Idiom idiom
chum up
Meaning
To be friendly toward (with or to) someone, especially in an ingratiating way; to form a friendship (with).
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He tries to chum up with the boss to get a promotion.”
“The new student started to chum up with the popular kids on his very first day at school.”
“The politician attempted to chum up with the local voters by attending every community event in the district.”
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026