pump up

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

pump up (third-person singular simple present pumps up, present participle pumping up, simple past and past participle pumped up)

1. (transitive) To inflate by means of a pump.
2. (transitive) To inflate with a pumping action.
3. (transitive, figuratively) To excite a person or group to a frenzy.

   The singer has been pumping up the audience.

4. (intransitive, transitive, bodybuilding) To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting.

   I want to pump you up.

   He's gonna help me pump up.

5. (transitive) To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable.

   You have to pump up the relatability of the characters in your screenplay.

6. (transitive) To increase the volume of (something)

   Pump up the jukebox.

Translations

to inflate by means of a pump

• Dutch: oppompen (nl)
• Finnish: pumpata (fi)
• French: gonfler (fr)
• German: aufpumpen (de)
• Hungarian: felpumpál (hu)
• Portuguese: bombear (pt)
• Spanish: inflar (es)

to inflate with a pumping action

• Finnish: pumpata (fi)
• German: aufpumpen (de)
• Hungarian: felpumpál (hu)
• Portuguese: bombear (pt)

to excite a person or group to a frenzy

• Spanish: entusiasmar (es)