think up

phrasal verb

thought up; thinking up; thinks up
informal
: to use one's mind to form or invent (something)
Quick! We have to think up an excuse.
They thought up a new way of raising money for charity.

Examples of think up in a Sentence

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.
One of the team’s first breakout products was known as Project Tailwind, an AI notebook that senior product manager Raiza Martin thought up in her 20% time, Google’s longstanding practice of letting employees dedicate one day a week to a project of personal interest. Jennifer Elias, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2025 These tools can help parents with nearly anything, including thinking up recipes, creating shopping lists in seconds, and even suggesting healthier swaps kids might actually eat. Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 18 Nov. 2025 My best friend lived above the restaurant where Churchill and Schuman thought up the EU. Sara Stridsberg september 15, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025 Not even Chris Hargensen, the organizer of Carrie’s prom-night humiliation, the meanest of all mean girls, could have thought up something so diabolical. Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for think up

Cite this Entry

“Think up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/think%20up. Accessed 27 Dec. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!