AAAmerican Accent US

run up

Separable

The 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: run UP. Saying “RUN up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /n/ of “run” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “run up” is said “ru-nup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To accumulate a large bill or debt.

    • “They ran up a huge bar tab.”
    • “He ran up thousands in credit card debt.”

    Similar: accumulate, rack up

The particle logic

up

Something is finished, raised, improved, or brought together.

Listen + practice

Hear “run up” spoken naturally

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More RUN phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

run into

To meet someone unexpectedly.

run out of

To use up the entire supply of something.

run over

To hit someone or something with a vehicle.

run away

To escape from a place, especially home.

run through

To rehearse or review something from beginning to end.

run by

To tell someone an idea in order to get their reaction.

run down

To criticize someone or something unfairly.

run up — meaning, examples & how to say it