hush up

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle up

Meanings

1

Keep wrongdoing or bad news secret

Hidinguncommon

Why “up”? A cover goes up over something. It hides it from view or protects it from notice.

“They tried to hush up the mistake.”
They tried to keep the mistake secret.
“The school hushed up the complaint.”
The school kept the complaint secret.

Test yourself

“They tried to hush up the mistake.” What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

bottle up

Same up pattern: hiding

Hide strong feelings inside

cover up

Same up pattern: hiding

Hide something by placing a covering over it; Conceal a mistake, crime or wrongdoing from others; Do someone else's job temporarily while they are away

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