pump up

verb

pumped up; pumping up; pumps up

transitive verb

1
a
: to fill with enthusiasm or excitement
b
: to fill with or as if with air : inflate
2

Examples of pump up in a Sentence

the crowd was pumped up by the band's rocking performance that pop diva is trying to pump up album sales with an extended publicity tour
Recent Examples on the Web Burrell said he’s been pumping up the idea all year knowing his girls would be a part of history. Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2024 This and subsequent meme posting—as well as sharing allegedly misleading insights into his GameStop portfolio—set off two spikes in trading that pumped up the value of GameStop securities. Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 1 July 2024 In Anthony Swofford’s Gulf War memoir Jarhead, Swofford recalls joining fellow recruits in getting pumped up while watching Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, two of the most famous films about the horrors of war. Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 May 2024 Thatcher was simultaneously pumping up a British national identity and eroding its social foundations. Fintan O’Toole, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2023 See all Example Sentences for pump up 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pump up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of pump up was in 1791

Cite this Entry

“Pump up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pump%20up. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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