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BUILD UP
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Enlarge, develop, or increase by degrees or in stages
Example:
build up your savings
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "build up" is one way to...):
increase (make bigger or more)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
buildup (the act of building up an accumulation)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Change the use of and make available or usable
Example:
The remote areas of the country were gradually built up
Synonyms:
build up; develop
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "build up" is one way to...):
ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)
Verb group:
develop; make grow (cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development)
develop; modernise; modernize (become technologically advanced)
develop; educate; prepare; train (create by training and teaching)
develop (generate gradually)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "build up"):
redevelop (change the plans for the use of (land))
settle (establish or develop as a residence)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Form or accumulate steadily
Example:
Pressure is building up at the Indian-Pakistani border
Synonyms:
build; build up; progress; work up
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "build up" is one way to...):
develop (grow, progress, unfold, or evolve through a process of evolution, natural growth, differentiation, or a conducive environment)
Verb group:
build (develop and grow)
build; build up; ramp up; work up (bolster or strengthen)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 4
Meaning:
Bolster or strengthen
Example:
ramp up security in the airports
Synonyms:
build; build up; ramp up; work up
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "build up" is one way to...):
increase (make bigger or more)
Verb group:
build; build up; progress; work up (form or accumulate steadily)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 5
Meaning:
Prepare oneself for a military confrontation
Example:
troops are building up on the Iraqi border
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "build up"):
forearm (arm in advance of a confrontation)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s
Context examples:
A build up of oxygen radicals in cells may cause damage to DNA, RNA, and proteins, and may cause cell death.
(Oxygen radical, NCI Dictionary)
You pull down, you despoil; but they build up, they restore.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It can pass through the food chain and build up in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish.
(Mercury, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry)
It can build up when the lymph system is damaged or blocked.
(Lymphedema, NIH: National Cancer Institute)
It causes too much iron to build up in the body.
(Iron, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Harmful wastes can build up in your body.
(Kidney Failure, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Lewy body disease happens when abnormal structures, called Lewy bodies, build up in areas of the brain.
(Lewy Body Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
This damage can cause wastes to build up in your body.
(Chronic Kidney Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Too much cholesterol in the blood may build up in blood vessel walls, block blood flow to tissues and organs, and increase the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.
(Cholesterol, NCI Dictionary)
The membrane technology purifies water while preventing biofouling, or build up of bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms that reduce the flow of water.
(Novel Technology Uses Bacteria for Cleaning Water, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
