1 C1 idiomatic informal
(NZ/Australian English, informal) To provoke or annoy someone.
"Stop trying to rark him up — he's already had a rough day."
separable
rark up
C1 informal separable transitive
To annoy, provoke, or reprimand someone; a New Zealand and Australian English colloquialism.
In plain English
To make someone angry or to tell them off — used mainly in New Zealand and Australia.
What does "rark up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic informal
(NZ/Australian English, informal) To reprimand or tell someone off.
"The coach rarked up the team at half-time for their poor performance."
separable
Usage tip
Primarily New Zealand and Australian slang. Can mean (1) to irritate or provoke someone, or (2) to reprimand or tell someone off. Not understood in most other varieties of English. Very informal.
How to conjugate "rark up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
rark up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
rarks up
he/she/it
Past simple
rarked up
yesterday
Past participle
rarked up
have + pp
-ing form
rarking up
continuous
Hear "rark up" in the wild
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