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

Vidhya Srinivasan, vice president/general manager of ads and commerce at Google, wrote in a blog post that the experience helps level up consumers’ shopping abilities. —Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 13 Nov. 2025

But the Razer Basilisk V3 X Hyperspeed stopped me from making that mistake again because its 18K DPI sensor is so responsive that my gaming has leveled up. —PC Magazine, 12 Nov. 2025

Typically, one day each week contains the work of a full match, to try to keep fitness levels up. —Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025

Want to level up your AI skills? —Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 10 Nov. 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