run-up

1 of 2

noun

ˈrən-ˌəp 

1

: the act of running up something

2

: a usually sudden increase in volume or price

3

: a period immediately preceding an action or event

run up

2 of 2

verb

ran up; run up; running up; runs up

intransitive verb

: to grow rapidly : shoot up

transitive verb

1

: bid up

2

: to stitch together quickly

3

: to erect hastily

4

: to achieve by accumulating

ran up a big lead

Examples of run-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Low- to middle-income households are grappling with historically high credit card delinquencies after a historic inflation run-up and the Federal Reserve’s sharp interest rate hikes. —Paul Davidson, USA Today, 1 May 2025

For instance, a strong run-up in equities could lead to an overweight in stocks, increasing overall portfolio risk. —True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

Verb

Workflows run up to 50% faster on average compared to older devices. —David Phelan, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025

That album also represented one of the group’s chart peaks in America, topping out at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 album chart; Strength hit No. 39 in February 1986 and Declaration ran up to No. 50 in April of 1984. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1897, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for run-up

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

Kids Definition

run up

verb

: to cause to pile up : accumulate

ran up a big telephone bill