beat up

To hurt someone badly by hitting them many times.

• They beat up my brother.
• He was beaten up outside a club.
• Why did those boys beat him up?

How to use it: beat someone up (Two men beat him up outside the station.); be beaten up (She was beaten up on her way home.)

Similar words: beat, assault, batter

Common phrases: beat up someone, beat up badly, beat up a stranger

To keep blaming yourself and feeling bad about something you did.

• Do not beat yourself up.
• I beat myself up over that mistake.
• He keeps beating himself up for losing the keys.

How to use it: beat yourself up over something (Do not beat yourself up over one bad grade.); beat yourself up for doing something (She beat herself up for forgetting his birthday.)

Similar words: blame yourself, reproach yourself

Common phrases: beat yourself up, beat myself up

To criticize someone harshly and make them feel guilty about something.

• Stop beating him up over this.
• They beat her up for missing the deadline.
• The boss keeps beating us up about our results.

How to use it: beat someone up over something (The manager beat her up over a small mistake.); beat someone up for doing something (Do not beat him up for being late once.)

Similar words: criticize, blame, berate

Common phrases: beat up someone, beat someone up over

To leave someone hurt or bruised through an accident, difficult activity, or other cause.

• That fall beat me up badly.
• The crash beat him up, but he survived.
• Three days on rocky trails really beat up my knees.

How to use it: beat someone up (That rough hike really beat me up.)

Similar words: injure, batter

Common phrases: beat up someone, beat up your body

To wake or get out of bed before someone else does.

• I beat you up this morning.
• She beat me up and made breakfast.
• Can you beat me up tomorrow and start the coffee?

How to use it: beat someone up (I beat my brother up this morning and made the coffee first.)

Similar words: wake before, get up before

Common phrases: beat someone up, beat someone up today

To manage to arrange or obtain something through effort.

• We must beat up some support.
• They beat up volunteers for the search.
• She beat up a small party to help with the work.

How to use it: beat up something (They beat up support for the expedition.)

Similar words: arrange, organize, muster

Common phrases: beat up support, beat up recruits, beat up volunteers

Old or damaged because it has been used a lot.

• His car is really beat up.
• She wore a beat-up leather jacket.
• These chairs look more beat up every year.

Similar words: battered, worn, shabby

Opposites: new

Common phrases: beat up car, beat up shoes, beat up furniture

A story or public complaint made to seem much more serious than the facts support.

• That story is a beat-up.
• The minister dismissed the headlines as a media beat-up.
• Was the whole scandal just a political beat-up?

Similar words: manufactured controversy, media hype

Common phrases: media beat up, a beat up, political beat up