as in to develop
to produce or bring about especially by long or repeated effort
spent years working up a period novel that was historically accurate in every detail
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of work up
The season is too long to get worked up by three games in August.
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Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
Stidham’s going into his third season with Webb and has seen his positional work up close since Webb jumped from playing to coaching after Payton got hired in Denver.
—Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025
Smalltown Boy works up the courage to ask Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) to dance, and now their hands are all over each other, much to the chagrin of Smalltown Boy’s ex, Personal Jesus, who is going through the motions of dancing with Caribbean Queen but keeps looking over his shoulder.
—Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
This has led to a growing number of contract employees who work up to, but not past, the hourly limit.
—Elisabeth Rosenthal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for work up
Recent Examples of Synonyms for work up
Verb
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Coming off two straight nine-win seasons, Dykes has seen enough confirmation on the field that TCU has plenty of talent already inside the building; most of it just needs to continue to develop.—
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Israeli attacks weakened Iran’s regional armed proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollahwhile US strikes dealt significant damage to the country’s nuclear program, which the government spent billions to develop.—
Verb
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Both chambers are expected to forge ahead quickly in the coming weeks.—
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Remind yourself that clear communication can forge uncertainty into cooperation and closeness.—
Verb
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The Horned Frogs are far from an offensive juggernaut, but TCU has typically been able to create open looks off the pick-and-roll with Harding or by feeding Punch in the post.—
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Teachers' associations from Natomas, Rocklin, Twin Rivers, West Sacramento and Woodland used art supplies on Saturday to create signs of solidarity.—
Verb
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The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things.—
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For well over a year, these comfy walking shoes became my go-to for catching flights, running errands, working out, and clocking thousands of steps across New York City.—
Cite this Entry
“Work up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/work%20up. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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