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to back up

to back up

238 2.7
Move backwards to make space or avoid something
  • phrasal verb
  • /bæk ʌp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : retroceder
  • Just back up a little bit.
  • a truck backed up
  • back up the hill
  • forced to back up

And he backs up, does AUE and goes away.

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Examples

  • How do we get back up?

    Conan the Destroyer (1984)

  • So I had to put it in reverse and back up down this mountain.

    Zane and Heath: UNFILTERED

  • OK, so let me back up before we got to LA.

  • Now off you go back up the road, OK.

  • You can always back up from it, right?

  • But let me just back up before I share that.

  • I turned and began marching at a good clip back up the corridor.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • In the morning, our team trudged back up the hill with shovels, buckets, bags, and cameras.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The car braked and backed up to the curb in a hiccupping whine.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I need you to back up the car so I can exit the driveway.

Synonyms

to back
vsto back up
475 1.0

To move in the direction behind you

also covers using gears to make a vehicle move backward
to move back
vsto back up
283 1.7

To step away to an earlier place

focuses on simple physical backward movement or vehicle reversing
to back into
vsto back up
173 2.7

To move a vehicle backwards into a parking space so the back goes in

is more general, not limited to entering spaces rear-first
to back out
vsto back up
30 3.2

Move a car backwards out of a place like a garage

is broader, covering any backward motion not only exiting spaces
reverse
vsto back up
  • Specialized
3 3.9

Causing a vehicle to move backward

is wider, meaning backward movement generally, not only gear use

Antonyms

forward motion
6 3.7

The act of going ahead toward a goal

How Far

retreat
93 4.4
to back up
  • Specialized
238 2.7
reverse
  • Specialized
3 3.9

Surface Forms

back up infinitive
backed up past
backed up past participle
backing up present participle
backs up third person singular

Morphology

back + up

The parts give partial clues: 'back' evokes movement toward the rear and 'up' often conveys accumulation or completion (compare 'pile up' or 'clog up'), so a learner might infer a sense of things building up. However, the specific sense 'become blocked/obstructed' for systems or pipes is a somewhat specialized extension and not fully predictable from the literal meanings, so prior exposure helps.

Etymology

Back up comes from the simple action of moving toward your back, like a car going in reverse. That's why back up means 'to move backwards' or go in reverse.