send-up
noun
an entertaining or humorous burlesque or parody; takeoff.
send-up
American
[send-uhp]
/ ˈsɛndˌʌp /
Or
sendup
noun
send up
British
verb
-
slang to send to prison
-
informal to make fun of, esp by doing an imitation or parody of
he sent up the teacher marvellously
noun
send up
Idioms
-
Put in prison, as in He'll be sent up for at least ten years . [Mid-1800s]
-
Cause to rise, as in The emissions sent up by that factory are clearly poisonous . [Late 1500s]
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Satirize, make a parody of, as in This playwright has a genius for sending up suburban life . [First half of 1900s]
-
send up a trial balloon . See trial balloon .
Etymology
Origin of send-up
First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase send up, in sense “to parody”; compare earlier Brit. academic usage “to mock, scoff at”
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.
See Examples For:
There is, of course, a place for that, too, especially in a film that is a partial send-up of tactless slasher movie tropes.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Where Forte’s wimpy Kevin is a send-up of human fragility, Cena’s Buddy has the shatterproof ego of the rooster Foghorn Leghorn, who also happens to be Acme’s CEO.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
A multi-billion dollar cartoon franchise is a strange place to find a send-up of silent films, but “Minions & Monsters” does just that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
It’s also a send-up of legal procedurals, with Lincoln’s cases including a fight over who’s the real Santa Claus and a custody battle that devolves into a theological debate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
A horse hitched to the end of the chain hauls up the log, which is guided by the "send-up men" with their cant-hooks.
From Handwork in Wood by William Noyes
“Too often a place will just send up a cardboard shopping bag with the things you ordered in it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
I am loving this send up of the Kidman AMC ad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
It was too late to climb and too dark to send up a drone, so he decided to wait for sunrise.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
It is hard to tell if Mr. Hockney intended these works to celebrate with, sneer at, or send up the Hollywood milieu in which he found himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
“I will send up the menu,” the manager said.
From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
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.
