: 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. Devon B. Smith, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2025
But first, before putting you on a birth control pill or other form of contraception, your doctor will do a full workup to make sure that irregular bleeding is not caused by any other serious conditions, like endometrial cancer, explains Goldman.
—Mara Santilli, Flow Space, 26 Feb. 2025
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
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025
When school is out, those children can work up to eight hours a day for a total of no more than 40 hours a week.
—Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for workup
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.
Noun
Assuming that a medical workup has been pursued and that the results were all normal, behavioral urine marking is the likely cause, but thankfully, there are ways to help eliminate this annoying habit.
—Dr. Devon B. Smith, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2025
But first, before putting you on a birth control pill or other form of contraception, your doctor will do a full workup to make sure that irregular bleeding is not caused by any other serious conditions, like endometrial cancer, explains Goldman.
—Mara Santilli, Flow Space, 26 Feb. 2025
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
Beyond that the plan is to steadily work up to 80 or 90 pitches before making a return to the big league roster.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 19 June 2025
When school is out, those children can work up to eight hours a day for a total of no more than 40 hours a week.
—Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for workup
Cite this Entry
“Workup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workup. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share