as in develops
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 works up
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.
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Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for works up
Verb
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Elsewhere in the interview, the Oscar winner explained how her role as Grace alongside Pattinson's Jackson came about in the psychological drama, which is an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel about a new mother who develops postpartum depression and enters psychosis.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
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The move signals a potential major shift in how WWE develops its storylines.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, forges an historic first week, its accolades extend to Billboard’s radio charts.—
Gary Trust,
Billboard,
10 Oct. 2025
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Bettany played English poet and writer Geoffrey Chaucer in the medieval action-comedy, which starred Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, who forges a new identity for himself as a knight when his master dies.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The hydrogel’s design creates a huge challenge space.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Oct. 2025
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Sourcing & Methodology This article was generated by software that analyzes National Weather Service warnings and advisories and creates an article based on templates created by humans.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Period atmosphere gets a boost from the soundtrack, which pulls together tracks from DJ Luck & MC Neat, The Midnight, Louise Browne and composer Gregory Dombrowski, who works out of Los Angeles.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
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In one of many tonally jarring subplots, Vince works out a scam to burn down his dead mother’s house in Brooklyn to collect the insurance money with the help of a corrupt fire marshal.—
Andrew Bernard,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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There are a lot of quality hammers out there, but this Craftsman hammer from Amazon is both tough and affordable.—
Christopher Murray
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Drawing from an unseen private archive, the film crafts an intimate portrait of Mercedes Sosa, Latin America’s legendary protest singer.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
20 Oct. 2025
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The Eletta Explore is a fully automatic machine that crafts more than 50 hot and cold drinks, including cold brew in under 3 minutes.—
Melissa Knific,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Works up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/works%20up. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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