Phrase guide

up to something

adj · 1 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈʌp tuː ˈsʌmθɪŋ/
  • General-American: /ˈʌp tə ˈsʌmθɪŋ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Doing something mischievous or scheming.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • He looks like an angel, but I can tell he's up to something.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 圖謀不軌 /图谋不轨 (túmóubùguǐ) — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鬼鬼祟祟 (guǐguǐsuìsuì) — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Danish: ude på noget — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Finnish: suunnittelee jotakin — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • German: etwas im Schilde führen — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Irish: ag diabhlaíocht — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Portuguese: aprontar — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Russian: затевать (zatevatʹ) — doing something mischievous or scheming
  • Spanish: tramar algo — doing something mischievous or scheming