size-up

[ sahyz-uhp ]

noun

an appraisal or estimation, especially as the result of sizing up: asking for a size-up of the new office equipment.

Origin of size-up

Noun use of verb phrase size up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use size-up in a sentence

As I size up the scene, Jack White now wears the crown … and he wears it well.
The Best Albums of 2014 | Ted Gioia | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There has got to be a way to size up a new smartphone without devolving into the most overwrought tech clichés on the Internet.
The World’s Most Sarcastic Product Review: Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone | Winston Ross | March 15, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Size up every situation, and find beauty in all things, not just the pretty young ones.
The Stars Predict Your Week | Starsky + Cox | August 13, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Google's new phone can get you a cab and size up an earthquake.
Where Google Crushes the iPhone | Nicholas Ciarelli | October 16, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Admiral came aboard and between us we tried to size up the new situation and to readjust ourselves thereto.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton

But this mornin' I got a chance to size up the whole bunch, and nary one uh them jaspers I wanted t' see was in sight.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
There, too, was James Duane, with never so great need of his "surveying eye" to enable him to size up the situation.
The Eve of the Revolution | Carl Becker
Envelopes of any size up to twelve inches are handled, and by throwing off the sealing device, mailing cards can be stamped.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration, v. 1 | Various
Once on the arena, I size up my man, fall to, and decide on the spot whether to thrust or to cut.
The Iron Trevet or Jocelyn the Champion | Eugne Sue

British Dictionary definitions for size up

size up

verb(adverb)

(tr) to make an assessment of (a person, problem, etc)
to conform to or make so as to conform to certain specifications of dimension

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with size-up

size-up

Make an estimate, opinion, or judgment of, as in She sized up her opponent and decided to withdraw from the election. This usage transfers measuring the size of something to broader meaning. [Late 1800s]

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