rough up
B1 informal separable transitive
In simple words
To hit or push someone around to scare or hurt them a bit.
Literal meaning: To handle someone in a rough, upward manner — but the idiomatic meaning is simply to assault physically.
Meanings
1 B1
idiomatic
informal
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
Grammar: separable
2 B2
idiomatic
informal
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."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
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.
Commonly used with
victim suspect prisoner journalist protester witness
Forms
Base
rough up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
roughs up
he/she/it
Past simple
roughed up
yesterday
Past participle
roughed up
have + pp
-ing form
roughing up
continuous
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