Meanings
well up1
present singular third person wells up · participle present welling up · participle past welled up · past welled up
- intransitiveTo gradually or steadily flow upwards or outwards so as to begin to fill or overflow something.
Oil was welling up out of the borehole.
2 more examples
As soon as I heard news of his death, tears started to well up in my eyes.
A spring wells up in the centre of the village, and watercress beds lie beside the stream running alongside the main street.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 178 - broadlyfigurativelyTo accumulate within one, to the point of overwhelming one.
Emotion welled up inside me.
2 more examples
A barely audible groan welled up in the Captain's throat as the grinning Freedom Fighter circled around behind the helpless American Soldier. The groan sputtered into a strangled, "No… no… don't.... " as Randall felt the juicy tip of the man's tumescent cock jab against his hair-ringed, virgin asshole.
1991, Etienne, “In Enemy Hands”, in Drummer, number 151, page 32“I had to leave my job because I just couldn’t … yeah,” Tina says, welling up.
2023 December 22, Robyn Vinter, “‘That’s how we’ve got to live’: the black market in England’s shoplifting capital”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
well up2
comparative more well up · superlative most well up
Synonyms & antonyms
verbcome up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian бликам, заструявам
- бликам (blikam)to flow upwards or outwards
- заструявам (zastrujavam)to flow upwards or outwards
- шуртя (šurtja)to flow upwards or outwards
- but see съм на ти (săm na ti)colloquial: well versed; well acquainted
Dutch opwellen
- opwellento flow upwards or outwards
Esperanto suprenflui
- suprenfluito flow upwards or outwards
Finnish pursuta, pulputa
- pursutato flow upwards or outwards
- pulputato flow upwards or outwards
- kummutato flow upwards or outwards
- kummuta(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
German hervorquellen
- hervorquellento flow upwards or outwards
Italian sgorgare a fiotti, salire in petto
- sgorgare a fiottito flow upwards or outwards
- salire in petto(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
Māori whakapuke, whakapupuke
- whakapuketo flow upwards or outwards
- whakapupuketo flow upwards or outwards
- kōmanawa(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
Polish wzbierać, wezbrać
- wzbieraćto flow upwards or outwards
- wezbraćto flow upwards or outwards
- zbierać się(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
- zebrać się(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
- dobrze zaznajomionycolloquial: well versed; well acquainted
Russian нахлы́нуть, напо́лнить
- нахлы́нуть (naxlýnutʹ)(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
- напо́лнить (napólnitʹ)(of an emotion) to accumulate, to the point of overwhelming
Swedish välla, välla fram
- vällato flow upwards or outwards
- välla framto flow upwards or outwards
- välla utto flow upwards or outwards
Cite this entry
well up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/well%20up
“well up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/well%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “well up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/well%20up.
Source: well up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.