Skip to main content
stopped-up

stopped-up

2 5.3
A nose that is blocked so air cannot pass easily
  • adjective
  • /ˈstɑːpt ʌp/
translation icon : tapado
  • His heart was beating fast, and his breathing seemed a little troubled; his nose stopped up.
  • stopped-up nose

Examples

  • That sink's stopped up again.

  • Not in the stomach, but down here where the lower digestive system is stopped up.

  • He discovered that it was stopped up.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • His ears felt stopped up, as though there were a silence so loud that everything else was muffled.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Rose had a rare tropical disease, and the little tubes in her that babies swim down are all stopped up; she told me all about it.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • "With both my fallopian tubes stopped up, GIFT can't help." "Holy Toledo!" Marissa exclaimed.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Now about that headline, some of my symptoms have abated, like the dry throat in the morning and the stopped-up nose that causes it, and some have gotten way worse, like the eyelids glued shut by dried secretions from my "watery" eyes.

    Blog text (31)
  • When I have a cold, my nose gets stopped-up and I find it hard to breathe.

  • The pollen made my nose feel stopped-up, and I had to use a tissue to clear it.

  • After the long flight, I woke up with a stopped-up nose due to the dry air in the cabin.

Synonyms

clogged
vsstopped-up
6 2.8

Stopped from moving or flowing because something is blocking it

applies to air blockage in the nose, not general flow problems
congested
vsstopped-up
  • Specialized
5 3.6

A body part full of extra blood or liquid that is swollen

focuses on air blockage rather than internal fullness or swelling
stopped up
vsstopped-up
1 5.1

Blocked so air cannot pass through, often in the nose after a cold

is the same meaning but written as a hyphenated form
stopped
vsstopped-up
1.8

A nose that is blocked so air cannot pass easily

is a more complete blockage and often implies congestion
pluggy
vsstopped-up
8.9

Blocked so air or water cannot pass easily

is the physical blocked state rather than just the sensation
choked
vsstopped-up
4.3

Blocked or full so nothing can pass through

is usually less extreme and relates to ordinary nasal congestion

Antonyms

1.0

Not closed so people or things can go through

How Blocked

blocked
1.7
stopped-up
2 5.3
stuffy
5 3.7
clear
866 1.0

Surface Forms

stopped-up positive

Morphology

stopped-up = stop up (transparent) = stopp + up + ed

The adjective is transparently formed from the phrasal verb 'stop up' with participial '-ed' meaning 'blocked'.

Etymology

The word stopped-up comes from stop meaning 'to block' and up meaning 'completely'. Think of your nose as a little road that is blocked so air cannot pass, which is why a stopped-up nose feels hard to breathe through.