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juice up

B2 informal separable transitive
In simple words

To make something stronger, more exciting, or to charge something with electricity.

Literal meaning: To add juice (liquid/power) upward — partly metaphorical.

Meanings

1 B1 idiomatic informal

To charge a device or add electrical power to something.

"I need to juice up my phone before we leave — it's almost dead."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To increase the power, speed, or performance of a machine or engine.

"The mechanics juiced up the engine to improve the car's acceleration."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic informal

To make something more exciting, interesting, or energetic.

"The director asked the writers to juice up the final act of the screenplay."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Versatile and common in American English. Can refer to devices (juice up your phone = charge it), vehicles (juice up an engine = boost its power), presentations (juice up a speech = make it more exciting), or people (juice up the crowd = energize them). The 'charge' sense is recent and common among younger speakers.

Commonly used with

phone battery engine speech presentation crowd performance

Forms

Base
juice up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
juices up
he/she/it
Past simple
juiced up
yesterday
Past participle
juiced up
have + pp
-ing form
juicing up
continuous

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