soup up
verb
souped up; souping up; soups up
1
: to increase the power, efficiency, or performance of
soup up an engine
Some cars souped up with customized engines and suspensions may be uninsurable through standard policies.—
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports… the giant particle accelerator at CERN, near Geneva, had been souped up until it could achieve the energy required to test the contention of the electroweak theory that neutral intermediate vector bosons actually exist.—Timothy Ferris
Timothy Ferris2
: to heighten the impact of : to make more exciting or colorful
The ads you've seen are for old cold remedies that have been souped up and given a new marketing spin.—Joe and Teresa Graedon
Joe and Teresa GraedonBut she's doing what Kirstein accuses the dilettantes of doing—souping up her performance with ballet stylization.—Arlene Croce
Arlene CroceExamples of soup up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Under his meticulous care, the gleaming red sports car has been souped up to generate 400-horsepower turbo performance, but retains much of the original features and feel.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
For freezing, prepare the soup up to the point of shredding and adding chicken back in.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
On Women’s Cloudmonster Void Much like the Men’s Cloudmonster, the On Women’s Cloudmonster Void are souped up with maximum cushioning—these truly feel like walking on a cloud.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
Read on to learn exactly how to soup up that morning shot.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 9 Dec. 2025
The series chronicled Sparks, Kiley, Hoskins, and Stuart repairing and souping up pickup trucks.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
Roku 65-inch Pro Series TV for $600 ($200 off): Roku souped up its Pro Series for 2025, adding even better brightness and contrast to the world’s simplest interface.
—Simon Hill, Wired News, 8 Oct. 2025
A lot of utility can come from souping up your Camry, but no amount of tweaking will turn it into a Ferrari.
—Cal Newport, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
There’s owner Joe Ghattas, a former car dealer who over 10 years turned a side hustle souping up Jeeps into a multimillion-dollar business headquartered in a $10.7 million plant near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Powerline Road.
—Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2025
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Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2026
For freezing, prepare the soup up to the point of shredding and adding chicken back in.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
On Women’s Cloudmonster Void Much like the Men’s Cloudmonster, the On Women’s Cloudmonster Void are souped up with maximum cushioning—these truly feel like walking on a cloud.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
Read on to learn exactly how to soup up that morning shot.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 9 Dec. 2025
The series chronicled Sparks, Kiley, Hoskins, and Stuart repairing and souping up pickup trucks.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Oct. 2025
Roku 65-inch Pro Series TV for $600 ($200 off): Roku souped up its Pro Series for 2025, adding even better brightness and contrast to the world’s simplest interface.
—Simon Hill, Wired News, 8 Oct. 2025
A lot of utility can come from souping up your Camry, but no amount of tweaking will turn it into a Ferrari.
—Cal Newport, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2025
There’s owner Joe Ghattas, a former car dealer who over 10 years turned a side hustle souping up Jeeps into a multimillion-dollar business headquartered in a $10.7 million plant near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Powerline Road.
—Ron Hurtibise, Sun Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Soup up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soup%20up. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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