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Glite Dictionary
to notch up

to notch up

1 4.7
Get a higher score, more sales or a win
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : lograr
  • The final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King, won an Oscar in every category in which it was nominated, notching up 11 statuettes and putting it on par with Ben-Hur and Titanic.

Examples

  • But through it all, we kept slowly and steadily notching up another store here and another store there to carry our product.

    Blog text (24)

  • A Rotherham-based metals company has been branded a "serial safety offender" after it notched up 31 enforcement notices for safety breaches in just three months.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Notching up another win, the home team was on a real high with the score now reading 4-0.

    Blog text (19)

  • They are looking forward to notching it up even more this year.

    Blog text (21)

  • It was still nil-all at half time, but immediately from the second-half whistle, Club's Nicola Sawyer raced through to notch up the first goal.

    Blog text (14)

  • The team managed to notch up a crucial win in the finals last night.

  • After a successful season, the athlete notched up several awards for her performances.

  • He hopes to notch up enough points to qualify for the championship.

Synonyms

to score
vsto notch up
693 1.5

To get points or a grade in a contest

is broader, covering achieving or recording amounts or successes beyond just points
to rack up
vsto notch up
  • Informal
54 3.6

To collect many points or wins

means achieving or recording an amount rather than piling up many
to tally
vsto notch up
18 3.0

To count or add things like points and votes

means achieving or recording success rather than just counting numbers
to chalk up
vsto notch up
6 4.6

To record points or a win in a game

covers achieving or recording amounts and general successes

Antonyms

to lose
∞ 1.0

Fail to win a game or contest

to fail
898 1.0

Not succeed in doing something you wanted to do

How Much

to secure
324 3.9
gain
  • Specialized
559 2.3
to notch up
  • Informal
1 4.7
to add
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

notch up infinitive
notched up past
notched up past participle
notching up present participle
notches up third person singular

Morphology

notch + up

The noun/verb 'notch' evokes a mark made for counting and 'up' suggests increase, so the meaning 'to record or achieve a score/success' follows by metaphorical extension from tallying; however this requires mapping the physical action (making notches) to abstract achievement. A B1 learner who knows both constituents might partly infer the general idea but would likely not predict the conventional verb‑particle collocation and exact usage without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb notch up comes from the old habit of cutting small marks called notches into a stick to count wins, money, or points. Each notch added showed one more item, so to notch up came to mean 'to record' or 'to achieve' a score or success.