up to
Idioms-
As far as or approaching a certain point. For example, The water was nearly up to the windowsill , or They allowed us up to two hours to finish the test , or This seed should yield up to 300 bushels per acre . [c. a.d. 950]
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be up to . Be able to do or deal with, as in When I got home, she asked if I was up to a walk on the beach . This usage is often put negatively, that is, not be up to something , as in He's not up to a long drive . [Late 1700s]
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Occupied with, engaged in, as in What have you been up to lately? This usage can mean “devising” or “scheming,” as in We knew those two were up to something . It also appears in up to no good , meaning “occupied with or devising something harmful,” as in I'm sure those kids are up to no good . [First half of 1800s]
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Dependent on, as in The success of this project is up to us . [c. 1900] Also see the following idioms beginning with up to .
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.
A move up to the $140-a-barrel threshold can’t be entirely ruled out, he said, nor a more aggressive path of Federal Reserve rate hikes than is currently expected.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026
Behind nondescript exteriors in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” some employees log up to 30,000 steps a day while others ride scooters down echoey hallways and sniff for overheating equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Indeed, Saylor’s purchases were thought to be the primary force behind Bitcoin’s modest rise in price in the weeks leading up to the conference.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Olivia Cusack says her big sister was the person "I looked up to my whole life", while for Emily Reilly, her cousin Maddy's the one who "used to get us in trouble with my dad".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
A little boy with jet-black hair and dark eyes comes up to Ford and says something in Spanish.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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.
