jack-up

1 of 2

noun

: a drilling rig used in offshore drilling whose drilling platform is a barge from which legs are lowered to the bottom when over the drill site and which is raised above the water and supported on the legs to conduct drilling operations

jack up

2 of 2

verb

jacked up; jacking up; jacks up

transitive verb

1
: to move or lift (something, such as an automobile) with or as if with a jack (see jack entry 1 sense 3a)
She jacked up the car to change the tire.
He jacked up his shorts.
… steel rollers were situated at four points under the timber truss bridge, which had been jacked up above the temporary bridge.Civil Engineering
2
a
: to raise the level or amount of (something) : increase
jack up the price
Most loans still do carry a bevy of fees … all of which have been jacked up—in some cases doubled—over the past year.Fred R. Bleakley
The club jacked up cash prizes for the race to $514,000, almost double last year's purse.Kostya Kennedy
… the city's powerful economy has jacked up demand for dwellings.Ralph Bivens
b
: to increase (something) in intensity, scope, etc.
Jill [Gisvold] says she jacked up her training last fall "because I had some shake-ups in my life, and I found that running helped me deal with it."Bob Cooper
This Miami Vice rerun is a change-of-pace episode, with the comedy jacked up and the drama toned down.TV Guide
c
informal : to cause great excitement, enthusiasm, or energy in (someone)
Nothing jacks up a rabid sports fan more than visiting a modern sports bar armed with a high-tech viewing experience …Monterey County (California) Herald
With lead MC Will.I.Am and bandmates … bounding about the stage like aerobics instructors after a quadruple latte, the group jacked up the crowd with "Let's Get It Started" and its current single, "Don't Phunk With My Heart."Dan DeLuca
3
a
informal : to grab, shove, or handle (someone or something) forcefully
One day, some jerk jacked him up against a locker. "I'm in the air, feet dangling," recalls [Jim] Shea …Anne Marie Cruz
b
informal : to cause injury to (someone or something)
Saturday I jacked up my neck and shoulder while I was warming up to play golf.Patrick Dix
c
informal : to beat up or hurt (someone)
A Gainesville man with a history of battery convictions has been charged with child abuse after police say he admitted to "jacking up" an 11-year-old boy, resulting in bruises still visible to officers three days later.Sean P. McCrory
d
informal : to treat or confront (someone) in a harassing, rough, or overly aggressive and typically unwarranted manner
In recent months, the service has increasingly been contacted by youths who say they were "jacked up" by police—stopped suddenly by anti-gang officers, frisked, questioned and sometimes roughed up, [David] Lynn said.Los Angeles Times
And in the course of being jacked up by the police, many claim they have been man-handled or physically mistreated.Jeff Yang

Examples of jack-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Nearby, loaded barges have been arriving alongside the Aeolus, a Dutch vessel known as a jack-up ship. Patrick McGeehan, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024 The central role at South Fork is played by the Aeolus, a jack-up ship. Patrick McGeehan, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2023 The team is currently improving the technology to compensate for disturbances from waves, so installation can be done on floating vessels instead of jack-up vessels, which stand on the seabed. IEEE Spectrum, 8 Mar. 2023
Verb
People who run cold are more likely to want to jack up the thermostat indoors and may feel especially chilly when stepping outdoors in the winter months. Korin Miller, Health, 19 Jan. 2024 The trip round Africa can add about 10 days to journey times and requires more fuel and crew-time, jacking up shipping costs. Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 6 Jan. 2024 The president and his allies cite Trump's proposals to jack up presidential power and prosecute his political opponents. David Jackson, USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024 But experts say the agency’s meticulous arguments and persistence to put Welsh Carson and USAP’s business strategy on ice sends the clearest warning yet: Firms that try to consolidate markets for physician services as a means to jack up prices won’t get away without a fight. Bob Herman Reprints, STAT, 12 Feb. 2024 Job growth has remained resilient for most of the past 2 1/2 years even after high inflation flared and the Fed jacked up interest rates at the fastest pace in four decades. Christopher Rugaber, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2023 The economy has remained remarkably solid, even though the Fed has jacked up rates to slow it and inflation down. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024 By the end of the year, OPEC had jacked up the price of oil by nearly 800%. Robert Hormats, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2024 Moving forward, Congress could automatically increase the maximum benefit with inflation each year to ensure its real value stays constant over time, though Congress should avoid jacking up the current maximum benefit. Kevin Corinth, National Review, 12 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jack-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1961, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1853, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of jack-up was in 1853

Dictionary Entries Near jack-up

Cite this Entry

“Jack-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jack-up. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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