1 A2 neutral
To consume or exhaust a supply of something completely.
"The campers used up all the firewood on the first night."
separable
use up
A2 neutral separable transitive
To consume or exhaust the entire supply of something so that none is left.
In plain English
Use all of something until there's none left.
What does "use up" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B1 idiomatic neutral
To exhaust someone's energy, patience, or time completely.
"Dealing with complaints all day really uses up my emotional energy."
separable
Usage tip
Very common in everyday English. Often used with consumable resources: food, time, money, energy. Stresses the idea of complete consumption — nothing remains after the action. 'Use something up' is separable: 'use it up'.
Words that pair with "use up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
energy budget resources time supplies battery
How to conjugate "use up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
use up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
uses up
he/she/it
Past simple
used up
yesterday
Past participle
used up
have + pp
-ing form
using up
continuous
Hear "use up" in the wild
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Other ways to say "use up"
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