rough up

phrasal verb

roughed up; roughing up; roughs up
informal
: to hit and hurt (someone)
The prisoner claimed that he was roughed up by the guards.

Examples of rough up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The Royals, after roughing up Webb, didn’t let up when Spencer Bivins entered to start the fifth. Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 21 May 2025 According to news accounts, many were roughed up, and more than 80 were arrested or deported. Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025 In another incident last month, a gang of suspects dressed up like NYPD officers, stormed into a store in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, roughed up the workers and robbed them. Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025 The abrasive cleaner can strip the finish, roughing up and damaging the surface. Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rough up

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Cite this Entry

“Rough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough%20up. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

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