to back up
27
4.0
- phrasal verb
- /bæk ʌp/
:
atascarse
- The line backs up because TSA agents are at the gate checking passenger IDs.
- water backs up
Examples
-
Looks like the sewer backed up again.
-
So the toilets backed up.
-
The traffic is beginning to back up behind them.
Fiction book (1992) -
Oh, the sink was backing up again.
-
The water backed up and the pipe broke.
Academic text (2018) -
Water backs up behind the dam and creates a head of potential energy.
Academic text (2008) -
The result has been a logjam in the federal circuits, as immigration appeals back up.
Academic text (2006) -
The pipes in the kitchen are backing up again, causing water to spill onto the floor.
-
Due to the heavy rainfall, the drain has backed up, creating a small pond in the backyard.
-
The traffic is backed up for miles after the accident on the highway.
Synonyms
264
3.7
To be unable to breathe because something blocks the throat or neck
21
3.2
To block a pipe or passage so flow stops
18
4.5
To make something dirty or blocked so it does not work properly
9
3.7
To block a drain or road so things cannot move through it
6
6.4
To stop a supply by blocking its source or flow
1
5.3
To block or fill a place so things cannot move through it
To become blocked or cause a block by dirt and grease
Antonyms
How Blocked
Surface Forms
Morphology
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 for pipes, drains, or traffic paints the picture of things piling at the back because the way forward is blocked and they build up behind it. That's why back up means 'to become blocked' or to cause a blockage.