rough up

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle up

Usefulness

Meanings

1

Attack and hurt someone physically

Threat and Harm

Why “up”? A person is threatened, attacked, or forced by violence.

“They roughed him up in the alley.”
They attacked and hurt him in the alley.
“The gang roughed up the shopkeeper.”
The gang attacked and hurt the shopkeeper.

Test yourself

“They roughed him up in the alley.” What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

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

stick up

Same up pattern: threat and harm

Defend or support someone when others criticize them; Rob a place using a weapon, often a gun

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