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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Green and Gold faithful at historic Lambeau Field will be extra pumped up given Parsons' presence. Jim Reineking, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025 While her heart and effort were Aurora, she also was pumped up for her brother, who was named the game’s MVP against the Cincinnati powerhouse. Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025 Even the normally surefire element of a score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, with its blasts of dissonance pumping up the squirm factor, adds to the heavy-going effect of a movie that seems to go out of its way to be grating. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 Aug. 2025 The company started pumping up its website during the pandemic when people were not shopping stores. David Moin, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pump up

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 9 Sep. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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