leave out vs fill in vs drop out — in/out phrasals (GiU Unit 138)

Which is right

I’ve told you everything you need to know. I don’t think I’ve left out anything. ✓

leave out = omit, exclude — “I’ve left out nothing”, “leave out the salt” (don’t include it)
Context check: “told you everything” → nothing omitted → left out ✓

Phrasal	Meaning
leave out	omit, exclude
leave in	include, keep (opposite — “leave in the sugar”)
fill in	complete (a form); substitute (“fill in for me while I’m away”)
plug in	connect to power (“plug in the phone”)
drop out	quit a course/race
move out	vacate a home
eat out	dine at a restaurant — never takes an object (✗ “eaten out anything”)
take in	deceive/fool (I was taken in by the email); also shelter a stray, understand (I couldn’t take it all in), make clothes tighter

I thought the email was genuine, but it wasn’t. I was completely taken in by the email. ✓

take sb in = trick/deceive — usually passive: be taken in by sb/sth (a con, a sob story, a phishing email)
Other senses: take in a lodger (give shelter) · take it all in (understand/absorb) · take in a dress (sew tighter)
Opposite direction: I can’t take in that much information at once = process

Not all the runners finished the race. Some of them dropped out. ✓

drop out (of) = withdraw/quit a race, course, competition — no object required
left out ✗ (that’s omitting something else, and it needs an object)
eats out ✗ (dining out, intransitive and off-topic)
plug in / fill in / moved out ✗ (power / form / housing)

fill in / left out / get out / eat out / drop out — none mean deceived; only take in carries the trick sense

fill out would fit the “nothing to complete” idea but fill in/out needs the form as object — no object here → out of frame
dropped/moved out = changed residence/quit — not “told everything” territory
plug out ✗ (unplug is the word) — plug only goes in

Raymond Murphy, English Grammar in Use, Unit 138 — Phrasal verbs in/out. Ebot lesson 2026-09-05.