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dark up

B2 informal inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To get dark — like the sky going dark before night or a storm.

Literal meaning: To become dark.

Meanings

1 B2 informal

(Informal/dialectal) Of the sky or surroundings: to become dark, especially quickly.

"It started to dark up around four o'clock, so we headed back to the car."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

More dialectal and informal than 'darken up'. Found in some British and Australian regional varieties. Rarely appears in formal writing. Often used to describe weather or the onset of nightfall.

Commonly used with

sky evening room outside quickly

Forms

Base
dark up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
darks up
he/she/it
Past simple
darked up
yesterday
Past participle
darked up
have + pp
-ing form
darking up
continuous

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