rough up

verb

To manhandle or beat up.

“The gangsters roughed him up a little.”

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Meanings

verbrough up (third-person singular simple present roughs up, present participle roughing up, simple past and past participle roughed up)

present singular third person roughs up · participle present roughing up · participle past roughed up · past roughed up

  1. To manhandle or beat up.

    The gangsters roughed him up a little.

  2. To make rough, to roughen (especially doing so to wood while raising the grain).
  3. historicalartsTo rub the loam that covers the brick wall of a mould to make it adhere firmly.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
beat upmanhandleroughhouserub up

Translations

Finnish pahoinpidellä, murjoa
  • pahoinpidelläto manhandle or beat up
  • murjoato manhandle or beat up
French malmener, brutaliser
  • malmenerto manhandle or beat up
  • brutaliserto manhandle or beat up
German derbe malträtieren, übel zurichten
  • derbe malträtierento manhandle or beat up
  • übel zurichtento manhandle or beat up
  • zusammenschlagento manhandle or beat up
  • verprügelnto manhandle or beat up
Māori tunuhuruhuru
  • tunuhuruhuruto manhandle or beat up
Polish poniewierać, sponiewierać
  • poniewieraćto manhandle or beat up
  • sponiewieraćto manhandle or beat up
  • maltretowaćto manhandle or beat up
  • zmaltretowaćto manhandle or beat up
Russian побить, избить
  • побить (pobitʹ)to manhandle or beat up
  • избить (izbitʹ)to manhandle or beat up
Cite this entry
APA

rough up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rough%20up

MLA

“rough up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rough%20up. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rough up,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rough%20up.

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