Work Up in a Sentence: Meaning, Uses & Examples
Work up means to build something gradually, whether sweat, courage or a detailed proposal, and work up in a sentence names the result: “We worked up an appetite”, “She worked up the courage to ask”, and “He worked up a cost estimate”. The object that follows names the sense.
Work up at a glance
- Work up is a transitive phrasal verb meaning to build or develop something gradually.
- Its common objects are a sweat, an appetite, the courage, the nerve and a proposal.
- The particle up can move, so work up a plan and work a plan up both occur.
- Get worked up is a separate idiom meaning to become upset or overexcited.
- The commonest error is confusing work up with work out.
What does work up mean?
Work up is a phrasal verb meaning to develop or produce something gradually through effort. The Cambridge entry for work up gathers the physical, emotional and practical senses, and they share one idea: something is not there at the start and is created over time. A runner works up a sweat, a nervous speaker works up the courage, and an engineer works up an estimate.
| Sense | Plain meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Build a physical state | Develop a bodily effect through activity | We worked up an appetite on the long walk. |
| Summon a feeling | Gradually gather an emotion such as courage | She worked up the nerve to disagree. |
| Prepare a document | Produce a detailed plan, estimate or report | He worked up a rough schedule for the term. |
One limitation is worth stating plainly. Work up does not mean to finish, and it does not mean to solve. It describes the gradual stage before a result, so a worked-up plan is a draft rather than a settled decision. Nor is it a synonym for exercise: the sweat is the side effect, not the goal. Where the meaning is a completed solution, work out or develop serves better.
How do you use work up in a sentence?
Name the thing being built, then decide where the particle goes. The verb is separable, and a pronoun object must sit between the two words.
| Pattern | Example | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| work up + a sweat | The class worked up a sweat in ten minutes. | A physical effect produced by effort. |
| work up the courage/nerve | He worked up the nerve to apply. | Emotional resolve gathered slowly. |
| work up + document | She worked up a first draft of the report. | Preparation of a practical written product. |
| work + object + up | Work the figures up before the meeting. | The particle moves after a full noun object. |
| get worked up about | He gets worked up about small delays. | A passive idiom for becoming agitated. |
Placement follows the usual phrasal rule: a pronoun goes in the middle, so work it up is correct and work up it is not, while a full noun may sit on either side. When you want the sense of gradually reaching a state, the pattern is work up to something, as in the talk worked up to a clear request. The same particle builds and completes in build up, which is why the two verbs so often stand together.
Work up in a sentence: examples across contexts
Work up moves easily between the gym, the office and the kitchen table. The ten sentences below keep the same phrase while changing the object, and each one names the thing being built.
| Context | Example sentence | Why this works |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom | The pupils worked up a list of questions for the visitor. | The document sense applied to a small school task. |
| Sports | Ten minutes of skipping worked up a good sweat. | The physical sense with a measurable activity. |
| Workplace email | I will work up a cost estimate by Thursday. | Names a deliverable and a deadline. |
| Conversation | I finally worked up the courage to say no. | The emotional sense, clearly resolved. |
| Parenting | Don’t get worked up about a lost sock. | The passive idiom, here as calm advice. |
| Science writing | She worked up the results into a clean table. | Turns raw data into a usable form. |
| News report | The committee worked up a plan to widen the path. | A public body preparing a proposal. |
| Business writing | We worked up a short profile of each candidate. | The document sense in a formal setting. |
| Music practice | He worked up the tempo until the piece flowed. | Gradual increase towards a target. |
| Community project | Volunteers worked up a rota for the summer fair. | Collective preparation of a practical plan. |
Notice that only two of the ten sentences are about sweat, and only one is about being upset. The document sense is the quiet workhorse of work up, which is why office writing uses it so often.
