Phrase guide

soup up

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To modify the engine of (a motor vehicle) to give a higher performance than the specifications.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To embellish with many additions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, figuratively, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

make more powerful

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he souped up the old cars

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hop up, hot up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: modify

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: opvoeren — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Finnish: virittää — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • French: débrider — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • German: aufmotzen — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • German: frisieren — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • German: tunen — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Polish: podrasowywać — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Polish: podrasować — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Russian: форси́ровать дви́гатель (forsírovatʹ dvígatelʹ) — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Spanish: trucar — modify higher performance than the specifications
  • Spanish: retocar — modify higher performance than the specifications