up to eleven
1
9.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
al máximo
- They really pushed the project up to eleven this week.
Examples
-
The director pushed the action scenes up to eleven for maximum excitement.
-
When the projector is up to eleven, the colors become more vibrant and the details sharper.
-
They turned the celebration up to eleven with fireworks and a live band.
-
Whenever she decorates her house for holidays, she takes it up to eleven.
-
He turned the volume up to eleven!
-
The teacher turned the volume of the music up to eleven for the final performance, creating an unforgettable atmosphere.
-
After the argument, he took his anger up to eleven, shouting louder than ever before.
Synonyms
61
5.2
Very extreme or exaggerated in a way that seems unreasonable
31
6.2
Much higher than normal in amount or level
24
3.9
Do something as fully as possible
11
4.5
To be blown very high into the sky by an explosion
8
6.8
Much higher than normal
7
4.6
To a very great degree
3
6.1
Very extreme in every way
A joking phrase used to say a very large amount or level
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partly derivable because 'up' (increase) + 'to' + a number ('eleven') signals raising intensity to a specified level, so a learner can infer a high setting. However, the extra sense of hyperbolic excess — that eleven implies going beyond a normal maximum (the cultural joke of 'turn it up to eleven') — is pragmatic/cultural and not fully predictable from the words alone, so prior exposure helps.
Etymology
The phrase up to eleven comes from a funny movie about a rock band where an amplifier's volume knob went to eleven instead of the usual ten. People use it to say something is pushed beyond the normal limit, so it means 'to an extreme or maximum level'.