pump up

verb

pumped up; pumping up; pumps up

transitive verb

1

a

: to fill with enthusiasm or excitement

b

: to fill with or as if with air : inflate

2

: increase sense 1

Synonyms

• charge
• electrify
• excite
• exhilarate
• galvanize
• intoxicate
• thrill
• titillate
• turn on

Examples of pump up in a Sentence

the crowd was pumped up by the band's rocking performance

that pop diva is trying to pump up album sales with an extended publicity tour

Recent Examples on the Web

Kohl’s, which has been seeing sales declines for several seasons, is also pumping up its holiday push by offering a new gift idea shared online at Kohls.com each day beginning Tuesday through Dec. 24, including beauty products, stocking stuffers, toys and apparel. —Evan Clark, WWD, 2 Dec. 2024

Recently, a host of factors have pumped up investors’ sentiment for stocks. —Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 2 Dec. 2024

Lee worked his way through the crowd waiting for Rare Essence, a favorite local group, to pump up the music again. —Deborah Barfield Berry, USA TODAY, 15 Oct. 2024

Soundbars are an unobtrusive and affordable way to pump up the volume, and Sony's HT-S2000 is a great deal at this price. —K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a