to gum up
6
7.2
- phrasal verb
- /ɡʌm ʌp/
- Informal
:
atascar
- The only chance I have of catching them and bringing them in... is by staying away from you because you'd only gum up the works.
- gum up the works
They're just going to make minestrone in there, gum up the pipes with white beans.
- They're just going to make minestrone in there, gum up the pipes with white beans.
- And this is going to glycate or gum up all the cells and tissues in your body.
- Emotions that can't be had lodge themselves in US and gum up our systems.
- It's like they're just, it's just gumming up everyone's cognitive bandwidth with bullshit, right?
- This is the clerk who fills out forms slightly incorrect and gums up the work.
- So the fuel line is all gummed up and there's a form hose that's on the tank.
- These are also fantastic because they tend to not gum up.
- That means that it basically gums up the surface of all the cells in your body, all the cells in your child's body.
- And now our two Pistons are gummed up.
Examples
-
This type of coffee is sprayed with oils that can gum up your coffee machine components.
Blog text (25) -
Then let's gum up her works!
-
That would just gum up the victory.
-
I know, gum up the works.
-
You might gum up the fingerprints.
-
What they do is they gum up this pump that recycles the stuff.
-
Now when sugars do this, it gums up the function of your cells and your tissues.
-
Position limits are the tool in place to limit Wall Street speculators from gumming up commodity markets.
Blog text (19) -
The sticky fibers gum up high-speed machinery in cotton gins and textile mills.
Academic text (1997) -
Plastic waste can gum up the waterways, causing severe environmental issues.
Synonyms
180
2.2
To be unable to move or continue because something blocks you
25
3.8
Cause a delay that stops activity or movement
21
3.2
To block a pipe or passage so flow stops
21
5.8
To become stuck and unable to make progress because of problems
13
4.4
Get stuck and stop moving or working
9
3.7
To block a drain or road so things cannot move through it
8
4.7
Become blocked so things cannot move or work
8
6.5
Stop working properly because of damage or lack of oil
7
5.1
To cause a complete stop so vehicles cannot move or talks cannot progress
5
5.8
To get stuck and stop making progress
1
5.8
To block a pipe or drain so water cannot pass through
1
7.8
Make things tangled or blocked so progress slows
To become blocked or cause a block by dirt and grease
To become sticky and gather into lumps, making it hard to use
Antonyms
How Clogged
Surface Forms
Morphology
gum + up
The verb 'gum' (to make sticky) combined with the particle 'up' yields a resultative/causative meaning where stickiness causes clogging or stoppage; this causal link is directly derivable from the constituents. The verb+up construction commonly signals completion or obstruction in English, so a B1 learner who knows 'gum' and the particle 'up' can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Gum up comes from the image of sticky gum getting into a machine and making the moving parts stick. So if something gums up, it becomes 'clogged' or 'stops working' properly.