to pipe up
- phrasal verb
- /paɪp ʌp/
- Informal
:
comenzar a cantar
- During the meeting, Maria piped up with an idea that surprised us all.
Examples
-
Pipe up if you want me to stop.
Fiction book (1999) -
"Aryeh piped up in song, getting off his chair.
Fiction book (1993) -
As soon as the music started, she piped up and joined in the singing.
-
He suddenly piped up with a catchy tune that everyone recognized.
Synonyms
78
7.8
To make a high thin sound like a whistle
50
4.0
Suddenly start making a sound, like singing, laughing or crying
47
7.0
To make a high thin sound like a small bird or child
27
3.3
To move quickly while making a high whistling sound
9
3.3
Suddenly say something or make a loud sound
9
3.2
To make a sound or speak after a time of silence
1
5.5
To begin to play music or make a sound to mark a start
Antonyms
- Archaic
To stop doing an activity, especially to stop playing music for good
How Loud
Surface Forms
Morphology
pipe + up
The verb 'pipe' (to utter a thin, high-pitched sound) combined with the particle 'up' (which commonly signals onset or increase) yields a meaning of beginning to make a sound, so the basic sense is at least partly inferable from the parts. However, the specific phrasal-verb nuance — especially the sudden/unexpected flavour and the idiomatic usage for starting to speak or play — is not fully predictable for a B1 learner, so full understanding without exposure is not guaranteed.
Etymology
The phrasal verb pipe up may come from the picture of real pipes or players suddenly starting to play, like church pipes or flutes that begin to sound up; that's why pipe up means 'to begin to play or sing'.