Meaning & use
to man up
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Meanings
phrasephrasal verbinformaldisapproving
to deal with a difficult situation in a brave, strong way, especially when told to stop complaining
Grammar: Used without an object; often in commands like 'Man up!' or after 'need to'.
Patterns
- man up
- to man up
- man up and do something
When he said he was nervous about the exam, his brother told him to man up and study harder.
She told him to man up and apologize to his friend instead of avoiding the problem.
phrasephrasal verbinformal
to take on a difficult task with courage, often after being reluctant
Grammar: Often followed by 'and' plus a verb: man up and tell the truth.
Patterns
- man up and do something
- man up about something
The team needed to man up and finish the project despite the tight deadline.
He finally manned up and admitted that he had made a mistake.
Word forms
| third person singular | mans up |
|---|---|
| past tense | manned up |
| past participle | manned up |
| -ing form | manning up |
Common combinations
- tell someone to man up
- His coach told him to man up and keep playing.
- need to man up
- You need to man up and face the consequences.
- man up about something
- He never manned up about his role in the accident.
- man up and do something
- She manned up and asked for a raise.
Synonyms and how they differ
- toughen up
- Focuses on becoming emotionally stronger, not necessarily on gender roles; it is less likely to offend.
- face the music
- Means to accept the unpleasant results of your actions, not to act bravely in general.
- step up
- Means to take responsibility or act when needed, without the gender-based criticism.
Opposites
Commonly confused: to man up or man up?
to man up vs man up
Sometimes learners confuse this with 'man up' meaning to supply enough people for a job, as in 'man up the phones.' That is a different, more formal use.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'man up' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The correct sentence uses 'man up' as an intransitive phrasal verb meaning to act bravely. Option 2 is wrong because 'man up' does not take an object like 'courage.' Option 3 uses a different meaning (to supply people) and the wrong past form. Option 4 uses the wrong verb form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “to man up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.