as in triggering
to cause to function
crank up the CD player so we can dance
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cranking (up)
Verb
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Beijing has long struggled to drive domestic consumption, while brutal competition in many industries has pushed producers to cut prices, triggering a vicious cycle in which people hold off on purchases in anticipation of coming discounts.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
23 Apr. 2026 -
Doctors say the fine particles from air pollution can penetrate the lungs and bloodstream, triggering inflammation and a variety of health problems, including lung and heart disease.—
Stephanie Stahl,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Its trillion-parameter system uses a Mixture-of-Experts approach, activating only a fraction of parameters per task.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Apr. 2026
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This suggests that activating a stress response siphons energy away from long-term maintenance processes.—
Jasna Hodžić,
Big Think,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Since then, prices for many games have been raised further, sparking widespread outrage.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The country’s new spiritual leader and highest authority – Mojtaba Khamenei – has not been seen in public since his inauguration last month, sparking questions over who is leading the decision-making in Iran.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For Ioane, that comes in the form of driving a defensive lineman into the ground to clear a path for his quarterback or running back.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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But the judge said that Hallford made credible claims of being a victim of domestic violence and that her ex-husband, Jon Hallford, was the driving force in their relationship.—
Colleen Slevin,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Former Canadiens captain Yvan Cournoyer entered the Bell Centre from that plaza holding a torch, walked it into the building and the arena bowl, setting off the Canadiens’ traditional playoff ritual of the ice catching fire, and the building roared.—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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But a radioactive cloud was wafting across Europe, setting off alarms in a Swedish laboratory nearly seven hundred miles away and slowly sickening tens of thousands of people.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Other New Jersey farmers might be burning smudge pots in their orchards, turning on windmills, or running sprinklers.—
Vanessa Murdock,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
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Chavez and his aides repeatedly claimed that their critics are Communist or grower sympathizers who infiltrated the UFW before turning on it.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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With two minutes left in the period, Parayko ran Yurov into the boards from behind, touching off a fight between the Blues’ defenseman and Trenin.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
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Then suddenly, one set charged the other, touching off yearslong bloodshed that researchers are comparing to a human civil war.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cranking (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cranking%20%28up%29. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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