"pump up" meaning in English

See pump up in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pump up.wav Forms: pumps up [present, singular, third-person], pumping up [participle, present], pumped up [participle, past], pumped up [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} pump up (third-person singular simple present pumps up, present participle pumping up, simple past and past participle pumped up)
  1. (transitive) To inflate by means of a pump. Tags: transitive Synonyms: air up
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-W0ZE3U0q Categories (other): Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 27 27 6 26 9 5
  2. (transitive) To inflate by means of a pump.
    (transitive) To do so with a pumping action.
    Tags: transitive Synonyms: air up Translations (to inflate with a pumping action): pumpata (Finnish), aufpumpen (German), felpumpál (Hungarian), bombear (Portuguese)
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-uRXTbxLt Categories (other): Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 27 27 6 26 9 5 Disambiguation of 'to inflate with a pumping action': 36 52 2 3 5 2
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To excite a person or group to a frenzy. Tags: figuratively, transitive Translations (to excite a person or group to a frenzy): entusiasmar (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-rWIo6Cfb Categories (other): Terms with Portuguese translations Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 9 9 29 34 10 10 Disambiguation of 'to excite a person or group to a frenzy': 0 0 98 1 0 1
  4. (intransitive, transitive, bodybuilding) To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting. Tags: intransitive, transitive
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-FL5fJsTQ Categories (other): Bodybuilding, English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "up", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 22 22 6 32 15 3 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "up": 19 19 7 37 13 5 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 19 19 9 33 13 7 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 27 27 6 26 9 5 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 21 21 3 40 11 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 14 14 10 43 13 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 12 12 9 49 12 5 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 13 13 9 47 12 7 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 12 12 9 49 12 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 16 16 23 29 13 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 9 9 29 34 10 10 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 15 15 6 49 9 5 Topics: bodybuilding, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
  5. (transitive) To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable. Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-MiB9VIdu
  6. (transitive) To increase the volume of (something). Tags: transitive
    Sense id: en-pump_up-en-verb-wrig7WcY Categories (other): English terms with collocations
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Translations (to inflate by means of a pump): oppompen (Dutch), pumpata (Finnish), gonfler (French), aufpumpen (German), felpumpál (Hungarian), bombear (Portuguese), inflar (Spanish)
Disambiguation of 'to inflate by means of a pump': 45 45 0 8 1 0

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pumps up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumping up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumped up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumped up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "pump up (third-person singular simple present pumps up, present participle pumping up, simple past and past participle pumped up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 27 6 26 9 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To inflate by means of a pump."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-W0ZE3U0q",
      "links": [
        [
          "inflate",
          "inflate"
        ],
        [
          "pump",
          "pump"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To inflate by means of a pump."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "air up"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 27 6 26 9 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              52,
              59
            ]
          ],
          "text": "For someone who is in shape, it is not difficult to pump up a car tire with a bicycle pump; it is merely tedious. But you can get the job done if you need it bad enough.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To inflate by means of a pump.",
        "To do so with a pumping action."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-uRXTbxLt",
      "links": [
        [
          "inflate",
          "inflate"
        ],
        [
          "pump",
          "pump"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To inflate by means of a pump.",
        "(transitive) To do so with a pumping action."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "air up"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "36 52 2 3 5 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
          "word": "pumpata"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "36 52 2 3 5 2",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
          "word": "aufpumpen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "36 52 2 3 5 2",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "lang_code": "hu",
          "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
          "word": "felpumpál"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "36 52 2 3 5 2",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
          "word": "bombear"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "9 9 29 34 10 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              20,
              30
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The singer has been pumping up the audience.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To excite a person or group to a frenzy."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-rWIo6Cfb",
      "links": [
        [
          "excite",
          "excite"
        ],
        [
          "frenzy",
          "frenzy"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, figuratively) To excite a person or group to a frenzy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 0 98 1 0 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "to excite a person or group to a frenzy",
          "word": "entusiasmar"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Bodybuilding",
          "orig": "en:Bodybuilding",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "22 22 6 32 15 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 19 7 37 13 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"up\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 19 9 33 13 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "27 27 6 26 9 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 21 3 40 11 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 14 10 43 13 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 12 9 49 12 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 13 9 47 12 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 12 9 49 12 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 16 23 29 13 3",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 9 29 34 10 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 15 6 49 9 5",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              14
            ],
            [
              19,
              21
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I want to pump you up.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              26
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He's gonna help me pump up.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-FL5fJsTQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "bodybuilding",
          "bodybuilding#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "muscle",
          "muscle"
        ],
        [
          "weightlifting",
          "weightlifting"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, transitive, bodybuilding) To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "bodybuilding",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              12,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You have to pump up the relatability of the characters in your screenplay.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-MiB9VIdu",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with collocations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "pump up the jam",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "pump up the jukebox",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To increase the volume of (something)."
      ],
      "id": "en-pump_up-en-verb-wrig7WcY",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To increase the volume of (something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pump up.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "oppompen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "pumpata"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "gonfler"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "aufpumpen"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "felpumpál"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "bombear"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "45 45 0 8 1 0",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "inflar"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pump up"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"up\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pumps up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumping up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumped up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "pumped up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "pump up (third-person singular simple present pumps up, present participle pumping up, simple past and past participle pumped up)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To inflate by means of a pump."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "inflate",
          "inflate"
        ],
        [
          "pump",
          "pump"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To inflate by means of a pump."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "air up"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              52,
              59
            ]
          ],
          "text": "For someone who is in shape, it is not difficult to pump up a car tire with a bicycle pump; it is merely tedious. But you can get the job done if you need it bad enough.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To inflate by means of a pump.",
        "To do so with a pumping action."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "inflate",
          "inflate"
        ],
        [
          "pump",
          "pump"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To inflate by means of a pump.",
        "(transitive) To do so with a pumping action."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "air up"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              20,
              30
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The singer has been pumping up the audience.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To excite a person or group to a frenzy."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "excite",
          "excite"
        ],
        [
          "frenzy",
          "frenzy"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, figuratively) To excite a person or group to a frenzy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs",
        "en:Bodybuilding"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              14
            ],
            [
              19,
              21
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I want to pump you up.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              26
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He's gonna help me pump up.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "bodybuilding",
          "bodybuilding#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "muscle",
          "muscle"
        ],
        [
          "weightlifting",
          "weightlifting"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, transitive, bodybuilding) To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "bodybuilding",
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              12,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You have to pump up the relatability of the characters in your screenplay.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with collocations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "pump up the jam",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              0,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "pump up the jukebox",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To increase the volume of (something)."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive) To increase the volume of (something)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pump up.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Flame%2C_not_lame-pump_up.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "oppompen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "pumpata"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "gonfler"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "aufpumpen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "felpumpál"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "bombear"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "to inflate by means of a pump",
      "word": "inflar"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
      "word": "pumpata"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
      "word": "aufpumpen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
      "word": "felpumpál"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "to inflate with a pumping action",
      "word": "bombear"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "to excite a person or group to a frenzy",
      "word": "entusiasmar"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pump up"
}

Download raw JSONL data for pump up meaning in English (5.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-03-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-03-03 using wiktextract (a0f6d7f and 9d9a410). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.