to stick to

to stick to: to adhere to (a promise), to follow or obey (a set of rules, procedures, etc.)

• He made a promise to his wife to quit smoking and drinking, and so far he has stuck to it.
• All organizations expect their employees to stick to established work rules and procedures.
• If you try hard to stick to your principles, then you'll be able to live up to them.

to live up to

to live up to: to fulfill (a standard or promise)

• It was clear that the lazy student would never live up to his family's expectations.
• It surprised us that the car salesperson lived up to all the promises he made.

to make out

to make out: to read or see clearly(S); to prepare a legal document, such as a will, a check, etc. (S)

• The letter was so poorly handwritten that I couldn't make out many of the words.
• Harold, please make the check out to Acme Piano Company.

to die out

to die out: not to exist anymore; to be in the process of disappearing

• Scientists still are not sure exactly why the dinosaurs died out.
• That strange, new style of dancing is slowly dying out.

to fade away

to fade away: to diminish gradually in time or distance

• The memory of that unpleasant experience has slowly faded away.
• The music of the band gradually faded away as the parade passed down the street.

to die down

to die down: to decrease, to lessen in strength or intensity

• The hurricane became a less serious tropical storm when its winds died down.
• We let the fire in the fireplace die down and enjoyed watching the embers as they glowed in the dark.

to build up

to build up: to increase slowly, to make stronger gradually(S)

• They built up their savings account so that they could buy a new house.
• The professional athlete exercises regularly to build her strength up.

to bring about

to bring about: to cause to happen

This idiom is used to indicate who or what caused something to come about.

• John brought about the accident because of his carelessness.
• The heavy rains we have each spring brings about serious flooding.

to come about

to come about: to happen

• I didn't find any explanation in the newspaper about how the political coup came about.
• The flood came about as a result of the heavy winter rains.

to stick up

to stick up: to point or place upwards (S); to rob (S)

The second definition of this idiom has the same meaning as the third definition of to hold up.

• You should put some water on your hair. It's sticking up in the back.
• A masked thief stuck up a grocery store in the neighborhood last night.