to drive up
52
3.9
- phrasal verb
- /draɪv ʌp/
- Increased demand for technology has driven up the prices of the latest smartphones.
- drive up prices
- drive up costs
- drive up food prices
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Watch on YouTubeThese are all things that could drive up inflation expectations.
- These are all things that could drive up inflation expectations.
- Think about the things that drive up the need for a particular item.
- Why didn't all that buying drive up the price?
- And so that's what drives your weight up even higher.
- What's the intuition of why them cheating drove their profits up and United's down?
- And they go through the places where Liz Cheney appeared with Kamala and she drove up the Trump vote.
- So what I'm saying is under Trump, they're going to drive the price up.
- So, so corporate adoption as a treasury asset drives the price up.
- So this inventory issue or lack of supply is what's driving prices up.
- He subsequently got behind various other campaigns to drive up wages in very poor countries.
- I don't know that there's too much evidence to support saturated fat not driving up cholesterol levels.
- In a post on X, Hackman said higher tariffs could drive up used car prices, boosting the value of Hertz's fleet.
Examples
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Healthcare has already been criticized for being too expensive, and this would only drive up the costs (Voelker 2001).
Academic text (2003) -
Radical Islamists would see the U.S. departure as a victory, and the ensuing chaos would drive up oil prices.
Academic text (2005) -
I bought, like, 10 of these, trying to drive the price up.
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These are all things that could drive up inflation expectations.
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Savings in public assistance will drive up public costs in other areas such as health care.
Academic text (1996) -
There is not an excess demand for savings that is going to drive up interest rates.
Blog text (8) -
Why didn't all that buying drive up the price?
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If people buy bonds, then that drives up the price of bonds.
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Speculation further drove up food prices, as did a drought through most of North Georgia during the war years.
Academic text (2007) -
Environmental, political, and economic forces are all driving up food prices, including climate change and pressure from the biofuels lobbies.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
∞
1.3
Make an amount or level higher
∞
2.9
To make an amount, level, or value higher
630
1.0
To become greater in amount or strength
607
1.5
To become higher in price or amount
220
5.5
To become larger, more serious, or more intense
140
2.2
Rise to a higher level, for example prices or numbers
125
3.4
Make something greater in amount, speed or strength
91
3.4
To rise quickly to a very high level, for example prices or temperatures
90
2.1
To rise suddenly by a large amount
82
4.1
To rise very quickly to a high level
71
4.5
To increase something gradually in stages
64
4.1
To increase something, especially its amount or speed
53
4.1
Make someone feel excited and full of energy
50
3.8
To increase the level or strength of something, for example volume, production
46
4.4
To make the amount or price of something increase
33
3.4
To raise prices or amounts by a lot
29
3.6
To raise a price or fee suddenly by a large amount
27
6.7
To increase something slowly until it becomes hard to reduce
25
5.9
To raise prices or rent suddenly by a lot
25
4.1
Rise quickly to a much higher level
21
4.6
To make something faster or more active
15
4.1
To increase very quickly
4
4.5
Rise slowly by a small amount, often for prices or temperatures
4
4.8
Raise prices or fees suddenly by a large amount
2
3.8
Rise very quickly to a much higher level
2
4.4
Increase very quickly to a much higher level
1
8.6
To increase something to its highest or most extreme level
1
4.8
To raise prices by a large amount, often suddenly
1
3.4
Rise quickly to a much higher level, for example prices or temperatures
Antonyms
How High
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to increase' is partly recoverable from 'drive' (as 'force/cause') combined with 'up' (indicating upward/increase), so there is a compositional motivation. However, the causative/metaphorical extension of 'drive' from controlling a vehicle to causing values or prices to rise may not be immediately obvious to a B1 learner without exposure, making the relation only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb drive up comes from the image of the parts drive and up: someone driving a price or number higher, like a seller pushing a cost above its old level. That's why it means 'to increase' or 'to make something rise'.