English Reference
Idiom idiom

crank up


To muster up the mental energy to do something.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

I need to crank up the energy to clean my room.

CONTEXTUAL

It was a long day, but I had to crank up the motivation to finish my final report before the deadline.

COMPLEX

Despite his profound exhaustion, he managed to crank up the necessary resolve to address the board of directors and defend his controversial proposal.


Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    crank one's hog

    To masturbate by stimulating one's penis.

  2. 02

    crank out

    To produce in large volumes mechanically or as if by machine.

  3. 03

    crank the handle

    To perform a process; to do some work.

Last updated August 10, 2026