Definition of keyed up
informal
: in a state of nervous excitement
His hands were very sure. He was confident he could do the work, yet inside he was keyed up and jumpy.— Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain, 1943 A friend called me, too keyed up to sleep.— Mike Nichols, Life and Other Ways, 1988
Learn More About keyed up
Statistics for keyed up
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Keyed up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keyed%20up. Accessed 28 Jun. 2022.
Style: MLA
MLA
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Test Your Vocabulary
Name That Food
-
- Name these cookies!
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Commonly Confused Words Quiz
Take a (break/brake) and (pore/pour) over this (c...
Take the quiz
-
Words Named After People
Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
Take the quiz
-
Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz
-
Spelling Bee Quiz
Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...
Take the quiz
Share keyed up
Time Traveler for keyed up
The first known use of keyed up was in 1880
See more words from the same year