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buzz up

B1 informal separable transitive
In simple words

Call someone upstairs using an intercom, or make someone feel full of energy.

Literal meaning: To send a buzz (signal or energy) upward to someone.

Meanings

1 B1 informal

To contact someone on a higher floor or in a building by using an intercom or internal telephone.

"When the courier arrived at reception, the desk clerk buzzed up to the manager's office."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To make someone feel excited, energetic, or stimulated.

"The crowd's reaction really buzzed the performers up before the final act."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

The intercom sense is most common in British English (e.g. in hotels or apartment buildings). The 'energise' sense is more figurative and informal.

Commonly used with

guest visitor lobby reception energy excitement

Forms

Base
buzz up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
buzzes up
he/she/it
Past simple
buzzed up
yesterday
Past participle
buzzed up
have + pp
-ing form
buzzing up
continuous

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Synonyms

call up ring up announce alert energise excite

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