save up
No objectThis verb takes no object at all.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: save UP. Saying “SAVE up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /v/ of “save” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “save up” is said “sa-vup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
What it means
To gradually accumulate money for a specific purpose.
- “They're saving up for a deposit on a house.”
- “I saved up all summer to buy that guitar.”
Similar: put aside