size-up
Americannoun
verb
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(tr) to make an assessment of (a person, problem, etc)
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to conform to or make so as to conform to certain specifications of dimension
Etymology
Origin of size-up
Noun use of verb phrase size up
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:
“I’m not trying to size-up against other players,” Adell added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023
But perhaps most importantly, he needs to size-up the client.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2014
John F. Kennedy wanted a size-up, not a summit.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Having collected her facts about Evita, Fleur said that they only confirmed her first intuitive size-up.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Your prospecting and your size-up should have convinced you that he is not in fact the crab he tries to appear.
From Certain Success by Norval A. Hawkins
Our roundtable pros size up the trend and offer 10 promising stocks.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
As America celebrates 250 years, we size up how it’s been portrayed in, and has shaped, what we watch, listen to and read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
I tried it on a Saturday earlier this month to size up the pros and cons because it might be coming to an off-airport location near you as efforts to ease airport congestion increase.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Trial lawyers and consultants who size up potential jurors, though, say the kinds of pitched battles that eventually erupted in that Florida jury room are becoming more common.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Slowly, I looked around to size up the others as I took a seat, easing down by a woman who resembled Mother Lois in her coloring.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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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.