building up

Verb

build up (third-person singular simple present builds up, present participle building up, simple past and past participle built up)

1. To erect; to construct.
   • Near-synonym: build out

   Synonyms:

   assemble, build, put together, artifice, betimber, compile, construct, edify, erect, extruct

   Antonyms:

   take down, tear down, disassemble

2. To close up by building.
   • to build up a door

   Synonyms:

   close, close off, close up, cover, cover up, enclose, shut, shut in, shut off, shut up

3. (idiomatic, intransitive, transitive) To accumulate: to increase incrementally or continually.
   • Ever since the secretary left, the letters in my inbox have started to build up.

   Synonyms:

   pile up, amass, heap up, accumulate, agglomerate, cumulate, heap, mound, pile, rack up

4. (idiomatic, transitive) To strengthen.
   • They had to build up their fortress to protect against attack.
5. In solitaire card games, to place a card over another card of lower value. (e.g., place 5♦ over 4♣)

   Antonyms:

   build down