back up
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: back UP. Saying “BACK up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “back” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “back up” is said “ba-ckup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is back UP, the noun is BACKUP. Same two words, different beat — “to back UP” is the action, “a backup” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
3 meanings
- 1
To support someone or something with evidence or assistance.
- “He always backs up his arguments with solid evidence.”
- “If I raise it in the meeting, will you back me up?”
Similar: support, corroborate
- 2
To make a copy of computer data for safekeeping.
- “Back up your files before you install the update.”
- “I back everything up to the cloud automatically.”
Similar: duplicate
- 3
To move a vehicle backwards.
- “Back up a little — you're too close to the wall.”
- “She backed the truck up to the loading dock.”
Similar: reverse