jack up

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"jack-up" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“jack up” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To raise, hoist, or lift a thing using a jack, or similar means.

Key facts for jack up
PropertyValue
Headwordjack up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “jack up” sits in English frequency

jack up falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for jack up is 7 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for jack up, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: * Sense of “hoist with a jack” is from 1885; then, “increase prices, etc.” (1904, American English); both ultimately from noun jack (“mechanical device used to raise heavy objects”) * “Screw up, mess up” sense derived from, or influenced by fuck up, as a bo… The correct English form is jack up, spelled J-A-C-K- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To raise, hoist, or lift a thing using a jack, or similar means.
  2. 2
    To raise, increase, or accelerate; often said of prices, fees, or rates.
  3. 3
    To ruin; wreck; mess up; screw up; sometimes as a bowdlerized substitution for fuck up.
  4. 4
    To give up; to abandon (something, e.g. a job, contract)
  5. 5
    To organise something.
  6. 6
    To shoot, especially in the context of a poor shot opportunity.
  7. 7
    To improve or embellish on (something).
  8. 8
    To refuse to follow an order.
  9. 9
    To criticize, discipline or reprimand.

Etymology

* Sense of “hoist with a jack” is from 1885; then, “increase prices, etc.” (1904, American English); both ultimately from noun jack (“mechanical device used to raise heavy objects”) * “Screw up, mess up” sense derived from, or influenced by fuck up, as a bowdlerization; also possibly influenced by jacked up (“high, intoxicated”) * First dialectal idiomatic meaning: “abandon, give up” (1873), possibly a corruption of chuck up, as chuck up the sponge (“give up, concede, give token of submission”)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "jack up"?
"jack up" is spelled J-A-C-K- -U-P.
What does "jack up" mean?
As a verb, "jack up" means: To raise, hoist, or lift a thing using a jack, or similar means.
What is the origin of the word "jack up"?
* Sense of “hoist with a jack” is from 1885; then, “increase prices, etc.” (1904, American English); both ultimately from noun jack (“mechanical device used to raise heavy objects”) * “Screw up, mess up” sense derived from, or influenced by fuck u... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “jack up”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is J-A-C-K- -U-P - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list