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Glite Dictionary
📄 To align ⚖️ To make equal
to even up

to even up

2 4.1
To make two things equal or fair by adjusting what is different
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : igualar
  • This will even things up a little bit.
  • even up the score

Examples

  • I am not even making that up.

    Blog text (2)

  • But then once, you know, you kind of even up that pain to the gene race.

  • But if you wanna get technical about it, all you really did is even up the score, since I saved your life first.

    The Rundown (2003)

  • How the fuck is this even up for discussion?

    Blog text (12)

  • So this was even up after you'd adjusted for other other factors.

  • Mary turned around and promptly dropped one of the waiters to even us up.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • They even stepped up coming out of the second half, making a few key stops on drives to give the offense good field position.

    Blog text (21)

  • We may be forced to give up very significant concessions on agriculture, textiles, tariffs, or some of the other non-service sectors in order to get the developing countries to even up the services agreement.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Linfield was able to even up the count at 7 on their next possession and brought a small exhale from the Linfield faithful, but Concordia kept pushing.

    Blog text (15)

  • She decided to even up the score after losing the last game.

Synonyms

to balance out
vsto even up
25 3.5

Make things equal and make up for a lack so nothing is too much or too little

aims to make things fair and balanced rather than merely offset amounts
to even
vsto even up
22 2.5

To make something level or smooth

is about creating fairness and balance between parties rather than physical leveling
to even out
vsto even up
18 3.4

To make a surface, amount, or relationship level by removing differences

focuses on fairness and balancing differences rather than just smoothing
to equalize
vsto even up
  • US
2 4.0

To make the score the same for both sides

focuses on fairness and equal outcome rather than just matching numbers

Antonyms

unbalance
4.6

A situation where things are not steady or equal

How Balanced

to equalize
  • US
10 4.4
to even up
2 4.1
to skew
61 5.4

Surface Forms

even up infinitive
evened up past
evened up past participle
evening up present participle
evens up third person singular

Morphology

even + up

The meaning 'to make equal, fair, or balanced' follows directly from combining 'even' (to make level or equal) with the particle 'up' which signals completion or intensification, so the sense is compositionally predictable. This verb+particle pattern is common in English and mirrors cross-linguistic ways of saying 'equalize', making it readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Even up, with the parts even and up, comes from the idea of making two sides the same, like moving stones until two piles are the same height. So, it means 'to make things equal or fair'.