Antonyms for work up


Grammar : Verb
Spell : wurk-uhp
Phonetic Transcription : ˈwɜrkˌʌp


Definition of work up

Origin :
  • Old English weorc, worc "something done, deed, action, proceeding, business, military fortification," from Proto-Germanic *werkan (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch werk, Old Norse verk, Middle Dutch warc, Old High German werah, German Werk, Gothic gawaurki), from PIE root *werg- "to work" (see urge (v.)).
  • Work is less boring than amusing oneself. [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]
  • In Old English, the noun also had the sense of "fornication." Workhouse in the sense of "place where the poor or petty criminals are lodged" first appeared 1650s. Works "industrial place" (usually with qualifying adj.) is attested from 1580s. Work ethic recorded from 1959.
  • verb stimulate
Example sentences :
  • When, however, he did not have work up there, he went down to the Baths of St. Moritz.
  • Extract from : « Rico and Wiseli » by Johanna Spyri
  • She would, on the contrary, engage some fresh workwomen and work up a fresh connection.
  • Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola
  • But in order to work up, you've got to get at least a hand-hold on the bottom rung.
  • Extract from : « The Woman-Haters » by Joseph C. Lincoln
  • Business calls for the hardest kind of work up to forty or fifty.
  • Extract from : « Dollars and Sense » by Col. Wm. C. Hunter
  • Some they work up at home into serges, stuffs, and camlets; the serges at 12d.
  • Extract from : « A Tour in Ireland » by Arthur Young
  • For ten years, Kinton had failed to work up any strong desire to try it.
  • Extract from : « Exile » by Horace Brown Fyfe
  • But how long do you suppose it will take to work up there with ordinary weather?
  • Extract from : « Left on Labrador » by Charles Asbury Stephens
  • Work up to the point as soon as you can and try to point in the leaders.
  • Extract from : « The Pony Rider Boys in Texas » by Frank Gee Patchin
  • This is just the thing, Mary, and it is so heavy that it will work up quickly.
  • Extract from : « Mary's Rainbow » by Mary Edward Feehan
  • Say, I didn't have time to work up any spine chills, or even say a "Now-I-lay-me."
  • Extract from : « Torchy, Private Sec. » by Sewell Ford

Synonyms for work up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019