nerve up

English

Verb

nerve up (third-person singular simple present nerves up, present participle nerving up, simple past and past participle nerved up)

1. (transitive) To make anxious.
   • 1899, In the Court of Appeals of the State of New York: The People of the State of New York Versus John Schmidt‎^[1], page 716:

     was that why you hit him with the hammer because you were nerved up?