1 A2 informal
To add fuel to a vehicle, aircraft, or other machine until it has enough to operate.
"We should fuel up before we hit the motorway — there are no petrol stations for fifty miles."
inseparable
fuel up
A2 informal inseparable transitive/intransitive
To fill a vehicle with fuel, or to eat and drink enough to have energy for an activity.
In plain English
To put fuel in a car or plane, or to eat a good meal before doing something active.
What does "fuel up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 A2 idiomatic informal
To eat or drink sufficiently to have energy for physical activity or a demanding task.
"Make sure you fuel up properly before the marathon — you'll need every calorie."
inseparable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To add fuel upward into a vehicle's tank — the 'up' suggests completing the action fully.
Actually means
To put fuel in a car or plane, or to eat a good meal before doing something active.
Usage tip
Common in both the literal vehicle sense and the informal metaphorical sense of eating for energy. The metaphorical use ('fuel up before the game') is very common in sports contexts. Widely used across American and British English.
Words that pair with "fuel up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
car plane before the race at the station athletes body
How to conjugate "fuel up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
fuel up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
fuels up
he/she/it
Past simple
fueled up
yesterday
Past participle
fueled up
have + pp
-ing form
fueling up
continuous
Hear "fuel up" in the wild
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Other ways to say "fuel up"
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Keep exploring
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