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key up

SEE SYNONYMS FOR key up ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

(tr, adverb) to raise the intensity, excitement, tension, etc, of

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Words nearby key up

Keystone Kop, Keystoner, keystone species, Keystone State, keystroke, key up, keyway, Key West, keyword, keyword indexing, keyword stuffing
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

Words related to key up

urge, abet, rouse, arouse, inspire, whip up, motivate, exhort, agitate, inflame, encourage, trigger, prompt, provoke, spur, instigate, foment, set off, work up, awaken

Idioms and Phrases with key up

key up

Make intense, excited, or nervous. For example, The excitement of the gallery opening has really keyed her up. This usage alludes to key in the sense of “wind up a spring-driven mechanism such as a clock.” [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.