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to fry up

to fry up

7 2.9
Cook food in hot oil or fat
  • phrasal verb
  • /fraɪ ʌp/
translation icon : freír
  • At seven A.M., after my short sleepless night, I was already frying up the bacon when the girls wandered into the kitchen in their matching flowered babydolls.
  • fry up bacon
  • fry up eggs
  • fry up pancakes

I'll get some healthy crackers, I'll get some salmon, some eggs, and just sort of fry that up.

Examples

  • I'm going to take a pan and fry up the onions first.

  • Yo, Rock, see if you can fry us up a little bacon.

  • "Get some chicken, too," she ordered, "and fry up a couple of pieces for my dinner."

    Fiction book (1991)
  • "I just fry it up quick," she said.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Fish is ugly, but they fry up real good.

  • I'll just fry it up for us.

  • Let's go fishing and fry up some real food.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Well, maybe I can fry you up an egg sandwich.

  • Mama's frying up enough chicken for a football team.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • She decided to fry up some eggs and toast for breakfast.

Synonyms

to cook
vsto fry up
1.0

To prepare food by heating it, for example by boiling or frying

is a specific cooking method using hot oil or fat, not any other method
to fry
vsto fry up
283 1.0

Cook food in hot oil or fat in a pan

has identical meaning but is a phrasal informal variant
to cook up
vsto fry up
20 3.2

Prepare a quick meal by mixing ingredients you have

focuses on cooking in hot oil rather than inventively mixing ingredients
to deep-fry
vsto fry up
8 2.8

Cook food by putting it completely in hot oil

refers to cooking in hot oil without full immersion
to stir-fry
vsto fry up
7 2.8

To cook food quickly in a small amount of hot oil while stirring

is broader, applying to cooking in hot oil without continuous stirring
to pan-fry
vsto fry up
3 2.9

To cook food in a hot pan with a little oil

refers to cooking in hot oil generally rather than using small oil amounts
to french-fry
vsto fry up
  • US
3 2.6

To cook food in hot oil until it becomes crisp and golden

covers cooking in hot oil generally, not only deep immersion and crisping
to saute
vsto fry up
1 3.7

Fry food quickly in a small amount of oil or butter over high heat

does this too but covers cooking in hot oil without speed focus
to frizzle
vsto fry up
1 6.8

Cook food in hot oil until it becomes brown and crispy

is similar but describes ordinary cooking without strong crisping
to deep-fat-fry
vsto fry up
1 3.3

To cook food by putting it completely in hot oil

refers to cooking in hot oil without full immersion

How Fried

to deep-fry
8 2.8
to fry up
7 2.9
to pan-fry
3 2.9
sauté
6.1

Surface Forms

fry up infinitive
fried up past
fried up past participle
frying up present participle
frys up third person singular

Morphology

fry + up

The meaning 'to cook something by frying it in hot oil or fat' is directly derivable from 'fry' (to cook in hot oil) combined with the particle 'up', which here simply frames the action (often indicating completion or a casual action). This verb+particle composition is a common, predictable pattern in English and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Fry up comes from the simple image of putting food into a hot pan and frying it until it is done. Here, fry is the cooking action and up shows the food is finished, so the phrase means 'to cook something by frying in hot oil or fat'.