lexicow

build up

/ˌbɪld ˈʌp//ˌbɪld ˈʌp/·phrasal verb
A line of fresh mortar is buttered along the top, and a brick is pressed into it and tapped down level with the handle — then another beside it, then another, until the row runs the whole width. A second row goes over the seams of the first, staggered, then a third. I watch the thing climb out of nothing by the most patient arithmetic: one brick is a nudge, one row is a ledge, but the rows keep coming and the top is suddenly up at the strung line. Nothing was poured in all at once; it was set, piece by deliberate piece, into something that will stand.
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Definition

To build up is to increase or strengthen something step by step until it amounts to something solid — reserves, muscle, momentum, a reputation, or the tension before a release. It is the hands-on, everyday twin of accumulate: where things accumulate almost on their own, you build up by adding deliberately, one layer onto the last. The phrasal verb leans toward development and strength, and it cuts both ways — you can build up savings and stamina, or let pressure build up until something finally gives.

Examples

  • Athletes build up their stamina over months of steady training, not in one brutal session.
  • Silt builds up behind the dam until engineers deplete the reservoir to flush it out.
  • A small shop can build up a loyal following, as long as its quality does not diminish.

Collocations

build up reserves·build up strength·build up momentum·build up tension·build up a reputation

Synonyms

accumulate·develop·strengthen·expand·amass

Antonyms

deplete·diminish·erode

See also

Word family

buildup (noun)·built-up (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

An everyday phrasal verb that earns its place in TOEFL/IELTS speaking and writing: 'reserves build up', 'pressure builds up', 'build up the argument gradually'. The noun is written as one word — 'a buildup of traffic' — while the verb is two. It is less formal than accumulate but more vivid than 'increase', and it collocates widely: strength, momentum, tension, resistance, a following. Watch the charged sense — tension or pressure building up often signals a turning point in a reading passage.