To telephone someone, or to enter the price of goods into a cash register.
To call someone on the phone, or for a cashier to add up what you are buying.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To telephone someone. (chiefly British)
"I'll ring you up as soon as I get back to the hotel."
Ring me up when you get there.
— General idiomatic British usage, widely attested in mid-20th century British literature and film
To enter the price of items into a cash register; to process a sale.
"The cashier rang up my groceries quickly and I paid by card."
To accumulate or record a total amount, especially of sales, costs, or debt.
"The company rang up record profits in the final quarter of the year."
To ring (a bell/phone) upward — historically the act of lifting a receiver and making the phone ring.
To call someone on the phone, or for a cashier to add up what you are buying.
Sense 1 (phone) is primarily British English; Americans say 'call'. Sense 2 (cash register) is used in both British and American English. Sense 2 comes from the literal ringing sound old cash registers made.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "ring up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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