steam up

verb

steamed up; steaming up; steams up

transitive verb

: to make angry or excited : arouse

Synonyms

• anger
• enrage
• incense
• inflame
• enflame
• infuriate
• ire
• mad
• madden
• outrage
• rankle
• rile
• roil
• tick off

Examples of steam up in a Sentence

finding yet another mistaken charge on his hospital bill really steamed him up

Recent Examples on the Web

When Jordan set this as his next film last fall, the obvious next question was who would Jordan would steam up the screen with. —Justin Kroll, Deadline, 7 Mar. 2025

The two leads are irresistible and their romance steams up the screen. —Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2025

The massive greenhouses are already steaming up from the unseasonably warm Texas weather, almost stifling any sort of yuletide anticipation—almost. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 1 Dec. 2024

Sansom is known for directing Down by the River Thames, a groundbreaking concert film capturing the legendary Liam Gallagher (Oasis) play a surreal live performance whilst steaming up the river Thames at sunset. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 29 Nov. 2024

QBs like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts steamed up in ADP, and Allen was routinely selected in the second round of drafts, with Hurts and Mahomes not too far behind. —Theo Gremminger, The Athletic, 24 July 2024

While Nia and Josh canoodle in the pool, Emily and Brad steam up the showers. —Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024

Inside, the sparse cabin features a pair of weatherproof speakers with Bluetooth connectivity, plus the windshield is heated (to avoid steaming up, should the weather turn), and there are modern conveniences like LED headlamps and four proper seat belts. —Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

The water bath and lemons should get hot enough to steam up the window on the microwave door. —Kelly Dawson, Architectural Digest, 17 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for steam up

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