ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bash up

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to hit someone or something many times and cause serious damage or injury.

phr. v.. to physically assault a person or damage an object through repeated, forceful impact; typically carries a colloquial or informal register.


SIMPLE

He got bashed up in a fight outside the club.

CONTEXTUAL

The old car was completely bashed up after it rolled down the steep hill into a tree.

COMPLEX

The protagonist returns home with a bashed up face, serving as a visceral reminder of the violent encounter he barely survived.

Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
bash (+ object) + up (+ object)
Usage

often used in the passive voice to describe the state of a person or object after an attack.

Teaching tip

highlight that 'bash' alone implies a single hit, while 'bash up' emphasizes the resulting state of damage or the intensity of the beating.

Pitfall

The thieves bashed up to him.The thieves bashed him up.this is a transitive phrasal verb; the object must follow the verb or the particle, not be introduced by 'to'.

© 2026 English Reference