Meanings
plural build-ups
- alternativeAlternative form of buildup.
Steve Gohouri was guilty of losing possession deep inside his own half, allowing Davies to find Ngog for Bolton's second, before Antolin Alcaraz was dispossessed in the build-up to their third.
2011 October 15, Michael Da Silva, “Wigan 1-3 Bolton”, in BBC Sport2 more examples
Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."
2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30The rest were undergoing special underbody cleaning safety checks at TfW depots, after speculation that the cause of the incidents may have been a build-up of engine oil and combustible material such as fallen leaves and general detritus.
2023 March 22, “Network News: Class 175s withdrawn for safety checks after fires”, in RAIL, number 979, page 13
Origin
Deverbal from build up.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
build-up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/build-up
“build-up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/build-up. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “build-up,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/build-up.
Source: build-up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.