to double up
2
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /ˈdʌbəl ʌp/
:
compartir
- You may be forced to double up in your hotel room with unsavory strangers and sleep in shifts.
- double up with relatives
We've had some cases where they're moving in with a a roommate and they're doubling up.
- We've had some cases where they're moving in with a a roommate and they're doubling up.
Examples
-
There's not that big a crew that can manage this size movie in New Zealand, So, even in the practical floor effects department, we probably flew in 45 or 50 effects technicians to house and they had to double up in rooms over there.
-
During the conference, several attendees had to double up to share limited accommodation.
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But some people would have to double up.
-
If they're sleeping here, some of them are going to have to double up.
-
I have to double up since there's nowhere else to put them.
Fiction book (1992) -
- And, um, Sarah, if you'’re okay with doubling up, you can share this room with me, okay?
-
If the hotel is fully booked, you may need to double up with a friend in one room.
-
We decided to double up at my place during the holidays to save on rent.
Synonyms
16
4.3
Share a bed or lie close to each other at night
How Crowded
2
4.1
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'double' clearly signals making something twice as large and the particle 'up' adds an increase/intensifying sense, so a B1 learner would likely infer that the phrase involves increasing a stake or amount. However, the specific gambling practice of staking previous winnings on the next wager is a specialized, collocational sense that is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Double up comes from the simple idea of putting two people into one bed or room: you double the use of a space by putting someone up in it. So, it now means 'to share a room or bed'.