(intr) to grow or become taller very fast
(tr) to hit with a number of shots
(tr) to spread terror throughout (a place) by lawless and wanton shooting
slang (tr) to inject (someone, esp oneself) with (a drug, esp heroin)
Grow or get taller very rapidly, as in She's really shot up in the last year, and now she's taller than her mother . [First half of 1500s]
Riddle with bullets; damage or terrorize with gunfire. For example, I liked the scene in which the cowboy stomps into the saloon, gets drunk, and shoots the place up . [Late 1800s]
Inject a drug intravenously, especially an illegal drug. For example, The police caught him shooting up and arrested him . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]
First recorded in 1965–70; noun use of verb phrase shoot up
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some data even suggest that for every hour the biological clock is offset from the social clock, the chances of being overweight shoot-up by a whopping 33 percent.
From Scientific American ● Feb. 11, 2014
Once again, the big shoot-up paired off two old adversaries, Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos.
From Time Magazine Archive
How it is that in all the years this pattern has persisted no one thought to angle a few of these shoot-up shows toward women is one of TV's mysteries.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the same won't be true for everyone as some people are "really sensitive" to stress, says Bailey, and their heart rate could shoot up by 50 to 60 beats per minute.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
When gas prices shoot up, people can find ways to ease the sting a bit, Yaros noted.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
But she won't be able to justify it forever if the cost does shoot up further.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
A rule of thumb on an oil shock applies here: gas prices shoot up quickly, but come down slowly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
He felt a tiny flame of anger shoot up and lick his face.
From "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies
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.
