ENGLISH
REFERENCE

flag up

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford British English General-service

phr. v.. to mention something so that other people notice it or deal with it.

phr. v.. to draw attention to a specific issue, fact, or problem for further consideration; often used in professional or administrative contexts to indicate a need for action.


SIMPLE

I want to flag up a small problem with the schedule.

CONTEXTUAL

The auditor decided to flag up several inconsistent entries in the company's financial reports.

COMPLEX

During the preliminary briefing, the lead researcher took a moment to flag up potential ethical concerns regarding the data collection methods.

Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
flag + up + object
Usage

commonly used in British professional environments; the object can be placed after 'up' or between 'flag' and 'up'.

Teaching tip

this is a useful alternative to 'point out' or 'highlight' in workplace English; note its strong association with British English compared to the American preference for 'flag' alone.

Pitfall

He flagged the issue out to his boss.He flagged the issue up to his boss.the correct particle for this meaning of highlighting an issue is 'up', not 'out'.

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