(tr) to make an assessment of (a person, problem, etc)
to conform to or make so as to conform to certain specifications of dimension
Noun use of verb phrase size up
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“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
Having collected her facts about Evita, Fleur said that they only confirmed her first intuitive size-up.
From Time Magazine Archive
John F. Kennedy wanted a size-up, not a summit.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is possible to make only a partial size-up then.
From Certain Success by Hawkins, Norval A.
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
AI is making “A” grades easier to come by, a new study shows—and making them less useful to employers trying to size up college graduates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
The world's biggest car show opens Friday in Beijing, with hundreds of thousands of auto fans expected to descend on the Chinese capital to size up the latest sleek, teched-out models on the market.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
My editor had one rule: I had to strictly follow Gemini’s itinerary to size up the hits and misses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
He pulled a long scab off his forearm and bled as he watched John size up the fish.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
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.
