: an intensive diagnostic study especially for medical purposes
: an unintended mark on a printed sheet caused by the rising of spacing material
worked up; working up; works up
1
: to stir up : rouse
2
: to produce by mental or physical work
worked up a comedy act
worked up a sweat in the gym
: to rise gradually in intensity or emotional tone
Examples of workup in a Sentence
Verb
spent years working up a period novel that was historically accurate in every detail
Recent Examples on the Web
Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 9 Mar. 2026
Sometimes the workup is reassuring.
—Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026
Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
But around 1,700 of those 5,800 troops went absent without leave from the brigade at some point during its nine-month work-up.
—David Axe, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Avery Newmark, AJC.com, 16 Mar. 2026
All were active in Los Angeles — Williams, for instance, was a pivotal designer on the LAX Theme Building — and Smith interlaces decorative flourishes in varying styles that twist around one another to work up the Legacy Tower’s pointed spheres.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for workup
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Noun
So where other fertility clinics might screen a prospective patient for age or complexity, Sesame offers a comprehensive workup and coordinate care where appropriate.
—Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 9 Mar. 2026
Sometimes the workup is reassuring.
—Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026
Noun
It should be used as part of a broader diagnostic work-up that includes clinical evaluation and possibly additional imaging.
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 May 2025
But around 1,700 of those 5,800 troops went absent without leave from the brigade at some point during its nine-month work-up.
—David Axe, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
More experienced runners can gradually increase the running intervals, working up to four or six minutes of running with a one-minute walk break.
—Avery Newmark, AJC.com, 16 Mar. 2026
All were active in Los Angeles — Williams, for instance, was a pivotal designer on the LAX Theme Building — and Smith interlaces decorative flourishes in varying styles that twist around one another to work up the Legacy Tower’s pointed spheres.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for workup
Cite this Entry
“Workup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workup. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
workup
1 of 2 noun
work·up
ˈwər-ˌkəp 
: an intensive diagnostic study
a gastrointestinal workup
a psychiatric workup
work up
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to perform a diagnostic workup upon
work up a patient
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