use up
Britishverb
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to finish (a supply); consume completely
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to exhaust; wear out
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Consume completely, as in The kids used up all their money playing video games . [Late 1700s]
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Exhaust, tire out, as in I'm totally used up from digging that hole . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800s]
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.
Google and law enforcement call the group “Outsider” and say it is sending messages telling people they have mobile-phone-company rewards points to use up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
China seems to be opting to let imports slide and use up its inventories, the analysts at Morgan Stanley said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
There are worse ways to use up a can of beans.
From Salon ● May 5, 2026
It is approved for use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.
From Barron's ● May 2, 2026
“We’ll use up this stuff first,” he said, as I set a pan of snow on the stove to melt.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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.
