level up

verb

leveled up or levelled up; leveling up or levelling up; levels up

transitive + intransitive

: to advance or improve (oneself, someone else, or something) in or as if in a game

Collect cards and magic potions, then level up your favourite dragons to increase their abilities.

—Animation Xpress

Staying competitive comes down to many factors, but one that's often overlooked, in my opinion, is the ongoing need to level up your marketing team.

—Sujan Patel

That [Kevin] Reilly has leveled up the brands of both networks is clear in their programming selections.

—Broadcasting and Cable

We provide nurses with the tools they need to level up their careers and their profession …

—News & Record (Greensboro, North Carolina)

Leveling up and finding new weapons, armor, or items give you plenty of incentive to keep slashing and button mashing away.

—Dan Hsu

Companies coax helpers to participate by offering points for useful answers, connecting total points to specific achievement levels, and encouraging users to level up, for even greater prestige.

—Paul McFedries

Examples of level up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This results in better loan opportunities, more pathways for business owners to level up their businesses and more success stories to inspire the next generation of business owners. —Jess Turner, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Veken Packing Cube Set Packing cubes are a travel essential, and Veken’s eight-piece set levels up the game. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2025

Not to mention that measuring ingredient quantities by weight is more accurate and consistent than measuring by volume, so the swap will level up my baking game, too. —Maggie Horton, People.com, 18 June 2025

Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images Markle isn’t the only one who leveled up their ring stack. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 16 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

2003, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for level up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup