1
general::
Phrase(s): pump someone up (for something)
Inf. to get someone, including oneself, mentally ready for something. • The coach tried to pump the team up so they would win. • The coach talked and talked to pump them up., Phrase(s): pump something up
1. to inflate something. • Do you have something with which I can pump my basketball up? • I pumped up the ball just an hour ago. 2. Sl. to exercise to make muscles get bigger and stronger. • The bodybuilder pumped her muscles up in preparation for the competition. • She pumped up her muscles.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. Inflate with gas or air, as in This tire needs pumping up. [Late 1800s] 2. Fill with enthusiasm, strength, and energy, as in The lively debate pumped us all up. Mary Wollstonecraft used this idiom in slightly different form in The Rights of Women (1792): ‘‘Lover-like phrases of pumped-up passion."
American Heritage Idioms