Word.ws English Dictionary

up to

/ˈʌp tuː/US/ˈʌp tə/

up to preposition: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see up, to.

Preposition

up to

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see up, to.
    • She went up to the third floor.
    • Go up to the counter and ask.
  2. Capable, ready or equipped, having sufficient material preconditions for, possibly willpower (at a particular moment).
    • to feel up to it
    • Are you up to lifting something that heavy?
    Synonyms:
    equal
    1. Willing, interested in
      • Are you up to going to the beach?
  3. As much as; no more than (also with of).
    • You can make up to five copies.
    • Violators may face a fine of up to $300.
  4. Until.
    • Up to that point, I liked her.
    • I've read up to chapter 5.
    Synonyms:
    up until
  5. Within the responsibility of, to be attributed to the sphere of influence of, having someone or something as authoritative in.
    • It’s up to you whether to get the blue one or the red one.
    • It's up to the prosecution to prove that the defendant is guilty.
    Synonyms:
    down to
  6. Doing, involved in.
    • to be up to
    • I have no idea what they've been getting up to while we've been away.
    1. Devising, scheming (planning something mischievous or inappropriate).
      • He looked like a man up to no good.
      • What are you kids up to with all that toilet paper?
  7. Considering all members of an equivalence class the same.
    • There’s only one rooted tree with two leaves, up to ordering.
    Synonyms:
    modulo
  8. (archaic, slang) Familiar with the meaning of; able to understand.
    • “Oh,” said Mr. Pickwick. “My what, did you say?”
      “Your chummage ticket,” replied Mr. Roker; “you’re up to that?”
      “Not quite,” replied Mr. Pickwick, with a smile.
      “Why,” said Mr. Roker, “it’s as plain as Salisbury. You’ll have a chummage ticket upon twenty-seven in the third, and them as is in the...1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “Illustrative, like the preceding one, of the old Proverb, that Adversity brings a Man acquainted with strange Bed-fellows. Likewise containing Mr....
  9. (Eton College) Taught by; in the class of.
    • I was up to Mr. Wayte, and, although he was a fairly easy and by no means strict master, […]1899, Alfred Lubbock, Robin Lubbock, Memories of Eton and Etonians, page 62
    • I was up to Mr. Luxmoore, who was to be a lifelong friend. The last days of my last half were like a dream. I was hardly conscious of the reality of things, and I did not yet fully realise that my Eton life was coming to an end […]2022, Maurice Baring, The Puppet Show of Memory

Adjective

up to (comparative more up to, superlative most up to)

  1. (uncommon) Willing, interested in.
    • I'm feeling very up to it all of a sudden.2010, Risa Bear, Homecomings, page 189
    • Oh, Mr. Anderson, I'll be very up to it.2008, G.N. Huyser, Chautauqua, page 24

up to meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Telugu

up to in Hindi

up to
तक tak

up to in Marathi

up to; until
वर var

up to in Urdu

up to
اس قابل is qābil

up to in Telugu

up to
పర్యంతము paryantamu
More languagesFewer languages
up to in Punjabi
تک takk, ਤੱਕ takka
up to in Vietnamese
sẵn sàng, tùy, tuỳ, tới

Examples of up to in a sentence

  • Are you up to the challenge?
  • What are you up to today?
  • But the little old woman walked up to Dorothy, made a low bow and said, in a sweet voice, “You are welcome, most noble Sorceress, to the land of the Munchkins.[…]”1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, “The Council with The Munchkins”, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge]...
  • I semi gathered that he loved her before she turned pretty but seemed up to debate, but it is interesting2025 August 28, thetrashcompact, “I have never watched tsitp, but I think I have a good grasp of the show.”, in reddit, archived from the...
  • As soon as I feel somewhat up to it, I hope to do his portrait.2012, Vincent Van Gogh, Masters of Art - Vincent Van Gogh (Illustrated), Delphi Classics:

Synonyms of up to

Forms of up to

comparativemore up to
superlativemost up to

Origin of up to

From Middle English up to, from Old English up tō.

Words formed from up to

Questions about up to

What does up to mean?
Up to means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see up, to.
What is up to in Hindi?
Up to in Hindi is तक (tak). See Up to meaning in Hindi.
How do you use up to in a sentence?
Are you up to the challenge?
What part of speech is up to?
Up to can be a preposition or an adjective.
How do you pronounce up to?
Up to is pronounced /ˈʌp tuː/ (UK).

Words near up to in the dictionary

  1. up the yin-yang
  2. up the ying yang
  3. up the ying-yang
  4. up there
  5. up till
  6. up to
  7. up to 11
  8. up to a point
  9. up to anything
  10. up to bat
  11. up to code

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: up to (page history and authors); तक (Hindi) (page history and authors); वर (Marathi) (page history and authors); اس قابل (Urdu) (page history and authors); పర్యంతము (Telugu) (page history and authors); تک (Punjabi) (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-up to.wav.

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