write 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: write UP. Saying “WRITE up” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “write up” comes out as “wri-dup” — closer to a fast D than a T. Drop a pronoun in the middle and it flaps twice: “write it up” → “wri-di-dup”.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is write UP, the noun is WRITE-UP. Same two words, different beat — “to write UP” is the action, “a write-up” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
What it means
To produce a full written account of something.
- “She wrote up the results over the weekend.”
- “Write it up and send it round before Thursday.”
Similar: document, draft