These are the most common IDIOMS with UP and DOWN used in English:
UP
act up = to misbehave
- My son used to act up every day when he was little.
bottle up = stay hidden
- He would rather bottle up rather than solve the problems at work.
[Tweet “Bottle up = stay hidden”]
break up = end a relationship
- Jessica just broke up with her boyfriend.
back up = to copy something as a security measure
- My computer crashes three times this week, so I need to back up all my data now.
blow up = to get angry very fast
- Mr. Moore blows up almost every class because Jack is always late.
[Tweet “Blow up = to get angry very fast”]
brighten up = to make cheerful, happy
- My sister tried to brighten up my day when I was feeling said.
butter up = to flatter
- She always butters up her boss when the new job position is available.
catch up = to share news with someone
- I haven’t seen him for such a long time, and it was great to catch up.
[Tweet “Catch up = to share news with someone”]
chat up = to have a light, friendly conversation
- She went to that bar only because she liked chatting up with the handsome bartender.
come up with = think of something, a plan or an idea
- We have to come up with a plan!
cover up = to hide, conceal
- Even in court, he still tried to cover up everything that he did.
[Tweet “Cover up = to hide, conceal”]
doll up = to dress formally, to dress for a special occasion
- My mom needs to doll up before her birthday party.
dress up = to have very nice clothes on
- Alicia always liked to dress up for her dates.
eat up = to believe immediately
- He ate up everything that his psychologist told him.
[Tweet “Eat up = to believe immediately”]
end up – to turn out, conclude
- He ended up working at his father’s company.
fix up = to make right, adjust
- Melissa fixed up her dress before going out.
give up = surrender, admit failure
- I will never give up.
[Tweet “Give up = surrender, admit failure”]
head up = to lead, to take charge
- You have to head up all the meetings today.
hold up = to wait, to delay
- What’s holding up the presentation?
hung up = thinking or worrying about someone/something
- She was too hung up about her wedding.
[Tweet “Hung up = thinking or worrying about someone/something”]
juice up = to charge
- I have to juice up my laptop because the battery is dead.
keep up = to continue
- Keep up the good work everyone!
kiss up to = to show false flattery
- Everyone knew she was kissing up to the boss to get a better job.
[Tweet “Kiss up to = to show false flattery”]
line up = have something/someone ready
- Do you have any food lined up?
loosen up = to relax
- You have been very stressed lately – you have to loosen up.
make up = to reconcile after a quarrel/fight
- I can’t stay mad at you anymore, let’s make up?
[Tweet “Make up = to reconcile after a quarrel/fight”]
mess up = to make a mistake, to ruin
- He totally messed up the cake.
roll up one’s sleeves = to prepare to work
- He rolled up his sleeves, and started packing.
round up = to collect or gather something
- Round up the employees for the meeting!
[Tweet “Round up = to collect or gather something”]
screw up = to ruin, to make a mess
- He totally screwed up on his exam.
sign up = to commit oneself to a period of employment/education
- Kevin signed up for his first Psychology course online.
speed up = to make something go faster
- You have to speed up your car if you want to be there on time.
[Tweet “Speed up = to make something go faster”]
split up = to separate, to break apart from the group
- They had to split up in order to find Jimmy.
sign up = to commit oneself to a period of employment/education
- Kevin signed up for his first Psychology course online.
suck up = flatter someone excessively
- He sucked up to the teacher only to get a better grade.
[Tweet “Suck up = flatter someone excessively”]
take up = occupy time, space, attention
- It’s going to take up too much time.
tied up = very busy
- He is always tied up with work.
think up = to invent or imagine something
- We have to think up an excuse for why we didn’t go to school.
[Tweet “Think up = to invent or imagine something”]
up the creek = to be in serious trouble
- If I don’t pay the bill by tomorrow, I will be up the creek.
wind up = end up in a specific situation, place
- I never thought I would wind up in Australia.
Read more:
Warm-up Activities for English Class
How many different ways can ‘pick up’ be used?
Other ways to say “Keep up the good work!”
DOWN
back down = to take a less aggressive position
- I was about to win the argument, but I had to back down.
break down = to become unstable due to stress
- She broke down today at work, so she took a day off.
[Tweet “Break down = to become unstable due to stress”]
calm down = to become less excited
- Please, calm down before you hurt somebody.
clamp down on = to end something
- We have to clamp down on illegal businesses.
[Tweet “Clamp down on = to end something”]
close down = to stop trading as a business
- Their company will close down soon.
cool down = to become less agitated
- Wait till he cools down, and then apologize to him.
[Tweet “Cool down = to become less agitated”]
dress down = to scold
- Jessica was just dressing down the employees.
dumb down = to convey something in simple words
- She couldn’t understand the teacher, so he had to dumb down the explanation for her.
flag down = to get someone’s attention
- You really have to flag down; otherwise, she won’t even look at you.
[Tweet “Flag down = to get someone’s attention”]
go down = to change from greater value to lesser
- The prices really went down this month.
hands down = easily, without too much effort
- He finished the test in 10 minutes hands down.
hunt down = to find with difficulty
- It was hard to hunt down all the suspects.
[Tweet “Hunt down = to find with difficulty”]
jot down = to make a note
- Can you jot down the main ideas from the meeting, please?
keep down = to stay quiet
- Jack, can you keep it down, we are trying to sleep?
man down = to lose courage
- You cannot man down when it comes to you family.
[Tweet “Man down = to lose courage”]
narrow down = to make more specific
- I cannot understand your main idea, can you narrow it down, please?
settle down = to establish a lifestyle, to marry
- Julie and Jack finally settled down.
shut down = to end, to close
- We have to shut down the party, because it’s getting late.
[Tweet “Shut down = to end, to close”]
turn down = to refuse, to decline
- Unfortunately, they turned down our offer.
Read more:
The Difference Between BURN UP and BURN DOWN
Difference between EVERYDAY and EVERY DAY!
List Of Phrasal Verbs with GET!
List Of Phrasal Verbs With PUT!
