USING UP Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

using up

verb

present participle of use up

as in spending

to make complete use of we used up the last of the flour when we made the waffles

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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.

Recent Examples of using up Flight controllers managed to slow the tumble and stabilize the spacecraft, using up precious fuel. — Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026 If moisture is needed to get things moving in the machine, add the kee lo by the 1 tablespoon, using up to ¼ cup total for a single batch. — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026 The result is fabulously decadent and the perfect recipe for using up oodles and oodles of summer squash. — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2026 Emily Weinstein, a researcher at the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard, says some students are using up to seven different apps to manage everything from grades to sports team schedules. — Charlotte Hu, Time, 22 July 2026 The company claims its models can match or outperform frontier labs using up to 100 times fewer tokens, which are the currency for running AI queries. — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 23 June 2026 This single observation suggests that, during strong wind conditions, each rotor would contribute about 1 MW of propulsion, even when using up its own 20 kW of spinning power. — Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Apr. 2026 Roskopf, however, countered that data centers don’t provide significant jobs, but only provide an additional tax base while using up resources. — Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026 Breakfast Burritos The most flexible breakfast on this list and one of the best for using up what is already in the fridge. — Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 10 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for using up

Verb

Robert Saleh arrives in Tennessee after spending 2025 as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, returning to a head-coaching role after nearly four seasons leading the New York Jets.

— Jenny Catlin, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Meeting Kimberly Schlapman at Samford University, singing together in choir, and spending college summers performing in North Carolina.

— Sid Evans, Southern Living, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of spending

Verb

This matters because consistently consuming too much sodium can raise blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
There, 730 individuals fell ill after consuming MBG meals, though most — 706 of the victims — are now recovering from their symptoms at home, the outlet reported, citing Sidoarjo health office chief Lakhsmie Herawati Yuwantina.

— Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of consuming

Verb

Window closing to find survivors These are the kinds of scenes playing out across La Guaira state, with people milling around in the streets after being left homeless, uncertain of what to do next.

— Fernando Narro Roman, NPR, 28 June 2026
These same dynamics are now playing out in litigation over social media and youth mental health.

— Alex Smolak, STAT, 27 June 2026

Definition of playing out

Verb

What is clear is that Keith and Camilla’s search for answers is time-consuming, mentally draining and deeply frustrating, compounded by their grief and not helped by what feels like a lack of accountability.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Condensation water was draining slowly from the walk-in cooler at the floor drain.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of draining

Verb

Commanders should seek positional advantages without exhausting their soldiers, manipulate the enemy’s movements when possible, and recognize when circumstances make pursuit or attack unwise.

— Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
The dispute has become even more complicated because some members of the 2022 class pursued professional opportunities after exhausting their eligibility under the previous system.

— Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of exhausting

Verb

Some have also had to tap their 401(k) plans to cope with financial shocks, like a 61-year-old who is currently drawing down her $100,000 retirement fund after losing her job in December.

— Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
On the other side of the equation, the United States has released 400 million barrels of emergency oil, vastly drawing down its stockpiles in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of drawing down

Verb

Researchers in the United States are shaping the nanoscience frontier, using atomic‑scale control to accelerate advances in electronics, energy storage, catalysis, sensing and medicine.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
Countries where high schoolers reported using digital devices for around two to three hours per day in school saw higher test scores, but scores fell once tech use climbed beyond that.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of using

Verb

The expectation is that, with the SAFER barrier, cars will slide along it in an accident, reducing the risk of the car ending up bouncing back onto the racing line.

— Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Asked by the Miami Herald who would cover the difference between what Hialeah pays Miami-Dade County for water and sewer services and what the city would collect after reducing customers’ bills by 25% or 50%, Calvo said there is no gap.

— Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of reducing

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“Using up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/using%20up. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of using up

verb

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