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monkey up

C1 informal intransitive
In simple words

Climb up something fast using your hands and feet, the way a monkey would.

Literal meaning: To go upward in the manner of a monkey — agile, quick, using all four limbs.

Meanings

1 C1 informal

To climb something quickly and athletically, using both hands and feet.

"Without hesitating, the boy monkeyed up the rope and rang the bell at the top."

Usage notes

Very rare; not widely recorded in standard dictionaries. Found occasionally in informal writing or speech to describe agile climbing, especially by children. Not to be confused with the broader expression 'monkey with' (to tamper).

Commonly used with

tree pole rope fence ladder

Forms

Base
monkey up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
monkeys up
he/she/it
Past simple
monkeyed up
yesterday
Past participle
monkeyed up
have + pp
-ing form
monkeying up
continuous

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