level up

verb

leveled up or levelled up; leveling up or levelling up; levels up

transitive + intransitive

: to advance or improve (oneself, someone else, or something) in or as if in a game

Collect cards and magic potions, then level up your favourite dragons to increase their abilities.

—Animation Xpress

Staying competitive comes down to many factors, but one that's often overlooked, in my opinion, is the ongoing need to level up your marketing team.

—Sujan Patel

That [Kevin] Reilly has leveled up the brands of both networks is clear in their programming selections.

—Broadcasting and Cable

We provide nurses with the tools they need to level up their careers and their profession …

—News & Record (Greensboro, North Carolina)

Leveling up and finding new weapons, armor, or items give you plenty of incentive to keep slashing and button mashing away.

—Dan Hsu

Companies coax helpers to participate by offering points for useful answers, connecting total points to specific achievement levels, and encouraging users to level up, for even greater prestige.

—Paul McFedries

Examples of level up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This season marked a breakthrough for the Red Sox pitching program, which saw a number of young prospects level up in their development and in many cases impact the major league club. —Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 23 Oct. 2025

Its best player may have leveled up … again. —Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025

Want to level up your AI skills? —Sophie Caldwell, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025

With good teams climbing out of holes or sliding into them and rebuilding teams leveling up faster than expected, 2025 feels more up for grabs than any season in recent memory. —J.j. Bailey, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for level up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup