keyed up

adjective

Nervous; worried.

“She was all keyed up about the interview.”

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Meanings

adjectivekeyed up (comparative more keyed up, superlative most keyed up)

comparative more keyed up · superlative most keyed up

  1. colloquialNervous; worried.

    She was all keyed up about the interview.

    1 more example

    One trouble, he explained, is that dope pushers flock to neighborhoods where two gangs are at war, knowing they will find buyers among members of the gangs who are so keyed up that they welcome any kind of relaxation or who are just plain afraid.

    1957 September 13, Walter Bernstein, “The Cherubs Are Rumbling”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 18 Feb 2024
verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of key up

Origin

From the phrasal verb key up.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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