man up
phrasal verb·1 sense·particle up
Meanings
Show courage and face a difficulty
Why “up”? A standard sits above you. Measuring up means reaching that expected level.
“Man up and apologise.”
“He had to man up and tell the truth.”
Test yourself
“Man up and apologise.” What does it mean?
Nearby in the meaning map
Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.
keep up
Same up pattern: good enough
Continue at the same level or rate; Move at the same speed as someone else; Stay informed about something current; Prevent someone from going to bed or sleeping; Prevent something from falling down; Maintain pretences, an appearance or a habit; Match the social or financial standard of others
live up
Same up pattern: good enough
Match a particular standard or expectation (live up to)
look up
Same up pattern: good enough
Direct your eyes upward; Search for information in a book or online; Start to become better; Admire and respect someone (look up to)
measure up
Same up pattern: good enough
Be good enough for a particular standard
shape up
Same up pattern: good enough
Improve performance or behaviour
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