Work up vs work out
The phrase readers confuse it with most is work out, which shares the same verb and the same physical flavour but points at a result.
| Attribute | work up | work out |
|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | Build something gradually | Solve something or exercise |
| Endpoint | Still a draft or an effect | A finished answer or a fit body |
| Typical object | An appetite, courage or a plan | A problem, a sum or a routine |
| Physical use | Produce a sweat through effort | Train the body at a gym |
| Typical subject | A person or team preparing | A person solving or exercising |
| Replace with | develop, prepare | solve, calculate |
Verdict: choose work up when something is being built towards, and work out when something is being settled; you work up a plan, then you work out whether it fits the budget. If the sense is simply to prepare a document, prepare is the plainer verb.
Word forms and grammar of work up
Work up inflects on the verb, and it has a passive idiom that changes meaning rather than tense. The table also lists the two forms learners most often mix up.
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| work up | phrasal verb, base | Let’s work up a draft tonight. |
| works up | phrasal verb, third person | She works up a sweat on the stairs. |
| worked up | phrasal verb, past | They worked up an estimate in an hour. |
| working up | phrasal verb, present participle | He is working up the figures now. |
| worked up | adjective, idiom | She was too worked up to sleep. |
| work out | phrasal verb, different sense | We worked out the total at last. |
| non-standard: work up on | wrong preposition | Wrong: we worked up on a plan. |
Two warnings come with the forms. First, worked up as an adjective drops the object and means agitated, so the same words carry a different message. Second, the preposition is to, not on: you work up to a decision. Keep the particle up in mind as a builder that also appears in add up and back up.
Common mistakes with work up
- Incorrect:
We worked up on a new budget.Correct: We worked up a new budget. Rule: Work up takes a direct object, not the preposition on. - Incorrect:
I worked up it last night.Correct: I worked it up last night. Rule: A pronoun object goes between the verb and the particle. - Incorrect:
The plan worked up the courage.Correct: The team worked up the courage. Rule: The subject must be the one doing the building. - Incorrect:
She was worked up a sweat.Correct: She worked up a sweat. Rule: Save the passive for the idiom get worked up about emotions. - Incorrect:
Please work up the total and tell me the answer.Correct: Please work out the total. Rule: A calculation is worked out, not worked up.
Practice using work up
Work through the six items, then check the reasoning rather than only the answer.
- Fill the gap: The hike made everyone ______ a healthy appetite.
- Choose the better word: It took a week to (work up / work out) the courage to call.
- Correct the error: We worked up on a rota for the fair.
- Build a sentence: use work up about preparing a first draft of a class report.
- Spot the register: which belongs in a workplace email — I will work up a summary by noon, or I will make a little summary thing later?
- Rewrite with a pronoun: Sam built the estimate alone. Use work + pronoun + up.
Answers
- work up — the physical sense builds the effect through activity.
- work up — courage is built gradually; work out would mean solving.
- We worked up a rota for the fair — drop the preposition on.
- Model answer: I worked up a first draft of the report before lunch.
- I will work up a summary by noon — an email names the deliverable and the time.
- Sam worked it up alone — the pronoun sits between verb and particle.
The bottom line
Use work up in a sentence when something is built gradually through effort, and name the thing being built, from a sweat to the courage to a draft report. Two nuances decide most sentences: a pronoun object goes in the middle, so work it up, and the similar idiom get worked up means upset rather than prepared. Where the goal is a solution or a sum, work out is the better choice.
Frequently asked questions about work up
Is work up separable?
Yes. A full noun object can sit before or after the particle, so work up a plan and work a plan up are both correct. A pronoun object must sit between the words, giving work it up rather than work up it. The passive idiom get worked up keeps the words together and takes no object.
What does work up mean in business?
In business writing, work up usually means to prepare a detailed document such as an estimate, proposal or schedule. A manager might ask for a cost breakdown to be worked up by Friday. The sense is preparation rather than decision, so a worked-up document is a draft to be reviewed.
Does get worked up mean the same as work up?
No, and the difference is important. To work up something is to build it gradually, as in work up the courage. To get worked up is to become upset, angry or overexcited about something. One is active and constructive, while the other describes a person losing their calm.
Can you work up an emotion on purpose?
You can try, and the phrase allows it. Working up the courage or enthusiasm suggests deliberate effort over time rather than a sudden feeling, which is why the verb suits preparation. Genuine emotions can still arrive on their own, but the phrase is used when a person has to gather them.
