: an intensive diagnostic study especially for medical purposes
: an unintended mark on a printed sheet caused by the rising of spacing material
worked up; working up; works up
1
: to stir up : rouse
2
: to produce by mental or physical work
worked up a comedy act
worked up a sweat in the gym
: to rise gradually in intensity or emotional tone
Examples of workup in a Sentence
Verb
spent years working up a period novel that was historically accurate in every detail
Recent Examples on the Web
Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
While the road ahead may be long and difficult, intellectual honesty, objectivity, and a thorough workup are the first steps in this process.
—Anand Kumar, STAT, 21 Apr. 2026
Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
But around 1,700 of those 5,800 troops went absent without leave from the brigade at some point during its nine-month work-up.
—David Axe, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
David O’Neill, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
The point is that a senior person who already operates above average in their core domain can now staff the adjacent functions themselves, at sufficient quality, without waiting for cross-functional resources or running work up and down the approval chain.
—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for workup
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Noun
Depending on the situation, a more complete workup may also include a physical exam, hormone testing and sometimes imaging or genetic evaluation.
—Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026
While the road ahead may be long and difficult, intellectual honesty, objectivity, and a thorough workup are the first steps in this process.
—Anand Kumar, STAT, 21 Apr. 2026
Noun
It should be used as part of a broader diagnostic work-up that includes clinical evaluation and possibly additional imaging.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
But around 1,700 of those 5,800 troops went absent without leave from the brigade at some point during its nine-month work-up.
—David Axe, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
Putting words on the page seems too low stakes to get worked up about, and yet the terror of saying something taboo—or just being boring—feels like a terrible fate to most writers.
—David O’Neill, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
The point is that a senior person who already operates above average in their core domain can now staff the adjacent functions themselves, at sufficient quality, without waiting for cross-functional resources or running work up and down the approval chain.
—Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for workup
Cite this Entry
“Workup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workup. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
workup
1 of 2 noun
work·up
ˈwər-ˌkəp 
: an intensive diagnostic study
a gastrointestinal workup
a psychiatric workup
work up
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to perform a diagnostic workup upon
work up a patient
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