Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to have one's back up

to have one's back up

8.2
Get angry and defensive when you feel criticized
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : ponerse a la defensiva
  • Whenever she feels criticized, she tends to have her back up immediately.

Examples

  • He had his back up during the entire meeting, barely listening to suggestions.

  • Don't have your back up—we're just trying to help.

  • Don't have your back up!

  • She had her back up after hearing the criticism.

  • Whenever he feels attacked, he tends to have his back up and become defensive.

  • She had her back up during the discussion, snapping at anyone who disagreed with her.

  • If you criticize his work, he will have his back up and refuse to listen to feedback.

Synonyms

to back is/was up
vsto have one's back up
  • Informal
8.4

Feel angry and ready to argue when someone criticizes you

is the same state expressed using a personal possessive phrasing
to become prickly
vsto have one's back up
7.6

To react angrily or feel hurt when criticized

becomes more openly defensive or hostile rather than merely sensitive
to lose one's cool
vsto have one's back up
  • Informal
5.9

To suddenly become very angry and fail to control your feelings

responds defensively as a reaction rather than with sudden loss of control

Antonyms

to open up
  • Informal
149 2.9

Begin to talk honestly about your thoughts and feelings

to keep a cool head
3 3.9

Stay calm and not get angry or excited in a difficult situation

How Defensive

to have one's back up
  • Informal
8.2

Surface Forms

have one's back up infinitive
had one's back up past
had one's back up past participle
having one's back up present participle
has one's back up third person singular

Morphology

have + one + back + up

The meaning 'to become defensive or angry' cannot be straightforwardly derived from the constituents 'have' + 'one's' + 'back' + 'up': none of these words or their usual combinations clearly signal an emotional/defensive reaction. 'Back up' more commonly means to support or reverse direction, and the construction is idiomatic in English rather than compositional, so a B1 learner who only knows the parts would probably not predict this sense.

Etymology

Have one's back up may come from the image of an animal whose fur stands up on its back when it is scared or ready to fight, with the up showing that raised, defensive look. So, when someone 'has their back up' today, they feel 'defensive' or 'angry'.