Word.ws English Dictionary

pop-up

/ˈpɒpʌp/

pop-up adjective: coming into view suddenly from a concealed position.

Adjective

pop-up (not comparable)

  1. Coming into view suddenly from a concealed position.
    • I packed a pop-up hamper in my suitcase.
  2. Opening out to form a three-dimensional structure when the page of a book is opened.
    • […] I had a pop-up book of sexual organs by the time I was four –[…]1985, Margaret Atwood, “Night”, in The Handmaid’s Tale, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, →ISBN, page 155
  3. Operating or existing for a brief period only; temporary.
    • But then this is essentially a pop-up team, glued into place brilliantly, with certain parts already chafing and smoking. Chelsea’s two top goalscorers could be off in a month, Diego Costa to cause an international incident in China, [Eden] Hazard to the usual summer suspects.2017 May 13, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC
  4. Employing the cold launch technique.

Noun

pop-up (plural pop-ups)

  1. (Internet) A pop-up advertisement; an advertisement that is triggered to appear on a computer screen when the user accesses a particular web page.
  2. A pop-up ball: a ball that has been hit to a considerable height above the infield or the shallow outfield; a pop fly.
  3. A folded paper element which pops up from a book, greeting card, etc.
  4. A business that opens for a brief temporary period only, such as a temporary restaurant.
    • Pop-ups often charge restaurant prices, but without advance menus, quality control, health-inspected facilities or professional service. Bring cash and arrive early: most pop-ups don't accept credit cards, and popular dishes run out fast.2012, Sam Benson, Alison Bing, Coastal California, Lonely Planet
    • Ms. Setti recently had to close her bar after a change of management at the food hall that housed it. But she plans to launch several pop-ups and hopes to find a new permanent space by the middle of the year, she said.2023 February 15, John Eligon, “Exploring South Africa’s Black Wine Scene”, in The New York Times

pop-up meaning in Malay and Indonesian

pop-up in Malay

advertisement that pops up when one accesses an Internet page
tetingkap timbul

pop-up in Indonesian

advertisement that pops up when one accesses an Internet page
jendela sembul, jendela munculan

Synonyms of pop-up

All synonyms of pop-up

Forms of pop-up

Adjective
alternative formpopup
Noun
pluralpop-ups

Origin of pop-up

Deverbal from pop up.

Words formed from pop-up

Phrases with pop-up

Questions about pop-up

What does pop-up mean?
Pop-up means coming into view suddenly from a concealed position.
What is pop-up in Malay?
Pop-up in Malay is tetingkap timbul. See Pop-up meaning in Malay.
What part of speech is pop-up?
Pop-up can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce pop-up?
Pop-up is pronounced /ˈpɒpʌp/.

Words near pop-up in the dictionary

  1. pop-tarts
  2. pop-the-whip
  3. pop-top
  4. pop-under
  5. pop-unders
  6. pop-up
  7. pop-up advertisement
  8. pop-up advertisements
  9. pop-up book
  10. pop-up books
  11. pop-up menu

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pop-up (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pop-up.wav.

Cite this entry: “pop-up.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pop-up. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.