soup up
verb
souped up; souping up; soups up
1
: to increase the power, efficiency, or performance of
soup up an engine
Some cars souped up with customized engines and suspensions may be uninsurable through standard policies.—
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports… the giant particle accelerator at CERN, near Geneva, had been souped up until it could achieve the energy required to test the contention of the electroweak theory that neutral intermediate vector bosons actually exist.—Timothy Ferris
Timothy Ferris2
: to heighten the impact of : to make more exciting or colorful
The ads you've seen are for old cold remedies that have been souped up and given a new marketing spin.—Joe and Teresa Graedon
Joe and Teresa GraedonBut she's doing what Kirstein accuses the dilettantes of doing—souping up her performance with ballet stylization.—Arlene Croce
Arlene CroceExamples of soup up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Gather ’round this souped up conversation set, which comes with four armchairs, two loveseats, and two coffee tables.
—Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2024
How is his Dodge Ram souped up with state-of-the-art technology?
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2024
The surreal joke of seeing a purple monster stroll through a homeless encampment or a Studio 60–esque nightclub becomes less interesting the more Eric relies on it to soup up an otherwise leaden story.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 July 2024
At this point, both Samsung and Apple are looking to AI as a way to soup up their mobile devices and wearables.
—Adriana Lee, WWD, 15 July 2024
Not that the track is the Sport Classic's natural home—this souped up 911 trades ultimate performance and ground-hugging downforce for daily driver usability and a performance envelope that's a little more accessible to those of us who aren't employed as Porsche factory racing drivers.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
Some may soup up an extravagant sports car or buy a 10-bedroom mansion in the hills.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 7 Dec. 2023
The music has similarly been stripped down and souped up.
—Brian Seibert, New York Times, 12 July 2023
Customer service bots are getting souped up with generative A.I., too.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2023
Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2024
How is his Dodge Ram souped up with state-of-the-art technology?
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 1 Aug. 2024
The surreal joke of seeing a purple monster stroll through a homeless encampment or a Studio 60–esque nightclub becomes less interesting the more Eric relies on it to soup up an otherwise leaden story.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 26 July 2024
At this point, both Samsung and Apple are looking to AI as a way to soup up their mobile devices and wearables.
—Adriana Lee, WWD, 15 July 2024
Not that the track is the Sport Classic's natural home—this souped up 911 trades ultimate performance and ground-hugging downforce for daily driver usability and a performance envelope that's a little more accessible to those of us who aren't employed as Porsche factory racing drivers.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2023
Some may soup up an extravagant sports car or buy a 10-bedroom mansion in the hills.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 7 Dec. 2023
The music has similarly been stripped down and souped up.
—Brian Seibert, New York Times, 12 July 2023
Customer service bots are getting souped up with generative A.I., too.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'soup up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to soup up
Dictionary Entries Near soup up
Cite this Entry
“Soup up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soup%20up. Accessed 19 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share