work 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: work UP. Saying “WORK up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /k/ of “work” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “work up” is said “wor-kup”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
2 meanings
- 1
To develop something gradually.
- “I worked up the courage to ask.”
- “We worked up an appetite on the walk.”
Similar: build up, develop
- 2
To make yourself or someone anxious or excited.
- “Don't get worked up about it until we know more.”
Similar: agitate