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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In July, Anthropic was awarded a Pentagon contract to develop national security AI capabilities.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Sep. 2025
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These are all features developed by the building’s original creators, the Miami firm of Steward-Skinner and Associates, prominent architects of the time also responsible for the design of the Miami Seaquarium and MIA’s first jet-age terminal.—
Vinod Sreeharsha,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And the Assembly class of 1990 forged close friendships across party lines that endure 35 years later.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Ben Hania counters that silence, not with an explicit argument but with an experience, a movie forged in the universal and very specific language of the single-location thriller.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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When interviewed by officers, Burns admitted to creating multiple social media accounts to distribute and receive child pornography, including files of prepubescent children, the release states.—
NWA Democrat-Gazette,
Arkansas Online,
6 Sep. 2025
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The creation of this content included the use of AI based on templates created, reviewed and edited by journalists in the newsroom.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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If the blocking becomes solid, maybe things can work out long-term for Olave, who won often at Mission Hills and Ohio State.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Sep. 2025
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Jake is the prototypical masculine husband, constantly working out and pressuring Maddie to start a family.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Work up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work%20up. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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