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Glite Dictionary
to mock up

to mock up

2 5.4
To make a simple model of something to test or show it
  • phrasal verb
  • /mɑk ʌp/
  • Specialized
: maquetar
  • In class, we learned how to mock up a model of a bridge to test its structural integrity.

And then they took what the chat spit out and put it into Dolly and had Dolly mock up those sets.

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Examples

  • Before we finalize the project, let's mock up a draft version to see how it looks.

  • I was like, maybe we could mock up some mirror caps out of carbon.

  • Next, we needed to pop open some packages and mock up how we thought the RGB strips might mount on the chair.

  • Everybody always mocks up their battery boxes in cardboard.

    Blog text (31)

  • Below, I've mocked up a "screenshot" of what that sort of display could look like, assuming it's possible.

    Blog text (17)

  • The idea was to mock up a letter from Story Musgrave Junior to Boots Bacci; as Kaplan recalled, Junior had been a guest on Boots's talk show some years earlier during a tribute to his dad.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The designer will mock up a prototype of the new smartphone for the presentation.

Synonyms

to model
vsto mock up
102 4.1

To make a small copy of something to show or study it

is narrower, concentrating on building an initial replica for practical testing or display
to simulate
vsto mock up
  • Specialized
85 5.4

Make a model of something to test or study it

involves constructing a tangible preliminary replica for examination or display
to dummy
vsto mock up
  • Jargon
3 7.6

To make a simple model or layout to show how something will look

is the general act of constructing a replica for study, testing, or display
to prototype
vsto mock up
1 4.2

To make an early model of something to test it

covers making preliminary replicas more broadly for study, testing, or display
to dummy up
vsto mock up
8.2

Make a simple model or design to show how something will look

focuses on building a replica used as an initial version for testing or display

How Detailed

to prototype
1 4.2
to mock up
  • Specialized
2 5.4
draft
  • Specialized
245 3.7
to sketch
45 3.0

Surface Forms

mock up infinitive
mocked up past
mocked up past participle
mocking up present participle
mocks up third person singular

Morphology

mock + up

The sense 'to construct a model or replica' follows directly from combining 'mock' (to imitate/simulate) with the productive particle 'up' that conveys creation/completion in verb+particle patterns. This compositional verb+particle meaning is a regular English pattern and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The phrasal verb mock up comes from making a quick copy: mock means a 'copy' and up suggests putting it together or showing it. Designers would make a rough copy to test ideas, so today mock up means 'to build a model or replica' before making the real thing.