1
as in thrilling
to cause a pleasurable stimulation of the feelings of
the crowd was pumped up by the band's rocking performance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in increasing
to make greater in size, amount, or number
that pop diva is trying to pump up album sales with an extended publicity tour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pumping up
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pumping up his reelection bid at age 80 by looking jacked in workouts that his critics say are more popular than the man himself.
—
ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Taking his place in one of the Broadhurst Theatre’s box seats, DJ Griddlebone wastes no time pumping up the crowd and welcoming all and sundry Jellicles to the stage.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Scammers start out by buying shares of a cheap stock but then convince others to buy big, pumping up the stock's value so the scammers can then sell their shares for huge profits.
—Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026
War has always been a time for propaganda, of demonizing the enemy and pumping up your side.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Each one of the over 300 locations had to be 300 times less likely to fail than if there had been only one, pumping up the design, manufacturing and testing requirements – and inflating the cost.
—Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
True, pumping up the dosage can give women an almost euphoric high, Christmas says.
—Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 25 Dec. 2025
Different members took turns pumping up the team.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
That combination of offering greater value to consumers while pumping up a long-dormant marketing muscle is the sort of thing upon which a movement may be founded.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 Dec. 2025
ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Taking his place in one of the Broadhurst Theatre’s box seats, DJ Griddlebone wastes no time pumping up the crowd and welcoming all and sundry Jellicles to the stage.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Scammers start out by buying shares of a cheap stock but then convince others to buy big, pumping up the stock's value so the scammers can then sell their shares for huge profits.
—Tim McNicholas, CBS News, 10 Mar. 2026
War has always been a time for propaganda, of demonizing the enemy and pumping up your side.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Each one of the over 300 locations had to be 300 times less likely to fail than if there had been only one, pumping up the design, manufacturing and testing requirements – and inflating the cost.
—Martin Elvis, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
True, pumping up the dosage can give women an almost euphoric high, Christmas says.
—Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 25 Dec. 2025
Different members took turns pumping up the team.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
That combination of offering greater value to consumers while pumping up a long-dormant marketing muscle is the sort of thing upon which a movement may be founded.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pumping up
Verb
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Cinema-goers opted to watch those thrilling sequences on the biggest and brightest screens.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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Families can embark on thrilling excursions like whale watching tours or exploring the ice caves of Mendenhall Glacier while in port.—
Jessica Puckett,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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These organizations, striving to fill the information gap created by the state government’s increasing drift toward secrecy — can’t rely on taxpayers to pay their bills.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 Apr. 2026
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These changes were to be achieved by increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreasing the consumption of meat and eggs, and substituting nonfat milk for whole milk.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Major Wilson, 17, has been around horses most of his life and now spends much of his time helping younger riders get ready, showing them how to saddle their horses without exciting them.—
Jhair Romero,
Houston Chronicle,
26 Feb. 2026
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For Harrington and her husband Dante, the thought of triplets was shocking but exciting all the same.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Southern Anoka County Assistance food shelf (SACA) is expanding to meet a growing need in Columbia Heights.—
Ashley Grams,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
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The store initially sold ice cream before expanding to chocolates in 1965.—
Clare Fisher,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kirkwood Southern Style Crispy Fried Chicken Perhaps you, like me, avoid turning on the oven at all costs as soon as the temperature outside hits 85 degrees.—
Abigail Wilt,
Southern Living,
27 Apr. 2026
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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
Verb
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The growing fleet is accelerating development by generating large-scale data for Helix, the company’s humanoid AI model, while enabling real-world deployment across research, commercial, and domestic use cases, according to a blog by Figure.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
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Polls show Americans are angry — and rightly so — at accelerating medical bills.—
Stephen Moore,
Boston Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Over the course of the series’ six episodes, their relationship waxes and wanes, but continues to cast a shadow over their fates until the finale’s electrifying denouement.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
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While the sales increases in some cases were aided by tax incentives and new emissions rules, the figures point to how global fleets are rapidly electrifying in response to the war in Iran.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In further experiments in mice, the researchers found that the type of food appeared to matter, too—eating a fat-rich diet (in this case, corn oil) emerged as key to boosting the T cells’ abilities when compared with carbohydrate- or protein-rich diets.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
29 Apr. 2026
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Florida lawmakers approved a new congressional map Wednesday that would give Republicans a leg up in four more House seats, boosting their chances of keeping control of the chamber amid a nationwide redistricting arms race.—
Patrick Marley,
Washington Post,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pumping up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pumping%20up. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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