Top 20 English Verbs for Dating

If you like dating, or talking about dating  then stay tuned as I teach you the top 20  

most important dating phrases.  Subscribe, like, and let’s get started.

1. To ask out. 
To ‘ask someone out’ means to  invite them to go on a date with you. 
“So I’m  

going to the cinema tonight to see that new Marvel  movie, if you want to come and see it with me.” 

“Are you asking me out?”
 

2. To be seeing. 
To ‘be seeing’ someone means you  are going on dates with them but you are not,  

or not yet, officially in a relationship. So it's at the very start. “What’s  the deal with you and Cameron? You’re spending  

a lot of time together.” “Well, we’re kind of  seeing each other I guess.” “WHAT!? That’s HUGE,  

you and Cameron, together?” “Shh, it’s still  early days, so don't tell anyone, just keep it to yourself ok?” 

3. To chat up. 
To ‘chat someone up’ means to  talk flirtatiously with someone in the hopes  

of getting them interested in you. 
“Remember me?  Oh, that’s right, I’ve met you only in my dreams.”  

“Seriously? If you are gonna chat me up  then you need to work on your material.” 

4. To cheat on. 
To ‘cheat on’ a partner  means to go behind their back, betray  

them, romantically or sexually with someone else.  
“Have you seen the picture Beth posted online?  

It’s proof that Justin has cheated on her.”
 5. To come on to. 
To ‘come on to someone’  

means to show sexual interest in them. It’s  like propositioning them, or making a move  

on them. Some people may consider chatting  a person up to be a come-on but to come on  

to someone is a stronger, it's a more direct signal.  
“I’m hiding, Franko came on to me earlier.  

We were both in the kitchen and he just  leant over and tried to kiss me." Now 

that's  

called unrequited love, Franko really likes  this girl but she doesn’t like him back. Have you  

ever been in a situation where someone, you didn’t  really like, came on to you? What did you do?  

Tell me about your experience in the comments  section below. 
In these situations it’s important  

that you can communicate confidently  so that there isn’t a misunderstanding.  


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6. To date. 
To ‘date’ someone means to go  out with them in a romantic setting. If you  

say you are dating someone then it’s similar to  “seeing” someone. It means you are meeting up  

regularly and exploring the possibility of a  relationship. You wouldn’t say you were dating  

someone if you had only been on one date or  even two dates, it has to be an ongoing thing.  


“Jessica and Edward have been dating for 3 months  now, I wish they would just make it official.”
 

7. To drool over
To ‘drool over’ someone is  a jokey way of saying that you find them very  

attractive, imagining that person is a delicious  food and they make you salivate. Which actually  

sounds really gross.
“I have to admit I spent  the whole film drooling over Bradley Cooper."
 

8. To fall for
. To ‘fall for’ someone  means to develop feelings for them,  

or even begin to love them. 
“He’s so lovely.  I know I’ve only known him for a week but  

I’m really falling for him.”
 9. To flirt  


To ‘flirt’ means to behave in a way which  indicates sexual attraction, such as making lots  

of eye contact. “I didn’t  order a drink?” “I know, it’s on the house”
“I  

think the waiter is flirting with me!”
 10. To go out with. 
To ‘go out with’  

somebody means to go on a date, or to spend  time together romantically. If you say you’re  

‘going out with’ someone, it can either refer to  a specific date, for example: “I’m going out with  

Robert on Friday”; or it can mean that you are  in a relationship with them and they are your  

boyfriend or girlfriend. For example: “Esme has  been going out with Peter for almost a year”.
 

11. To have a crush on. 
To ‘have a crush  on’ someone means to have romantic feelings  

towards them but it's not necessarily requited.
 “You keep talking about  Kate, do you have a crush on her?”
 

12. To hit on. 
To ‘hit on’ someone means to make  a clear sexual advances on them, to flirt with  

them in an extreme way. Like ‘come on to’. 
“He  was hitting on her but she wasn’t interested.”
 

13. To hook up with. 
The context of this  phrase can change depending on the context.  

Sometimes, ‘to hook up with’ someone means to  get together for the first time. For example:  

“When did you two first hook up?”. Sometimes, it  can refer to sexual activity. “Did you hear that  

Alice and Mike hooked up after the party?”
 14. To lead on. 
To ‘lead someone on’ means to  

pretend to have a romantic or sexual interest  in them with no intention of acting upon it.  


“She really liked him but  he was leading her on.”
 

15. To make out. 
To ‘make out’ with  someone means to kiss them passionately.  

This is quite an American phrase but because of  the popularity of lots of films and television shows,  

the vocabulary has started to be used much more  

in the UK too. 
“I saw Eric making  out with Angela last night.”
 

16. To ogle. 
To ‘ogle’ someone means  to stare at them in a sexual manner.  

Now this word is often used negatively to describe  someone who is creepy. 
“Did you see David  

ogling the waitress? I’m gonna kill him.”
 17. To pick up. 
To ‘pick someone up’ means  

to successfully attract them. This is not a  particularly respectful way to speak about  

another person, but it’s helpful to know so you  understand if you hear somebody else say it.  


“Yeah Johnny thinks he’s really  good at picking up women.”
 

18. To reject. 
To ‘reject’ someone means to turn  down their romantic or sexual advances. For  

example if someone asks you on a date and you  say no, you would be rejecting them. 
“Yeah, Shelley  

asked me on a date but I didn’t want to go so I  rejected her. I hope she’s not too offended.”
 

19. To stand up. 
To ‘stand someone up’ means to  arrange to meet them and then not arrive, and  

not tell them. They are just left waiting. It’s  very rude to stand someone up. 
“So I was waiting  

at the bar for half an hour. I started thinking  he had stood me up but he finally showed up.”
 

20. To turn down. 
To ‘turn someone down’ is to  reject or refuse them. It feels more gentle  

than reject.
“I asked him out  last year but he turned me down.”