ACT UP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does act up mean? 

• ACT UP (verb)
  The verb ACT UP has 2 senses:

1. misbehave badly; act in a silly or improper way

2. make itself felt as a recurring pain

  Familiarity information: ACT UP used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ACT UP (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Misbehave badly; act in a silly or improper way

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

act up; carry on

Context example:

The children acted up when they were not bored

Hypernyms (to "act up" is one way to...):

misbehave; misconduct; misdemean (behave badly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make itself felt as a recurring pain

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

My arthritis is acting up again

Hypernyms (to "act up" is one way to...):

ache; hurt; smart (be the source of pain)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody's (body part) ----s

 Context examples 

Uranus, the planet that brings events that you would never have thought possible, will act up, so you must be prepared for all kinds of eventualities.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

He may have as strong a sense of what would be right, as you can have, without being so equal, under particular circumstances, to act up to it.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)