold a vigil for sby
I watched over him all night until he finally woke. - work out
exercise / resolve
Have you considered working out twice a week? - wrap around
enfold
Let me wrap the bandage around your arm
