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

Leverage modern communication tools to level up your game. —Simon De Baene, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

All of these elements work in tandem, resulting in a truly unique cinematic experience that levels up Soto. —Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 24 May 2025

Pryce, a Supporting Actor nominee last year for The Crown, was also Guest Actor nominee for Slow Horses, though he was leveled up to main cast member for the most recent season. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 24 May 2025

And Akasha was already thinking about how to level up again. —Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 22 May 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