# shoot up

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/shoot-up
Updated: 2026-10-22

## Definition

to increase very quickly in number, price, or size. You use this when something goes up much faster than usual.

For teachers: to rise or increase rapidly and suddenly. This intransitive sense typically describes market values, temperatures, or physical height.

## Examples

- House prices in this city are shooting up.
- After the news of the merger broke, the company's stock price shot up by twenty percent in a single afternoon.
- Despite the central bank's efforts to curb inflation, the cost of living continues to shoot up, placing an immense burden on low-income households.

## Pitfalls

- Not "The prices were shot up." but "The prices shot up." — This sense of the phrasal verb is intransitive and cannot be used in the passive voice.

## Usage notes

- This verb is intransitive, meaning it does not take a direct object.
- Teaching tip: Contrast with 'soar' or 'rocket'; 'shoot up' is very common in spoken English to describe children growing taller or prices rising.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.