stop up
phrasal verb
stopped up; stopping up; stops up
British, informal
: to stay up at night
She stopped up late last night.
Examples of stop up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Second baseman Christian Moore made a sensational backhand stop up the middle.
—
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 21 Sep. 2025
While the occasional clog is to be expected, a toilet that gets stopped up at least once a month may need to be replaced.
—Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 8 July 2025
Meanwhile, Woods' tee shot missed the green and stopped up against the lip, setting up arguably the greatest chip of all time.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
Ford will pair with second-year defensive lineman Braden Fiske, a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and team captain Kobie Turner to stop up run downs and set everyone up for their dynamic pass rush to attack.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The hope now is that the major democracies of Europe and Asia—France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom—will stop up the power vacuum Trump is creating and keep China out of it.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2025
It’s hoped that the return of Notre-Dame will stop up Macron’s own plummeting approval ratings during this tense political period.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 8 Dec. 2024
Between the jet lag and the terrible English food, everyone is stopped up.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
And in too many games, the Giants have gotten stopped up by opposing starting pitchers.
—Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 15 July 2024
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.
Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 21 Sep. 2025
While the occasional clog is to be expected, a toilet that gets stopped up at least once a month may need to be replaced.
—Rabekah Henderson, Southern Living, 8 July 2025
Meanwhile, Woods' tee shot missed the green and stopped up against the lip, setting up arguably the greatest chip of all time.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025
Ford will pair with second-year defensive lineman Braden Fiske, a finalist for Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, and team captain Kobie Turner to stop up run downs and set everyone up for their dynamic pass rush to attack.
—Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
The hope now is that the major democracies of Europe and Asia—France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom—will stop up the power vacuum Trump is creating and keep China out of it.
—Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2025
It’s hoped that the return of Notre-Dame will stop up Macron’s own plummeting approval ratings during this tense political period.
—Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 8 Dec. 2024
Between the jet lag and the terrible English food, everyone is stopped up.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
And in too many games, the Giants have gotten stopped up by opposing starting pitchers.
—Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 15 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Stop up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stop%20up. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share