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Glite Dictionary
🦘 To jump up 🚗 To boost power
to hop up

to hop up

1 7.6
To make a car engine more powerful by changing parts
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : mejorar

Examples

  • I hop up on a chair to see.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Let's hop up the engine to make the car faster.

  • He decided to hop up his motorcycle to improve its performance.

  • We should hop up the sound system to enhance the party atmosphere.

Synonyms

to crank up
vsto hop up
  • Informal
39 3.8

To increase the level or strength of something, for example volume, production

is about modifying engines to increase power rather than just raising levels
to beef up
vsto hop up
  • Informal
34 4.5

To make something stronger or more effective

focuses on engine power increases through modifications rather than general strengthening
to bump up
vsto hop up
23 3.4

To raise prices or amounts by a lot

is specifically about modifying engines to boost power rather than general increases
to soup up
vsto hop up
  • Informal
4 6.4

Make a car or motorcycle run faster and work better

is limited to improving vehicle engines by making modifications
to turbocharge
vsto hop up
1 6.2

To make something much faster or more effective

increases power by modifications rather than by adding energy directly
to hot up
vsto hop up
  • Jargon
8.3

To make an engine or machine more powerful for racing

is specific to vehicle engines rather than machines broadly

Antonyms

to reduce
∞ 1.6

To make something smaller in amount, size, or number

How Powerful

to upgrade
177 3.5
to hop up
  • Informal
1 7.6
to tune
  • Specialized
125 3.2
to adjust
317 2.7

Surface Forms

hop up infinitive
hopped up past
hopped up past participle
hopping up present participle
hops up third person singular

Morphology

hop + up

The meaning 'to jump or rise quickly' is directly derivable from combining 'hop' (a small, quick jump) with the particle 'up' indicating upward movement; the composition follows a standard English motion verb + particle pattern. This motion-based, literal relation is cross-linguistically common and therefore a B1 learner who knows both constituents should readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Hop up may come from the picture of making a car or engine 'hop' or jump to life when you add stronger parts. So to hop up something means to change it to be more powerful and faster.