pump up
Idioms-
Inflate with gas or air, as in This tire needs pumping up . [Late 1800s]
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Fill with enthusiasm, strength, and energy, as in The lively debate pumped us all up . Mary Wollstonecraft used this idiom in slightly different form in The Rights of Women (1792): “Lover-like phrases of pumped-up passion.”
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.
“Yes. Mr. Lew took Ba in as a partner earlier this year. He’s pretty old, and he wanted to get someone younger to run things and pump up the business. He even had Ba change the name, since Ba’s doing most everything. Mr. Lew is mostly a silent partner now.”
From Literature
The energy sector, for instance, outpaces the broad market as measured by the S&P 500 — as would be expected, since higher prices pump up the bottom lines of oil and gas producers.
From Los Angeles Times
But you should be strategic, not frantic, when trying to pump up your AI bona fides, writes Callum Borchers.
When they were finally fully extended Jeremy felt a surge of triumph so strong it was almost as if he had managed to pump up the wings himself.
From Literature
Corporate earnings can pump up stocks.
From Barron's
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.
