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 Escape is a 5-gallon jug fitted with a purifier inside and a pressurization pump up top (sort of like a beer keg). Jakob Schiller, Outside Online, 25 June 2025 That entire section unfolds with livewire energy, pumped up by Alan Myson’s driving techno score and by the shock of the assault. David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2025 That figure is pumped up by assuming things that might never happen, according to a New York Times analysis of federal contracting data and interviews with people familiar with that contract who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to discuss it with members of the media. David A. Fahrenthold, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025 In public, the Trumps pump up their projects, yet in private the first family appears to be dumping at least a portion of its holdings. Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 10 June 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 7 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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