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
-
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:
"In the UK anybody, literally anybody, is free to stand in an election, no matter how idiotic the get-up", he told AFP ahead of the 2024 London mayoral elections.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Meals was in his full get-up when we met at 6th and Gaffey in San Pedro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
"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
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
“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
Ms. Watson discusses AI in passing, noting that “to get up and running, AI needs data and questions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Tomorrow she will get up, climb back to what remains of her apartment, prepare for work and once again try to solve the problems of the day.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
To get up to speed, the company picked through the wreckage of previous boom-bust cycles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
On Friday, Fanara’s daughter Michelle Fanara said, her father was working on a project at a neighboring property, stepped inside Palermo, lay down to rest and did not get up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Near dawn she finally dozed off, but by then it was time to get up and get to work.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
