ring up
Britishverb
-
to make a telephone call (to)
-
(tr) to record on a cash register
-
(tr) to chronicle; record
to ring up another success
-
-
to begin a theatrical performance
-
(often foll by on) to make a start (on)
-
-
Record, especially by means of a cash register, as in They had already rung up the sale so I decided not to get the extra items . [c. 1930] Although older cash registers usually signaled a recorded sale with the ringing of a bell, the idiom survives in the age of computers.
-
Accomplish, achieve, as in They rang up an impressive string of victories .
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.
Franchisees have invested thousands of dollars in new equipment per restaurant to mix the drinks, hoping to ring up more sales while not slowing service, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
At their best, sci-fi movies can ring up massive box-office returns and gain serious awards-season traction, with the original “Avatar” and “Star Wars” just two top examples.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024
I used to ring up people like Alex Ferguson and Mick McCarthy and I remember Mick asking how it was going.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2024
The ones that allow us to ring up our own milk and eggs?
From Slate • Jul. 28, 2023
I ring up Jean and tell her I’ll pick her up at eight.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
