rough up
verb(tr, adverb)
informal to treat violently; beat up
to cause (feathers, hair, etc) to stand up by rubbing against the grain
Words Nearby rough up
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
How to use rough up in a sentence
Almost no one was ready to rough up the financial institutions very much, in fact.
Other Idioms and Phrases with rough up
rough up
Manhandle, subject to physical abuse, as in The gang was about to rough him up when the police arrived. [First half of 1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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