charge up

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

charge up (third-person singular simple present charges up, present participle charging up, simple past and past participle charged up)

1. (transitive) To recharge, to give electrical power to something.

   You should charge up your phone before the camping trip, as there won't be any power supplies.

2. (idiomatic) To motivate, to instill someone with determination.

   The coach had to charge up his players with a powerful speech before the final.

3. (LGBTQ, slang, transitive) To deliberately infect (a person) with HIV as part of bug-chasing.
   • 2009, Tim Dean, Unlimited Intimacy: Reflections on the Subculture of Barebacking:

     The subcultural vernacular “I'll charge you up" evokes the act of charging a battery or readying a mechanism for action; […]

See also

• charge down

Anagrams

• upcharge