build (sb/sth) up

— phrasal verb with build

/bɪld/ verb (built, built)

Definition

C1 to increase or become larger or stronger, or to cause someone or something to do this: Tension is building up between the two communities. They gave him soup to build up his strength/build him up. It took her ten years to build up her publishing business.Increasing and intensifyingEnlarging and inflatingBecoming biggerBecoming biggerEnlarging and inflating

(Definition of build (sb/sth) up from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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