charge up

verb

To recharge, to give electrical power to something.

“The coach had to charge up his players with a powerful speech before the final.”

Similar
agitaterouseturn onchargecommoveexcite
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Meanings

verbcharge up (third-person singular simple present charges up, present participle charging up, simple past and past participle charged up)

present singular third person charges up · participle present charging up · participle past charged up · past charged up

  1. transitiveTo recharge, to give electrical power to something.

    You should charge up your phone before the camping trip, as there won't be any power supplies.

  2. idiomaticTo motivate, to instill someone with determination.

    The coach had to charge up his players with a powerful speech before the final.

  3. slangtransitiveTo deliberately infect (a person) with HIV as part of bug-chasing.

    The subcultural vernacular “I'll charge you up" evokes the act of charging a battery or readying a mechanism for action; […]

    2009, Tim Dean, Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking

Synonyms & antonyms

verbcause to be agitated, excited, or roused

Similar
agitaterouseturn onchargecommoveexcite
Broader
disturbupsettrouble
Also see
agitatechargecommoveexciterouseturn on

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

charge up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charge%20up

MLA

“charge up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charge%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “charge up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/charge%20up.

Source: charge up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.