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Glite Dictionary
to pal up

to pal up

8.0
Become friends with someone and spend time with them
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : hacerse amigo
  • He always tries to pal up with the popular kids at school.

Examples

  • They seemed to pal up after working together on the project.

  • Don't pal up with people who don't respect you!

  • At summer camp, she quickly palled up with the other girls in her cabin.

  • She decided to pal up with her new colleagues.

  • After years of rivalry, the two athletes decided to pal up and support each other in their training.

  • When she moved to a new city, she made an effort to pal up with her neighbors to build a friendly community.

  • It's important to pal up with your colleagues if you want to create a positive work environment.

Synonyms

to make friends
vsto pal up
134 1.0

Begin to be friendly with someone

is about beginning friendly actions rather than forming lasting bonds
to pal
vsto pal up
  • Informal
37 5.3

To become friends with someone and spend time together

has the same meaning but differs by a small added word form
to chum up
vsto pal up
  • UK
1 7.7

To make friends with someone by talking and being kind

focuses more on forming friendship rather than just sociable acts
to chum
vsto pal up
  • UK
5.8

To spend time with someone as a friend

emphasizes starting friendship rather than merely socialising

Antonyms

to alienate
123 6.7

To make someone feel alone and lose support from others

to antagonize
  • US
31 7.6

To make someone angry or unfriendly

How Friendly

to befriend
61 3.0
to pal up
  • Informal
8.0
to make friends
134 1.0

Surface Forms

pal up infinitive
pal'd up past
pal'd up past participle
palling up present participle
pal ups third person singular

Morphology

pal + up

The meaning 'to become friends' is directly derivable from combining 'pal' (to behave in a friendly way) with the particle 'up', which commonly marks a change of state or intensification; together they straightforwardly indicate entering into a friendly relationship. This verb+particle composition follows a regular English pattern and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings.

Etymology

Pal up comes from the simple image of someone stepping up to stand close and become a pal. So, pal up means 'to become friends' or 'start acting friendly'.