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hop up

B1 informal separable both
In simple words

Quickly climb up onto something; OR make a car or engine more powerful; OR make someone more energetic (often with stimulants).

Literal meaning: To jump upward onto something.

Meanings

1 A2 informal

To climb quickly and lightly onto a surface or raised place.

"The child hopped up onto the kitchen counter to reach the biscuit tin."

2 B2 idiomatic informal

To modify a vehicle or engine to increase its speed or power.

"He spent the whole summer hopping up his old Mustang in the garage."

Grammar: separable
3 B1 idiomatic informal

To make someone excited, agitated, or energetic, typically through a stimulating substance.

"She was hopped up on three espressos and couldn't sit still during the meeting."

"He's hopped up on morphine."

— Breaking Bad, Season 1 (AMC, 2008)
Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Has three distinct uses: (1) physical movement onto a surface; (2) modifying a vehicle engine for more power (American automotive slang); (3) stimulating someone with a substance. Sense 3 often appears in passive: 'hopped up on coffee/drugs.'

Commonly used with

engine car caffeine table counter drugs

Forms

Base
hop up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
hops up
he/she/it
Past simple
hoped up
yesterday
Past participle
hoped up
have + pp
-ing form
hoping up
continuous

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Synonyms

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