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true up

C1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To fix something so it is exactly right, correct, or perfectly aligned.

Literal meaning: To align or level something physically so it is perfectly straight or flat.

Meanings

1 C1 idiomatic neutral

In accounting or finance: to reconcile figures and correct them to exact amounts, often after estimates or advance payments have been used.

"At the end of the financial year, the accountants need to true up all the interim payment estimates."

Grammar: separable
2 C1 neutral

In carpentry or engineering: to make a surface, joint, or structure perfectly flat, straight, or aligned.

"You'll need to true up the frame before fitting the door, or it won't close properly."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Common in accounting and finance, where it means to reconcile figures or adjust payments to correct amounts after estimates have been used. Also used in carpentry and engineering for making surfaces level. Increasingly heard in business and finance contexts.

Commonly used with

accounts figures numbers payment records surface

Forms

Base
true up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
trues up
he/she/it
Past simple
trued up
yesterday
Past participle
trued up
have + pp
-ing form
truing up
continuous

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Synonyms

reconcile balance correct adjust align square up

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