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

McDonald said adjusting to tough competition levels up UCLA. —Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026

Rather than centering heartbreak, the remix celebrated moving on and leveling up. —Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 27 Feb. 2026

Families with children are the fasting-growing demographic of people experiencing homelessness, and Denver Rescue Mission is leveling up to help. —Libby Smith, CBS News, 27 Feb. 2026

David Ellison leveled up on almost every stage of the game because of money. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 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