rough up
phrasal verb
roughed up; roughing up; roughs up
informal
: to hit and hurt (someone)
The prisoner claimed that he was roughed up by the guards.
Examples of rough up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The last time Duke put in a Final Four appearance on CBS was in 2010, when the Blue Devils roughed up West Virginia 78-57 in the primetime window in front of an audience of 15.8 million viewers.
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Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 1 Apr. 2025
And if brushes cause excess friction, that can rough up the cuticle, causing fine hair to frizz up easily and create static or flyaways.
—Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 26 Mar. 2025
The stock has been roughed up this year, but analysts now see an attractive entry point ahead of big catalysts this year, including robotaxis.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 19 Mar. 2025
The Europeans butt in: the British took over India; nobody ever managed to take over China, but China got roughed up by the imperialists.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough up
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Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 1 Apr. 2025
And if brushes cause excess friction, that can rough up the cuticle, causing fine hair to frizz up easily and create static or flyaways.
—Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 26 Mar. 2025
The stock has been roughed up this year, but analysts now see an attractive entry point ahead of big catalysts this year, including robotaxis.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 19 Mar. 2025
The Europeans butt in: the British took over India; nobody ever managed to take over China, but China got roughed up by the imperialists.
—David Remnick, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rough up
Cite this Entry
“Rough up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough%20up. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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