shoot up

verb

shot up; shooting up; shoots up

transitive verb

1

: to shoot or shoot at especially recklessly

cowboys shooting up the town

2

: to inject (a narcotic drug) into a vein

intransitive verb

: to inject a narcotic into a vein

shoot-up

ˈshüt-ˌəp 

noun

Examples of shoot up in a Sentence

gas prices shot up seemingly overnight

Recent Examples on the Web

The shift is seen as a rebuke of the president and his party by a group of Americans who have watched as their families and neighbors were detained by immigration agents while their cost of living shot up. — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026

After adding Simmons, the Bears shot up to third in odds to win Super Bowl LXI. — Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2026

When winter snowfall and spring rains are mild, bird numbers shoot up, and more hunters buy licenses. — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 4 Nov. 2026

The announcement said that fuel expenses had shot up from an average of $1,800 a month per cabin to more than $6,000 — a cost that could not be passed on to passengers. — Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for shoot up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup