as in to develop
to produce or bring about especially by long or repeated effort
spent years working up a period novel that was historically accurate in every detail
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Recent Examples of work up
The season is too long to get worked up by three games in August.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
Stidham’s going into his third season with Webb and has seen his positional work up close since Webb jumped from playing to coaching after Payton got hired in Denver.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Smalltown Boy works up the courage to ask Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) to dance, and now their hands are all over each other, much to the chagrin of Smalltown Boy’s ex, Personal Jesus, who is going through the motions of dancing with Caribbean Queen but keeps looking over his shoulder.
—Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
This has led to a growing number of contract employees who work up to, but not past, the hourly limit.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for work up
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
Stidham’s going into his third season with Webb and has seen his positional work up close since Webb jumped from playing to coaching after Payton got hired in Denver.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Smalltown Boy works up the courage to ask Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) to dance, and now their hands are all over each other, much to the chagrin of Smalltown Boy’s ex, Personal Jesus, who is going through the motions of dancing with Caribbean Queen but keeps looking over his shoulder.
—Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
This has led to a growing number of contract employees who work up to, but not past, the hourly limit.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for work up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for work up
Verb
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Clusters of thunderstorms can develop over the ocean when water temperatures exceed 80 degrees.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
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The result is a thinner middle market, not because of a lack of quality companies, but because the supporting financial structures are still developing.—
Aman Ghei,
Fortune,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Italian police were tipped off by Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation that some of the Dalí pieces were forged, according to The Associated Press (AP).—
Ashley J. DiMella,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
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Breaking with academic tradition, the group forged a modern Indian visual style.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Instead, the inning unraveled just long enough for the Red Sox to create a brand-new ballgame.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
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This article was generated by the Bay Area Home Report Bot, software that analyzes home sales or other data and creates an article based on a template created by humans.—
Bay Area Home Report,
Mercury News,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Netanyahu is expected to present reservations and push for changes to the ceasefire plan, three Israeli officials said Sunday, underscoring the difficulty of closing a deal, even if many of the details have been worked out in advance.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
28 Sep. 2025
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In the end, everything worked out.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Work up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work%20up. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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