to build up
207
3.0
- phrasal verb
- /bɪld ʌp/
:
aumentar
- As she trained for the marathon, she gradually built up her stamina over several months.
- build up over time
- gradually build up
- build up confidence
You got to wait till a froth builds up anyway.
- You got to wait till a froth builds up anyway.
- But again, all of that is building up your overall resilience.
- Rotations you can build up by little incremental things.
Examples
-
So stress, anxiety, it just starts building up at a biological level.
-
Governments of oil-exporting economies primarily influence global markets by building up their foreign assets.
Academic text (2008) -
So you start on the right and you start building up this way.
-
And you can see how the cases started to build up in May, June.
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A time to break down and a time to build up.
-
You can go back and add more and build up the intensity.
-
I'm building up a collection of discs.
-
Lactic acid is building up in the muscles.
-
The window for such cooperation is rapidly shrinking as countries build up their sovereignty in the Arctic.
Academic text (2008) -
Top priority has been given to building up the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
Academic text (2013)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To make something larger or more in number
∞
1.0
Become larger or more physically mature
∞
1.3
To slowly make something stronger over time, like trust or skill
904
1.0
To become greater in amount or strength
822
1.8
Make something larger in number, amount or degree
510
1.1
To get more of something over time, like weight or money
265
2.5
To make something increase or work better
220
5.5
To become larger, more serious, or more intense
174
3.4
To gather more and more of something over time
110
4.0
Make something stronger or more intense
99
3.9
Make something stronger by adding support or extra parts
76
4.1
To make a feeling, effect or situation stronger
74
3.4
Make something greater in amount, speed or strength
57
4.5
To increase something gradually in stages
53
1.8
Increase slowly over time
52
5.3
To make something bigger by adding more to it
50
4.2
To gradually build up a feeling such as confidence or interest
47
4.1
To increase something, especially its amount or speed
44
4.1
To make something larger, stronger, or more important
39
3.9
To make prices rise to a higher level, often quickly
34
4.5
To make something stronger or more effective
27
6.6
To slowly increase over time, for example money or benefits
25
3.6
To raise a price or fee suddenly by a large amount
23
3.4
To raise prices or amounts by a lot
18
6.7
To increase something slowly until it becomes hard to reduce
9
3.9
Increase the size or amount of something so it still works well
9
6.5
To increase something a lot, often efforts or strength
9
1.3
Make an amount or level higher
7
4.0
Collect things over time until there is a large amount
2
2.9
To help something become bigger or better over time
1
7.1
Gradually become stronger until a high point
1
7.9
To increase in amount over time
Becoming stronger or more intense
To make someone feel stronger in their mind or feelings
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to gradually increase or accumulate' is directly derivable from combining 'build' (to construct/put together) with 'up' (indicating increase or augmentation); the particle 'up' contributes a clear sense of growth or strengthening. This verb + particle pattern is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents is likely to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Build up comes from the idea of adding small things over time, like dust or bricks making a larger pile. So it means 'to increase gradually' or 'to accumulate'.