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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Example Sentences
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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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That developed into work as a sports agate clerk – editing and coding the different box scores for print on our ‘Scoreboard’ page at the time.—
Nicole Young,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Oct. 2025
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When multiple family members develop colon cancer, it's considered hereditary colon cancer.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Health,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Those typically involve a winning team, which can forge indelible memories in the biggest curmudgeons among us.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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In the spirit of serving its community, the new theater has been designed to forge a sense of inclusion, according to Lythcott.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Department of Homeland Security has detained hundreds of TPS holders from Venezuela nationwide, creating confusion about how the protections are being applied.—
Syra Ortiz Blanes,
Miami Herald,
4 Oct. 2025
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Democrats want to overturn spending cuts Republicans approved earlier in the year for Medicaid, which provides health insurance for Americans living in or near poverty, and extend insurance subsidies created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This probably isn’t going to work out.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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All of that has to be worked out.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Work up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work%20up. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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