get-up
noun
get-up
American
[get-uhp]
/ ˈgɛtˌʌp /
get up
British
verb
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to wake and rise from one's bed or cause to wake and rise from bed
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(intr) to rise to one's feet; stand up
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(also preposition) to ascend or cause to ascend
the old van couldn't get up the hill
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to mount or help to mount (a bicycle, horse, etc)
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to increase or cause to increase in strength
the wind got up at noon
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informal (tr) to dress (oneself) in a particular way, esp showily or elaborately
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informal (tr) to devise or create
to get up an entertainment for Christmas
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informal (tr) to study or improve one's knowledge of
I must get up my history
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informal to be involved in
he's always getting up to mischief
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informal (intr) to win, esp in a sporting event
noun
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informal a costume or outfit, esp one that is striking or bizarre
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informal the arrangement or production of a book, etc
get up
Idioms
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Arise from bed; also, sit or stand up. For example, Once I get up and have coffee, I'm ready to work . One of Irving Berlin's earliest hit songs was “Oh! How I hate to Get Up in the Morning” (1918). [Mid-1300s]
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Ascend, mount, as in I hate to get up on a ladder . [First half of 1500s]
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Create or organize, as in She got up the petition against zoning . [Late 1500s]
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Dress or adorn, as in She plans to get herself up in a bizarre outfit . This usage is most often put in the form of the past participle ( got up ), as in The wedding albums were got up with ruffles and lace . [Late 1700s]
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Draw on, create in oneself, as in I finally got up the nerve to quit , or Joe got up his courage and told the boss he was leaving . [Early 1800s] Also see get someone's back up ; also see the subsequent idioms beginning with get up .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"They could make all of the music without the get-up and I think they'd still do well," he says.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025
Introduced by the actor Samuel L. Jackson in a red-white-and-blue Uncle Sam get-up, Lamar began the show crouched on a Buick Grand National, the car after which he titled his latest album.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025
Colin Robinson installs booby traps throughout the house, dons a Rambo-esque get-up and screams about making his last stand.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2023
Do the aliens have a traditional green-Martian look, or is it more of a menacing Independence Day get-up?
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2023
“That boy’s got a job his first day here. That’s get-up for you. He’s going somewhere. He just don’t sit and gab. He moves.”
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Of the last, Simon recalled lying like a starfish “while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
It’s a serious question: LeBron, would you rather have another ring—or would you rather be able to get up and down like a fairway maestro?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
To get up to speed, the company picked through the wreckage of previous boom-bust cycles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
I knew how to get up in the morning, although it was hard, and I knew I had to be present.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
‘Come on. Let’s go back to bed till it’s time to get up for breakfast.’
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
