pump up

verb

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

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

The verdict

“pump up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To inflate by means of a pump.

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

Where “pump up” sits in English frequency

pump 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.

Rare enough to double-check

pump up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pump up in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is pump up, spelled P-U-M-P- -U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To inflate by means of a pump.
  2. 2
    To inflate by means of a pump.
  3. 3
    To excite a person or group to a frenzy.
  4. 4
    To cause one's muscles to swell by means of focused weightlifting.
  5. 5
    To cause (something) to increase in intensity, salience or other traits beyond what is reasonable.
  6. 6
    To increase the volume of (something).

This word in other languages

inflar(Español)gonfler(Français)aufpumpen(Deutsch)bombear(Português)

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 "pump up"?
"pump up" is spelled P-U-M-P- -U-P.
What does "pump up" mean?
As a verb, "pump up" means: To inflate by means of a pump.
What language does "pump up" come from?
"pump up" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “pump up”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-M-P- -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