pump up

verb

pumped up; pumping up; pumps up
Synonyms of pump upnext

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.
Too much of it is a waste of money, even if the projects do pump up the local economy and make the city look exciting to tourists. Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 12 Jan. 2026 Paigyn is possibly the Taylor Sheridan strawman to end all strawmen, like Piper Perabo’s Yellowstone character with all the annoying qualities pumped up to 100. Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Jan. 2026 What Meyer is really known for is his weekly sermon, delivered with a megaphone, getting the crowd pumped up and closing out with a final score prediction. Marissa Perlman, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026 Each one of the over 300 locations had to be 300 times less likely to fail than if there had been only one, pumping up the design, manufacturing and testing requirements – and inflating the cost. Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026 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 17 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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