to step up one's game
6
4.9
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
mejorar su rendimiento
- If she wants to pass the exam, she has to step up her game and study harder.
- need to step up your game
- got to step up your game
- really stepped up his game
Examples
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He has to step up his game, or he will find himself on the bench.
Blog text (2) -
Now, if we don't step up our game, we're gonna get left behind.
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Maybe you two need to step up your game some.
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No, I think you just have to step up your game.
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You need to step up your game.
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We just gotta step up our game.
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We gotta step up our game.
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Yeah, you know, the older you get, the more you have to step up your game, I guess.
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I say this not to call anyone out, but to encourage you all to step up your game.
Blog text (29) -
You just have to step up your game and make more approaches.
Blog text (26)
Synonyms
34
1.8
To become more skilled in an activity by practicing
4
3.5
Make something better by practicing or fixing it
1
6.8
To work harder or faster when facing a challenge
Try to do better to meet higher standards
Antonyms
How Skilled
275
3.7
58
3.7
- Informal
6
4.9
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb phrase 'step up' clearly conveys increasing or intensifying, and 'game' is used metaphorically for one’s performance or skill, so a learner who knows the parts can plausibly infer ‘raise your performance/effort’. However, 'game' in this sense is a figurative extension and the specific collocation 'step up one's game' is partly idiomatic, so full, immediate comprehension by a B1 learner is not guaranteed without some exposure.
Etymology
The idiom step up one's game may come from the image of a player taking a higher step to try harder in a match. To step up means to move up or increase effort, and 'game' here means how well you play or perform. So it means 'to improve your performance or try harder'.