powered up; powering up; powers up
: to cause to operate
power up the computer
pow·er-up
ˈpau̇(-ə)r-ˌəp 
variants
or less commonly powerup
or power up
plural power-ups also powerups or power ups
1
: an item in a video game that makes a player's character more effective by enhancing an attribute (such as speed, health, or strength) or conferring an ability
… a bunch of power-ups at your disposal to help overcome the odds, including the Super Bell—which gives you catlike powers and the ability to climb walls.—
Jon Bitner
Jon BitnerYou can use the direction keys on your keyboard to navigate Pac-Man through the maze, gobbling up spheres and power ups while avoiding ghosts.—Cassidy Ward
Cassidy WardAfter you collect enough gems and level up, you're able to select another weapon or powerup.—Kris Holt
Kris Holt2
: the act of beginning to operate or causing something to operate
Do not use the device if the device requires multiple power-ups prior to going to "ready state" (solid green light) …—Contify Life Science News
Contify Life Science News… on power up, the user will experience the most rapid start-up time ever …—Business Wire
Business WireExamples of power up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebMichael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
Mammoth, the largest industrial facility yet built to filter carbon dioxide out of the air, just powered up in Hellisheiði, Iceland.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 May 2024
The gas engine performs the more energy-intensive driving tasks, including accelerating and powering up hills.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 3 May 2024
Nintendo is powering up a jaw-dropping world of immersion into the world of Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, and more at the upcoming Universal Epic Universe theme park.
—EW.com, 2 May 2024
So, Godzilla is on the move and powering up, Kong is having an existential crisis, a new threat is rising and team Kong is headed back to Hollow Earth to investigate with Jia and Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) in tow.
—The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
The company has invested in a battery swapping network that allows drivers to quickly power up their car by changing the power cell, rather than waiting for the vehicle to charge.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 20 Mar. 2024
As such, the lander’s solar panels are not angled properly to harness sunlight and power up the probe, according to JAXA.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024
So grab your remote, power up your TV, and prepare to journey into the wild with one of entertainment's most interesting streaming platforms.
—Briana Richert, James Mercadante, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2024
Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
As for maximizing the opportunity at rare shiny variants, players should spin as many discs as possible and keep the tasks that ask players to power-up a certain type of Pokemon.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024
Nonetheless, progression is cleverly paced thanks to a range of mini-quests that reward you with game-altering power-ups.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Finding power-ups The mining operations fall in two major clusters: one in Texas, and one extending from western New York down the Appalachians to southern Georgia.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 2 Feb. 2024
Mere hours after the flawless launch, however, Astrobotic announced that—following a successful separation from the rocket and a power-up of many of the Peregrine’s systems—the spacecraft couldn’t stably orient itself toward the sun because of a problem with its propulsion system.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2024
Often, the plump plumber Mario is considered an anonymous stand-in for the player, a character built for power-ups rather than personality.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023
In addition to new power-ups and a trippy new mechanic, the game boasts the largest roster of playable characters in Super Mario history.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2023
Of the three new standard power-ups, the mushroom that transforms Mario into an elephant is easily the most fun.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 18 Oct. 2023
Verb
That transfer case looks and functions very similarly to that of a Mercedes-Benz Unimog’s portal axles, with an onboard air compressor to engage it and gears that send power up and over the middle axle to a propshaft that continues rearward.
—Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 8 May 2024
Mammoth, the largest industrial facility yet built to filter carbon dioxide out of the air, just powered up in Hellisheiði, Iceland.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 May 2024
The gas engine performs the more energy-intensive driving tasks, including accelerating and powering up hills.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 3 May 2024
Nintendo is powering up a jaw-dropping world of immersion into the world of Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, and more at the upcoming Universal Epic Universe theme park.
—EW.com, 2 May 2024
So, Godzilla is on the move and powering up, Kong is having an existential crisis, a new threat is rising and team Kong is headed back to Hollow Earth to investigate with Jia and Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) in tow.
—The Arizona Republic, 28 Mar. 2024
The company has invested in a battery swapping network that allows drivers to quickly power up their car by changing the power cell, rather than waiting for the vehicle to charge.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 20 Mar. 2024
As such, the lander’s solar panels are not angled properly to harness sunlight and power up the probe, according to JAXA.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024
So grab your remote, power up your TV, and prepare to journey into the wild with one of entertainment's most interesting streaming platforms.
—Briana Richert, James Mercadante, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2024
Noun
Although Mario and Donkey Kong have gone their separate ways and had success in side-scrolling platformers, the concept of leaping over obstacles, climbing ladders and grabbing hammer power-ups still had level design and gameplay potential.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
As for maximizing the opportunity at rare shiny variants, players should spin as many discs as possible and keep the tasks that ask players to power-up a certain type of Pokemon.
—Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2024
Nonetheless, progression is cleverly paced thanks to a range of mini-quests that reward you with game-altering power-ups.
—Matt Gardner, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
Finding power-ups The mining operations fall in two major clusters: one in Texas, and one extending from western New York down the Appalachians to southern Georgia.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 2 Feb. 2024
Mere hours after the flawless launch, however, Astrobotic announced that—following a successful separation from the rocket and a power-up of many of the Peregrine’s systems—the spacecraft couldn’t stably orient itself toward the sun because of a problem with its propulsion system.
—Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 9 Jan. 2024
Often, the plump plumber Mario is considered an anonymous stand-in for the player, a character built for power-ups rather than personality.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2023
In addition to new power-ups and a trippy new mechanic, the game boasts the largest roster of playable characters in Super Mario history.
—Vulture Editors, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2023
Of the three new standard power-ups, the mushroom that transforms Mario into an elephant is easily the most fun.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 18 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'power up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near power up
Cite this Entry
“Power up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/power%20up. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
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