VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

heal up

verb·Everydayinformal

Last updated

UK/ˌhiːl ˈʌp/
US/ˌhiːl ˈʌp/

Meanings

  1. verbintransitiveinformal

    To become healthy again and close over, used of a wound, cut or injury.

    Grammar: No object; the wound is the subject: "the cut healed up in a week".

    Patterns

    • something heals up
    • heal up completely
    • heal up nicely

    The scratch on his arm healed up within a few days.

    Keep the dressing on until the wound has healed up.

    Her ankle healed up well and she was back running by spring.

  2. verbintransitiveinformal

    To recover from an illness or injury and feel well again.

    Grammar: No object; often used of people after an operation or a long illness.

    Patterns

    • heal up after something
    • heal up quickly

    He healed up quickly after the operation and went home.

    Give yourself time to heal up before you train again.

Word forms

third person singularheals up
past tensehealed up
past participlehealed up
-ing formhealing up

Common combinations

heal up nicely
The scar healed up nicely and is barely visible.
heal up completely
It took two months for the bone to heal up completely.
let something heal up
The doctor said to let the cut heal up in the open air.
heal up on its own
Small grazes usually heal up on their own.

Synonyms and how they differ

heal
The plain verb; it can take an object ("heal the wound") and works in medical writing, while "heal up" is more casual and never takes an object.
mend
Similar and slightly old-fashioned for bones and injuries; also used for clothes.
recover
Used of the person rather than the wound, and it is more formal.

Opposites

get worsefester

Word family

heal verb
To make or become healthy again.
healing noun
The process of becoming healthy again.
healer noun
A person who cures others, often without formal medicine.

Commonly confused: heal up or heel? heal up or heal?

heal up vs heel

A heel is the back part of your foot or shoe; it sounds the same as "heal" but means something different.

heal up vs heal

Without "up" it can be transitive: "time heals all wounds". With "up" it is intransitive only.

Practice

Which sentence is correct?

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “heal up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words