prep up
B2 informal separable both
In simple words
To get everything ready for something that's about to happen.
Literal meaning: 'Up' here suggests completing something to a finished or ready state — a common particle pattern in English phrasal verbs.
Meanings
1 B2 informal
To make someone or something fully ready for a procedure, event, or task.
"The nurses prepped up the patient before the surgeon arrived."
Grammar: separable
2 B2 informal
To prepare yourself thoroughly before an important event.
"I spent the whole weekend prepping up for the job interview."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Informal and conversational. Common in culinary, medical, and general professional contexts. Can be reflexive ('prep yourself up') or transitive ('prep up the patient'). More common in American English than British. Also used in disaster preparedness culture.
Commonly used with
patient kitchen ingredients presentation room team
Forms
Base
prep up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
preps up
he/she/it
Past simple
preped up
yesterday
Past participle
preped up
have + pp
-ing form
preping up
continuous
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Synonyms
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