think up

phrasal verb

thought up; thinking up; thinks up
informal
: to use one's mind to form or invent (something)
Quick! We have to think up an excuse.
They thought up a new way of raising money for charity.

Examples of think up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Black Manhattan does not follow this rule, because when Todd Smith thought up the cocktail in 2005, the rule hadn’t been invented yet. Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 9 Mar. 2024 Any interdisciplinary proposal that can be thought up is welcomed and will be seriously considered. Andrew Deangelo, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 The German physician Franz Joseph Gall thought up the theory, suggesting that the brain was composed of many modules that had specialized functions--one area was concerned with the appreciation of beauty, for example, while another dealt with acquisitiveness. Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010 Olympia, who works as a lead photographer for a studio in Austin, Texas, is the creative genius behind the process, thinking up and producing the family's card each year. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 29 Dec. 2023 Samsung isn’t the first company to have thought up a zoom feature like this, following the Honor 90’s Solo Cut Mode. Jon Porter, The Verge, 27 Oct. 2023 The concept was thought up in 1958 by a British psychologist named John Bowlby who was interested in how a child’s relationship with their mother shapes their subsequent approach to the world. Vicky Spratt, refinery29.com, 17 Oct. 2023 What started as a spontaneous event, thought up by UFC president Dana White, turned out to be a memorable night on Saturday in Las Vegas. Eduard Cauich, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2023 The Verge Yeah, Apple couldn’t think up another marketing term for its iPhone wireless charging solution. Umar Shakir, The Verge, 12 Sep. 2023

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

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Cite this Entry

“Think up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/think%20up. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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