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
Bradley was also roughed up in his first start as a Twin, giving up seven runs in five innings pitched against the Chicago White Sox.
—
Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2025
Small groups blocked roads while one contingent of vandals roughed up the lobby of traditionally anti-Kirchner TV station TN (owned by Grupo Clarín, one of Cristina’s historical antagonists).
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
But the bad news is this has handicapped the Yankees' DH slot and put them in a tough position with veteran Giancarlo Stanton, whose body is seemingly too roughed up to play the field every day.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The only difference between uppity Times staffers in Midtown and the roving bands of looters in Soho was that the law actually allowed looters to be roughed up by the police.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough up
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Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 31 Aug. 2025
Small groups blocked roads while one contingent of vandals roughed up the lobby of traditionally anti-Kirchner TV station TN (owned by Grupo Clarín, one of Cristina’s historical antagonists).
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
But the bad news is this has handicapped the Yankees' DH slot and put them in a tough position with veteran Giancarlo Stanton, whose body is seemingly too roughed up to play the field every day.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The only difference between uppity Times staffers in Midtown and the roving bands of looters in Soho was that the law actually allowed looters to be roughed up by the police.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough up
Cite this Entry
“Rough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough%20up. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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