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

: increase sense 1

Synonyms

• thrill
• excite
• turn on
• electrify

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

The gel texture lends a nice, refreshing feel that plumps and pumps up the moisture without feeling overly occlusive—as a result, your skin will look less red/irritated, and your shine will be under control. —Annie Blackman, Allure, 30 July 2025

Why get ‘trompe l’oeil’ bangs? Long and short bangs have been top of the hair style trends and a regular request from those in the hair salon chair for quite some time now: Side fringes of the early ’00s, baby bangs a la Emma Stone, and pumped up hair with big bangs to match by way of Keke Palmer. —Ana Morales, Vogue, 23 July 2025

The home crowds pumped up the Shock and rattled the Flash. —Todd Boss, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025

For Willy Chavarria, volume was often pumped up with bouffants. —Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for pump up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup