to make happily excited or full of eager anticipation.
Your stories about Edinburgh have psyched me more than ever for my trip there next year!
to prepare mentally and emotionally so as to be in the right frame of mind to do one's best (often followed byup ).
He sat with his eyes closed in the aircraft, psyching himself for his first parachute jump.
to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage.
A good chess player knows how to psych the opponent.
psych out. see psych-out.
psych up
to prepare mentally and emotionally for a challenge.
I have to psych myself up for the annual family reunion.
to create excitement and eager anticipation in.
Beach parties, road trips, stargazing, barbecues—here are 10 tunes to psych you up for summer!
psychological.
psychologist.
psychology.
What does psych- mean? Psych- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “psyche” or "psychological." Psyche denotes "the human soul, spirit, or mind," while psychological is a related yet distinct term that means "pertaining to psychology, the science of the mind or of mental states." Psych- is often used in medical and technical terms, especially in psychology. Psych- comes from Greek psȳchḗ, meaning “breath, spirit, soul, mind.” For more on the meaning of this word in Ancient Greek mythology, read our entry for psyche. The word psyche is at the root of the term psychedelic, which refers to the effect of hallucinogenic drugs. What are variants of psych-?Psych- is a variant of psycho-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about psycho-.
First recorded in 1915–20 in earlier sense “to subject to psychoanalysis”; originally a shortening of psychoanalyze; in later use (especially in psych 1 defs. 2, 3 ), perhaps as independent use of psych-
First recorded in 1890–95; by shortening
First recorded in 1985–90
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The Housemaid” initially appears to have those trappings, slowly revealing that Nina is on a steady cocktail of antipsychotics after a trip to the psych ward.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026
"I'll psych her out a little bit - she won't admit it but I can see her coming apart at the seams already..."
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2025
“You’ve got to kind of, not psych yourself up,” she says, “but you’ve got to fake it till you make it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2025
After unburdening herself from the bipolar diagnosis she had received as a child, she got off psych meds.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2024
“That must’ve been a horrible way to grow up. My psych professor says we never truly know what we're capable of until were put into a hopeless situation.”
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
Inner Wave is the latest in a boomlet of young Latinx psych- and oldies-influenced acts from well outside L.A.’s hipsterville neighborhoods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2018
This is a woman who psychs herself up in the mirror and raps to herself, in order to ...
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2017
“He’s like Muhammad Ali, he psychs out all the other horses,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2017
Before trials, he psychs himself up by yelling “Showtime!,” in a nod to “All That Jazz.”
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 6, 2015
You can also designate a "Fit Song," so at the touch of a button you hear the tune that always psychs you up to go all out.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2012
You fooled the top psychs of the Board.
From Masters of Space by Berry, Robert Lee
Netflix is so psyched about generative software that it’s spent the year acquiring an A.I. production studio, launching a different studio for A.I.-animated shorts, and re-creating Gene Wilder’s voice for a Willy Wonka–themed game show.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
I psyched myself up to argue and dialed the customer service number on the back of the bill.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2026
He told the BBC he had "psyched himself" up for his cardiology appointment and that he was upset and angry at the cancellation.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
In fact, it’s virtually impossible to tell whether he’s more psyched about “Slow Horses” or being knighted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025
They were wearing black headphones, and they were pretty psyched about a triple play.
From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate
Of course, there are limits to taking a Panglossian attitude and psyching ourselves up in the face of challenges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
“He’s not thinking. We came in together and you can be worried about your future a little bit, what’s going to happen. You start psyching yourself out. I think he’s just playing free.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2021
The "chess" of Antigua and Barbuda is a mind sport, psyching out one's opponent is as critical as choosing one's next move.
From BBC ● May 3, 2021
“Every day I get into my car, every day I decide to step out of my house, it’s a psyching up that I have to do to myself,” Ourlicht said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2020
While she was psyching herself up to immobilize her ankle, she noticed some faded words on one of the wooden crates: hermes express.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
