up

/ʌp/ adverb, preposition

Definition

HIGHER PLACE › towards or in a higher place: He ran up the stairs. Pick up your clothes and put them away. She looked up and smiled at me.

VERTICAL › vertical or as straight as possible: He stood up. She opened her eyes and sat up.

INCREASE › to a greater degree, amount, volume, etc: Inflation keeps pushing prices up. Can you turn up the heat? I'm freezing! Please speak up (= speak louder), I can't hear you.

COMPLETELY › used to emphasize that someone completes an action or uses all of something: I used up all my money. Eat up the rest of your dinner.

up the road/street, etc › along or further along the street/road, etc: My best friend lives up the street from me. He ran up the path and hugged her.

go/walk, etc up to sb/sth › to walk directly towards someone or something until you are next to them: He walked straight up to me and introduced himself.

DIRECTION › in or towards a particular direction, usually north: We moved from London up to Scotland. Chris lives up north.

up and down › If something or someone moves up and down, they move repeatedly in one direction and then in the opposite direction: The children were constantly running up and down the stairs.

up to 10/20, etc › any amount under 10/20, etc: We can invite up to 65 people.

up to › until a particular time: You can call me up to midnight.

up to sth › equal in quality or achievement: His work wasn't up to his usual standard.

up to sth/doing sth › able to do something: It'll be a while before I feel up to walking again.

be up to sth informal › to be doing or planning something, often something secret and bad: Joe, what are you up to?

be up to sb › If an action or decision is up to someone, they are responsible for doing or making it: I can't decide for you Jack, it's up to you. [+ to do sth] It's up to her to decide whether she wants to enter the competition.

be up against sb/sth › If you are up against a situation or a person, they make it very difficult for you to achieve what you want to achieve: We were up against some of the best players in the world.

(Definition of up adverbpreposition from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)