step up
To increase, augment, or advance, especially by one or more steps.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“You need to step up your efforts to finish the work.”
“When the team captain got injured, the younger players had to step up to win the game.”
“Faced with the sudden loss of their primary investor, the board members realized they must step up their fundraising efforts to prevent the company from collapsing.”
An ellipsis of the American baseball idiom *step up to the plate*, which describes a player taking their turn at bat. The shortened form entered general usage as a metaphor for assuming responsibility.
- 01
baby step
A small effort made towards the completion of a much larger task.
- 02
one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind
(used imitatively) A cliché used to exaggerate an accomplishment or milestone.
- 03
one step ahead
maintaining a slight advantage; continuing to lead
- 04
one step forward, two steps back
A situation in which progress is more than offset by adverse developments.
- 05
pep in one's step
A confident, happy, energetic or enthusiastic mood or manner.
- 06
retrace one's steps
To return to a place one has been to before.
- 07
smell what someone is stepping in
Alternative form of pick up what someone is putting down.
- 08
spring in one's step
Enthusiasm, energy or a positive outlook or cheerful attitude.
Last updated August 10, 2026