go up
Britishverb
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(also preposition) to move or lead to or as if to a higher place or level; rise; increase
prices are always going up
the curtain goes up at eight o'clock
new buildings are going up all around us
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to be destroyed
the house went up in flames
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to go or return (to college or university) at the beginning of a term or academic year
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Be put up, as in New buildings are going up all over town .
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Rise; increase. For example, His temperature is going up at an alarming rate , or The costs of construction are going up all the time . [Late 1800s]
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Also, be gone up . Be destroyed, ruined, done for; also, die, be killed. For example, If we're not back in a week, you'll know we've gone up , or In spite of our efforts, the plans for a new library are gone up . [ Slang ; mid-1800s]
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Forget one's lines on the stage or make a mistake in performing music. For example, Don't worry, you know your part and you won't go up , or He went up in the last movement of the sonata . [ Slang ; 1960s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with go 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.
No stock can go up in a straight line, and trading research firm AgentSmyth noted in a Wednesday report put option activity in September contracts.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
“I appreciate that they go up there with nothing, just a mic and their wits. By comparison, you seem painfully sincere as a songwriter. I like that uncomfortable shift.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
It rates do go up, it would make borrowing money more expensive, but savings could be slightly more lucrative.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2026
When oil prices increase, it typically takes three to five days for retail gasoline prices to go up, said Pavel Molchanov, a Raymond James senior investment strategist focused on energy.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 15, 2026
I wonder if I have time to get seconds before I have to go up for Daddy’s award.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
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.
