puffing (up)

verb

present participle of puff (up)
as in rolling up

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffing (up)
  1. rolling up
  2. blowing up
  3. building up
  4. increasing
Verb
  • The image was of Uncle Sam, rolling up his sleeves and wading in to do the right things.
    — Robert Stone, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The two are still heavily involved in the organization, aiding in fundraising efforts and literally rolling up their sleeves while at the Bloomington facility.
    — Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of rolling up
Verb
  • There’s a lot more competition now, especially with the celebrity beauty brands and the indie or niche brands that are blowing up on TikTok, which is a super popular platform for discovering new beauty products.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Arriving well before crowds gathered at the Northbrook Plan Commission’s special public hearing, Lee Goodman started blowing up red balloons.
    — Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of blowing up
Verb
  • China is building up its military and AI capabilities despite limited access to advanced computer chips.
    — Josh Boak, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Boone said the final few steps for Judge’s return include building up his workload because he has been sidelined for over three months with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of building up
Verb
  • This increasing self-reliance has an extra benefit in the midst of a grueling war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Despite this, national reports indicate continued use of performance- and appearance-enhancing drugs, and increasing interest in them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of increasing
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.

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puffing
puffing (up)
puffs
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Cite this Entry

“Puffing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffing%20%28up%29. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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