hush up

British

verb

(tr, adverb) to suppress information or rumours about

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

hush up Idioms

Keep from public knowledge, suppress mention of. For example, They tried to hush up the damaging details. [First half of 1600s]

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.

Harry is suing Mail on Sunday publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article alleging he tried to hush up his separate legal challenge over the British government’s refusal to let him pay for police security.

From Washington Times • Mar. 17, 2023

Glasnost faced a dramatic test in April 1986, when a nuclear power station exploded in Chornobyl, Ukraine, and authorities tried at first to hush up the disaster.

From Reuters • Aug. 30, 2022

All of which has the distinct sound of a hush up.

From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2021

“It’s easy to hush up about it but it left a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach,” Arvin said.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 16, 2018

“Just hush up now so I can get a little sleep until we get moving.”

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023