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

For her second round hosting at Studio 8H, Quinta Brunson pumped up the volume, kicking off the show with a musical monologue that featured both pop star Sabrina Carpenter and basketball phenom Dwayne Wade, then filling out each sketch with energy and dynamism. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 4 May 2025

Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle Gregg Evans: Manchester City Next year will be different for City, with Rodri back from injury and Pep Guardiola pumped up to make amends for this season. —The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

The recent presentations also pumped up Vinay Shahani, Nissan’s U.S. sales boss. —Mark Phelan, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025

Their media cohort is pumping up the controversy about his return to the U.S. relentlessly. —Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 19 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1791, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for pump up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup