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

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This effort started when Arthur Sun, a first-year undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge, thought up a problem for a university math contest. Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 7 Aug. 2025 In the movies, zombies are impervious to knives, guns, katanas, spiked baseball bats and most other weapons an inventive auteur can think up. Jason Rose, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025 Bryson would spend plenty of time off the field thinking up ways to best be utilized in offenses. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2025 Posting the Ten Commandments is not some new crazy idea that Christians have thought up to try to indoctrinate our children in Christian teaching. Chicago Tribune, 2 July 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 19 Aug. 2025.

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