ENGLISH
REFERENCE

drink up

phrasal verb.
Definition

phrasal verb. to finish your whole drink. You use this when you want someone to drink everything that is left in their glass.

phrasal verb. to consume the entirety of a beverage; often used as an imperative to encourage completion of a drink before departure or a new activity.


SIMPLE

Drink up! It is time to leave for the station.

CONTEXTUAL

The bartender told the customers to drink up because the pub was closing in five minutes.

COMPLEX

After the final toast was made, the host encouraged everyone to drink up so they could begin the walk to the dining hall for the main course.

  • finish your drink
  • drain
  • gulp down
Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
drink (+ object) + up / drink + up (+ object)
Usage

can be used alone as an imperative or with a direct object.

Teaching tip

the particle 'up' here functions as a completive, similar to 'eat up' or 'clean up', indicating that the action should be done thoroughly or until finished.

Pitfall

He drinked up his juice.He drank up his juice.'drink' is an irregular verb; the past tense is 'drank' regardless of the particle.

Last updated April 24, 2026