souped-up

/ˈsuːpt ʌp/

//ˈsuːpt ʌp// adj

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

"souped-up" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Of a racehorse: injected with a substance to make it run faster or to change its temperament.

Corpus desk

Index EN-souped-up · souped-up · English

souped-up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for souped-up
PropertyValue
Headwordsouped-up
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsuːpt ʌp/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “souped-up” sits in English frequency

souped-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

souped-up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈsuːpt ʌp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for souped-up, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain; the fact that the earlier senses seem to be the horse racing cant and United States Navy slang ones suggests a derivation from soup (“liquid food item”), connoting a horse or a person being filled with a liquid. Alternatively, it has been suggest… The correct English form is souped-up, spelled S-O-U-P-E-D---U-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of a racehorse: injected with a substance to make it run faster or to change its temperament.
  2. 2
    Of an engine, a motor vehicle, etc.: modified for higher performance.
  3. 3
    Improved.
  4. 4
    Intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
  5. 5
    Excited.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how souped-up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. $600.00 BUYS T. M. Scout with "Souped up" OX5 motor. Snappiest commercial single seater built. H. W. Mackie, Air Service, Houston, Texas.
  2. [W]ill it be possible to mount a larger engine for use in La Paz? I doubt very much if the standard 165 would get off the ground up here with a student. I wish you would take that up with the factory and see if they can put out a job with a suped-up seven-cylinder job. The R-540 I think it is.

Etymology

Uncertain; the fact that the earlier senses seem to be the horse racing cant and United States Navy slang ones suggests a derivation from soup (“liquid food item”), connoting a horse or a person being filled with a liquid. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a modified clipping of supe(r), with reference to an aeroplane or automobile engine being supercharged: see, for example, the quotation from 1925. This sense appears to post-date the horse-racing and navy slang senses.

Synonyms

hopped upjuiceddrunkjuicedpumpedenthusiastic

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "souped-up"?
"souped-up" is spelled S-O-U-P-E-D---U-P. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsuːpt ʌp/.
What does "souped-up" mean?
As an adjective, "souped-up" means: Of a racehorse: injected with a substance to make it run faster or to change its temperament.
How do you pronounce "souped-up"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "souped-up" is /ˈsuːpt ʌp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "souped-up"?
Uncertain; the fact that the earlier senses seem to be the horse racing cant and United States Navy slang ones suggests a derivation from soup (“liquid food item”), connoting a horse or a person being filled with a liquid. Alternatively, it has be... 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.
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