To assault or handle someone roughly, usually as a threat or intimidation rather than to cause serious harm.
To hit or push someone around to scare or hurt them a bit.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To attack or assault someone physically, typically to intimidate rather than cause serious injury.
"The gang roughed him up outside the bar and stole his wallet."
They roughed him up a little bit, gave him a taste of what was coming.
— The Godfather (1972), screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
To damage or make something look untidy by handling it carelessly.
"The pages had been roughed up by someone who'd been flipping through them carelessly."
To handle someone in a rough, upward manner — but the idiomatic meaning is simply to assault physically.
To hit or push someone around to scare or hurt them a bit.
Often implies violence that is intended to intimidate rather than seriously injure. Common in crime, thriller, and action contexts. Also used figuratively, meaning to treat something carelessly and damage it.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "rough up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.