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

Your 11th House of Humanity is leveled up by tonight’s Full Moon, giving you a chance to focus a group effort on something that matters. —Tarot.com, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2026

Post-war, gelatin salads leveled up. —Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 1 Feb. 2026

Stars appear to be leveling up your abundance, and this should continue for some time. —Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 30 Jan. 2026

The threat of exposure charges their every move, leveling up the intensity of their lust when the two find themselves in a room filled with their peers. —Sam Reed, Glamour, 29 Jan. 2026

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