variants
or step ups
as in increases
something added (as by growth)
there's been a step-up in productivity since regular breaks were offered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of step-ups
The exercise program involved two group exercise classes per week, including 30 minutes of intervals on an exercise bike, then 15 minutes of circuit training (step-ups, boxing, squats, kettlebells, and so on).
—
Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Examples include air squats, step-ups, push-ups, and dips.
—Jenny McCoy, SELF, 8 Dec. 2025
Exercises like wall-sits, clam shells, step-ups, and Romanian deadlifts target the knees and surrounding muscles to improve strength and stability.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 2 Sep. 2025
Alex Hutchinson, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Examples include air squats, step-ups, push-ups, and dips.
—Jenny McCoy, SELF, 8 Dec. 2025
Exercises like wall-sits, clam shells, step-ups, and Romanian deadlifts target the knees and surrounding muscles to improve strength and stability.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for step-ups
Noun
-
And here’s the key point — those gains weren’t driven by massive increases in spending.—
William J. Bratton,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
-
But such is the risk-reward of attempting to get ahead of the game in such matters before cost increases.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf, weighing in at a thousand pages and containing over 1,400 letters (additions to the 3,766 letters that were published in six volumes, edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann, between 1975 and 1980), is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.—
Hermione Lee,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The additions represented a welcome counterpoint to what occurred during much of 2025, when job losses consistently haunted the Bay Area.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There are no must-wins in March or April, only morale boosts at the beginning of a marathon.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Then, just start making your trades to put your profit boosts to work and unlock your bonuses.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Early military gains give way to a larger strategic mess.—
Ishaan Tharoor,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
-
During key periods like the pandemic boom and another surge in 2025, trading card indexes tracking Pokémon sales posted gains that far exceeded the S&P 500's long-term average annual return of 10% to 12%, according to trading card valuation tool Card Ladder.—
Brandon Gomez,
CNBC,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Step-ups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/step-ups. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
