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

On a typical day, more water is pumped up from the pipeline to refill the tanks, offsetting each shower or glass of water. —Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025

As the rest of the Broncos headed to the bench, Stanley continued to pump up the crowd. —Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 8 Jan. 2025

But the effort to pump up the local team wasn't particularly well received by anyone. —Ryan Morik, Fox News, 1 Nov. 2024

North Carolina's Mount Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi River, has the elevation but not the massive water bodies that help pump up the snow totals in other regions. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 28 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a